Igor Stravinsky Research Paper

Igor Stravinsky: The Great Composer

The things that come to mind when thinking about Igor Stravinsky, is the contribution he did for the musical industry and the many lives he’s changed just but doing that. If one were to study the truths and countless attributes about Stravinsky, we will most definitely learn many things in the process. Unfortunately now a days, many are unfamiliar with this great composer. Even in his home town, people are forgetting. They may forget his face, but it is impossible for them to forget what his has done. Igor Stravinsky has created numerous contributions over the years, some of his most popular ballets have changed music and the way we see it: The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring. Stravinsky was born on the 17th of June in 1882. He was raised in the small town of Oranienbaum, Russia. He was raised by his mother and father who were both musicians. His father was a bass singer in the opera and his mother was a well renounced pianist. As a small child Igor was interested in music, he attended operas and ballets on many occasions. He took
up piano at the young age of nine. It was very clear that we loved music and wanted to peruse it, but his parents wouldn’t let him. After Stravinsky was finished with grad school, his parents send him to study law (Anonymous). Throughout his years at college he took many music lessons and continued to purse his love privately. He then graduated in 1905. He then married Catherine Nossenko, who was his first cousin. They had a son and a daughter together. Rimsky-Korsakov put together many performances in Stravinsky’s home town that would show him off as well as his other classmates. In 1909, Stravinsky’s “Fireworks” and “Scherzo Fantastique” were showcased at one of his many shows to come. In the audience was Serge Diaghilev. Serge had created the Ballet Russe with the choreographer Mikhail Fokine and the dancer Vaclav Nijinsk. Shortly after the performance, Diaghilev went up to Stravinsky and asked him to create a ballet for his cast that was based off the fairytale of the Firebird. One of his first life changing pieces is called “The Firebird” (Stravinsky). “The Firebirds” first debut was in 1910, in the beautiful city of Paris. This ballet told a tale of an enchanted radiant bird that could be equally a blessing and a curse. Stravinsky designed his ballet based on French fashion. This musical piece provided relief from the somber prevailing trends of Impressionism and Expressionism. The ballet was an incredible success and made Igor famous almost overnight (Stravinsky). His next performance was created soon after “The Firebird”. It bared the name “Petrushka”. This ballet opened in June of 1911. It was said to be a sophisticated and intellectual theatrical folklorism. Unlike “The Firebird”, the work of “Petrushka” was created chiefly by him (Heizenga, 2012). This composition brought him his first multimedia victory and freed Stravinsky to put his own stamp on the Parisian musical life. Petrushka tells the story of a life puppet that comes to life. This puppet is playful, quarrelsome, wicked and of course indestructible, which is the reason for his appeal (Heizenga, 2012). Then came “The Rite of Spring”. The premiere of this ballet is possibly what gave Stravinsky the racy edge to both his name and style. It opened on May 29, in 1913. It was known for its shocking costumes, uncommon composition and strange story. When they raised the curtains and the dancing began, there was a melodious theme without a tune. There seemed to be only a loud vibrating sound. Well anyone could imagine how the crowd reacted to such a performance. The audience responded very negatively, they screamed so loud the dancers could barely hear. The French composer Saint-Saens walked out of the theater, he complained that it was loud and a huge misuse of the bassoon (Service). The audience quickly became a complete riot. It was a miracle the conductor could make it through the whole performance. The theater was transformed into a scenario of chaos that had never been seen before. The lights were ordered to be shut on and off in an effort to calm the crowd. This musical tested the audience to the fullest (Service). As conflicting to tonal music, serial music has a precise arrangement for achieving a sense of order and gives comprehensive equality to all twelve chromatic tones.
A few pieces of work created in this way are: “Canticum Sacrum” and “Agon”. In the midst of the late fifties and early sixties, Igor started to produce masterpieces based fully on ongoing music such as “Variations”, “Requiem Canticles” and “Threni”. He later moved the New York where he became sick and had to slowly venture away from his work (Anonymous). Stravinsky had been in fragile health for quite some time but he had been freed from Lenox Hill Hospital in good condition only a week before his passing, he was found at 5:20 a.m. in his new apartment in the city. He died on the 6th of April in 1971, he was 88 years only. He suffered from heart failure and was buried in the same place as Serge Diaghilev
(Stravinsky).
Inclusive, Stravinsky has made an abundance of contributions to twentieth century music. Stravinsky didn’t want to conform to the preconceived thoughts about music. He denied that there was a strict rubric to be followed in compositions, he said there were no rules. Before Stravinsky began new material he would come at it with a new fresh thought process. He did not willingly accept the recognized practices regarding the progress of a collection. Stravinsky did everything himself, even when it came to testing his new creations. He would test them himself to make sure they stood up to his standards. He broke down the old-style balanced terminology that most composers could not live without. He was clever enough to do this because he toyed with the ideas of elision and prolongation, and revealed new ways to position the irregular patterns of multiple meters. Stravinsky was extraordinarily detailed with degrees of pronunciation and importance.
All things considered, Stravinsky has changed the way we see music today. Igor Stravinsky has created numerous contributions over the years, some of his most popular ballets have changed music and the way we see it: The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring.
He was a true prodigy of the twentieth century. People may have forgotten him, but he has created quite the legacy for himself in the musical industry. Igor Stravinsky once said, “I am in the present. I cannot know what tomorrow will bring forth. I can know only what the truth is for me today. That is what I am called upon to serve, and I serve it in all lucidity.” And to serve he did, he has changed lives of many with just the sound of music.

Work Cited

Anonymous. “Igor Stravinsky.” The Famous People. N.p. Web. 10 December 2013. .
Huizenga, Tom. “Stravinsky’s ‘Petrushka’ at 100: A Composer Finds His Voice.” NPR Music. NPR, 2012. Web. 12 December 2013..
Service, Tom. “The Rite of Spring: ‘The work of a madman’.” The Guardian. N.p. Web. 10 December 2013. .
Stravinsky, Igor. The Firebird. New York: Dover Publications, 1987. Print.