Igor Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky was one of the most important figures in 20th Century Music. He was the composer that, through unequal brilliance and originality, influenced many kinds of current music.

Stravinsky was born in Russia in 1882. He was the son of a opera singer and he studied the piano as a child, although his parents wanted him to become a lawyer. He enrolled in the University of St. Petersburg to study jurisprudence by his parents' wishes. He made the friends with the great Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov while he was a student at the university. Nikolai taught orchestration to Stravinsky while Stravinsky was still at the University. After he graduated in 1905, he chose to be a composer for his life. He wrote scale works while being taught by Rimsky-Korsakov. In 1909 he met Sergei Diaghilev, leader of the Ballets Russes. He was commissioned by Diaghilev to write his first ballet score, the Firebird. The work was liked and made Stravinsky a instant celebrity.

In Stravinsky's next two works, Petrouchka and Rite of Spring, were very different from other ballets. They sounded like the culmination of a life's pursuit in music. Rite of Spring was so different that people were throwing tomatoes at the composer, because they were so surprised by the hard rhythmic sound of it.

During World War 1, Stravinsky went to neutral Switzerland, where he worked on pieces that were less elaborate ballets, like piano works and songs.

Stravinsky was a composer of many different styles and ideas. He was one of the greatest composers ever.

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