Igor Stravinsky, classical music composer

Igor Stravinsky image

Igor Stravinsky

Biography

Igor Stravinsky, considered by many to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th century, was born on June 17, 1882 in Oranienbaum, Russia. He was raised, however, in Saint Petersburg where his father, Fyodor Stravinsky was a bass singer at the Mariinsky Theatre. As a child he took piano lessons and later studied music theory and composition. Despite this enthusiasm for music, his parents wished their son to become a lawyer and in 1901 he began his law studies. With the closure of the University of Saint Petersburg in the spring of 1905, Stravinsky took the opportunity to turn his focus solely upon music and began twice weekly private lessons in composition with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Stravinsky's career as a professional composer, as well as his first stylistic period, is considered to begin with Feu d'artifice (Fireworks) in 1909. It was performed in Saint Petersburg at a concert attended by Sergei Diaghilev, director of the Ballets Russes in Paris. Impressed by the Stravinsky's unique orchestration, which was greatly influenced by his studies with Rimsky-Korsakov, Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write the ballet The Firebird. The ballet premiered in Paris in 1910 after which Stravinsky and his family moved to Switzerland, where he lived until 1920. Over the following years, he composed two more ballets for the Ballets Russe: Petrushka in 1911 and The Rite of Spring in 1913.

In 1920, Stravinsky moved to France where he formed an advantageous relationship with the French piano manufacturer Pleyel. Acting as his agent, Pleyel collected royalties for Stravinsky and also provided him with a monthly income and a studio space in which to compose. He became a naturalized French citizen in 1934. During this time, Stravinsky entered his second stylistic period. Eschewing the large orchestral forces of the late Romantic and his earlier works, he turned to the chamber works of Neo-Classicism. The longest of his stylistic periods, the work during this time reflected the influence of the music of Mozart, Bach and their contemporaries.

With the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Stravinsky left France and moved to the United States. He settled in the Los Angeles area and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1945. In 1954, Stravinsky once again made another radical stylistic change and adopted the twelve-tone system of Arnold Schoenberg.  In 1962, he returned to his homeland, now the U.S.S.R., after a fifty-year absence at the invitation of Nikita Khrushchev for a series of concerts in Leningrad. He moved to New York in 1969 where two years later he died at the age of 88 on April 6, 1971.


Composer Title Date Action
Igor Stravinsky Suite from Firebird 01/20/2009 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Firebird Suite (arr. Agosti) 05/29/2009 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Danse Russe and The Shrovetide Fair, from Petrushka 07/19/2009 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Petrushka (four tableaux) 09/11/2009 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne for Violin and Piano 01/15/2009 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne for Violin and Piano 01/25/2009 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky The Shrovetide Fair from Petrouchka 01/27/2009 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Danse Russe, from Petrushka 01/09/2009 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Five Easy Pieces 01/12/2009 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky The Firebird 04/24/2010 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Prelude et Ronde des princesses, from "The Firebird" 01/22/2010 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Berceuse, from "The Firebird" 01/22/2010 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Sonata 06/15/2010 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne for Cello and Piano 01/19/2011 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne for Violin and Piano 02/16/2011 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky The Russian Stravinsky New York Philharmonic Festival 10/08/2011 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments 10/13/2011 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Les Noces 10/22/2011 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Rite of Spring 11/03/2011 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Duo concertante per violino e pianoforte 11/18/2011 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Scherzo, from "The Firebird" 12/28/2011 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne for Cello and Piano 01/17/2012 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Three Movements from ballet Petrushka 01/21/2012 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Danse Russe, from Petrushka 02/09/2012 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Petrushka 09/12/2012 Play
Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring 06/16/2013 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Three movements from Petrouchka 10/11/2013 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Petrushka 10/19/2012 Play
Igor Stravinsky Pulcinella 06/15/2014 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Three Pieces for String Quartet 07/09/2014 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Firebird Suite (arr. Agosti) 04/06/2015 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Three Movements from ballet Petrushka 05/04/2015 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne for Cello and Piano 06/07/2016 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Apollo 06/12/2016 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne for Cello and Piano 08/30/2016 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring 11/22/2016 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky The Fairy's Kiss 06/14/2015 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Tarantella from Suite Italienne 06/17/2017 Play Add to playlist
Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne for Violin and Piano 07/27/2017 Play
Igor Stravinsky Song Of The Nightingale 05/30/2022 Play Add to playlist