Igor Stravinsky

A Russian-American composer born in 1882, Igor Stravinsky was widely known as the greatest composer of the 20th century.

His contributions to music were wide and varied. He studied music with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1903 to 1906. He gained fame from his performances while commissioned with the impresario, Sergey Diaghilev.

Stravinsky’s ballet score, The Firebird (1910), was a huge success at the Paris Opera, followed by Petrushka, performed during the Ballets Russes (1911) in Paris.

Another outstanding work is The Rite of Spring (1913), which was a dynamic masterpiece. He worked on various pieces of ballet music, including a piano piece by Frédéric Chopin for Les Sylphides.

The Nightingale (1914) and The Soldier’s Tale (1918) were some of his compositions created while in exile in Switzerland during the War. In France, he diverted to neoclassical style and composed Oedipus Rex (1927) and the Symphony of Psalms (1930).

His renewed ties with Diaghilev resulted in his arrangement of Pulcinella (1920) and Apollo Musagetes (1928). From 1923 to 1935, he composed piano and wind instruments pieces.

He moved to the United States in 1939 and became a U.S. citizen in 1945. The Rake’s Progress (1948-51), Canticum Sacrum (1955), and the ballet Agon (1953-57) were larger scale works wherein the music moves from a modal and tonal beginning into a full serial score.

After his work on Requiem Canticles (1966), a work as famous as his masterpieces and neo-classicals, his health failed. He died in 1971 and was buried in Venice.