 Born on July 18 th on 1882 in Oraienbaum, Russia  Third of four children  3 brothers: Roman, Youry, and Goury  Married to his first cousin, Catherine, on January 24 th, 1906

 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

 Despite his musical interest he attended St. Petersburg University from  Criminal law and legal philosophy.  His father died in 1902  Rimsky-Korsakov encouraged him to take music lessons

 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

 Diaghilev invited Stravinsky to write the score for “The Firebird” (ballet)  First international success  Use of irregular rhythms and harsh dissonances  Used fantasy

 Based on Russian folklore  Choreographer- Folkine › Also choreographed “The Firebird”  It was a success  Introduced to the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky

 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

 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 5 th, 1914: concert performance was given in Paris and was a success

 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”

 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

 After “Histoire du Soldat” he continued to change his musical style  He was recomposing incomplete fragments of early music

 “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

 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

 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

 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.

 Next development was religious works.  “Symphony of Psalms”- Large scale symphonic piece  Began to work with composition of works for a solo instrument

 Sept. 20 th 1939 Stravinsky arrived in New York City to live in America  March 9 th 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”

 Died in 1971  Stravinsky continued to compose until his death  Death caused by a series of illnesses

"Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov "Igor Stravinsky." Igor Stravinsky. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov "Igor Stravinsky." Music History 102. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov