The Life and Times of Igor Stravinsky
By Caitlin Collins
Background Born on July 18th on 1882 in
Oraienbaum, Russia Third of four children 3 brothers: Roman, Youry, and Goury Married to his first cousin, Catherine,
on January 24th, 1906
Childhood Avid reader Began to learn piano at the age of 9 Came to know the work of Rimsky-
Korsakov Relationship with his father was usually
a hostile one At 16, Stravinsky began to attend
many operas the Maryinsky Theatre
Growing Up Despite his musical interest he
attended St. Petersburg University from 1901-1905.
Criminal law and legal philosophy. His father died in 1902 Rimsky-Korsakov encouraged him to
take music lessons
How He Got Started Private lessons with Rimsky-Korsakov
for six years› Father figure in Stravinsky’s life› First music teacher
Began to develop his own music style Stravinsky tried to expose himself to
the concert life of St. Petersburg › Found it dull and uninteresting for the most
part
“The Firebird” Diaghilev invited Stravinsky to write
the score for “The Firebird” (ballet) First international success Use of irregular rhythms and harsh
dissonances Used fantasy
“The Firebird”
“Petrushka” Based on Russian folklore Choreographer- Folkine
› Also choreographed “The Firebird” It was a success Introduced to the dancer Vaslav
Nijinsky
Petrushka
“The Rite of Spring” Used fantasy Ninjinsky was appointed the
choreographer One of the most complex pieces of music Premier was an uproar due to the music
and dancing Riot broke out between Pro-Stravinsky
and Anti-Stravinsky and about 50 people were taken into custody
“The Rite of Spring” Stravinsky blamed the failure of the
first performance on the failure of Nijinsky to coordinate the dancers in such a way that accompanied the music.
Performed a few more times April 5th, 1914: concert performance
was given in Paris and was a success
“The Rite of Spring”
WWI During the war he was cut off from
Russia and was staying in Switzerland Composed many Russian folk works to
sooth his homesickness “Les Noces”- precedent for “Histoire du
soldat”
“Histoire du soldat” Completely new venture 4 main reasons
› First work created in the absence of Dhiagilev’s contribution
› Presented as a traveling theatre with two or three characters and a small number of instruments
› Turned away from Russian folk influences› Admits jazz into his work
“Histoire du Soldat” After “Histoire du Soldat” he continued
to change his musical style He was recomposing incomplete
fragments of early music
After the War “Pulcinella” was the last work he
composed in Switzerland. Went back to Paris Marked the end of his “Russian” works Remade Tchaikovsky's ballet, “The
Sleeping Beauty” Music was taking a step toward
neoclassicism and structure in an instrumental peice
Tryin’ New Things Began to write purely instrumental
pieces Began to conduct his own pieces and
play the piano Began to travel First appeared in America in 1925
› Greeted by praise and full houses
Decisions, Decisions Didn’t know what language to write his
next dramatic work in Decided on Latin and chose a classical
Greek myth for the subject. “Oedipus Rex” Opera oratorio- opera sung to the
audience rather than the characters. Not much of a success
“The Fairy’s Kiss” Ballet based on a fairy tale by Hans
Anderson White ballet- the art is revealed in all
its purity, without dramatic conflicts or contrasts
First work Stravinsky had done with a company other than the Ballets Russes.
Religious Works Next development was religious works. “Symphony of Psalms”- Large scale
symphonic piece Began to work with composition of
works for a solo instrument
Coming to America Sept. 20th 1939 Stravinsky arrived in
New York City to live in America March 9th 1940 He married Vera Bosset
and they settles in Los Angeles› Stravinsky was 58
Asked to do movie scores, but he never did any
“Danses Concertantes” – Abstract ballet
Composed more religious works› “Babel” and “The Ode”
“Babel”-First time Stravinsky used an English text
Went back to abstract ballet- “Scenes de Ballet”
Death Died in 1971 Stravinsky continued to compose until
his death Death caused by a series of illnesses
Works Cited"Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.google.com/search?
hl=en>.
"Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.google.com/search?hl=en>.
"Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.google.com/search?hl=en>.
"Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.google.com/search?num=10>.
"Igor Stravinsky." Igor Stravinsky. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.richeast.org/htwm/2003/to/igor.html>.
"Igor Stravinsky." Music History 102. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ipl.org/div/mushist/twen/stravinsky.html>.
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