2. The Life of Igor
❖ Born as Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky
❖ June 17th, 1882- April 6th, 1971
❖ Hometown of present day Lomonosov, Russia
❖ Started off by studying law, but then realized his love for music
❖ His piece The Firebird gave him overnight success in 1910
3. Method to the Madness
❖ Preferred to write his music with experimental, vs. prior practice
❖ Loved finding new chord patterns on the piano
❖ Created different metrical patterns
❖ His methods influenced later composers on pulse, rhythm, and form
5. The Firebird Suite
❖ Stravinsky's first large-scale orchestral work
❖ Made of five movements
➢ I. Introduction – The Firebird and Its Dance – The Firebird’s Variation
➢ II. The Princess’ Khorovod
➢ III. Infernal dance of King Kaschchei
➢ IV. Berceuse
➢ V. Finale
❖ Added ideas to the ballet itself
❖ Heavily influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky’s teacher
6. Petrushka
❖ Made of 15 parts/ movements
❖ Written as a collaboration with Serge Diaghilev
❖ Uses borrowed folk tunes
❖ In 1947, the score was changed to fit concert performance
7. Oedipus Rex
❖ The piece that jump started his “neoclassical” era
❖ Became a major opera within the first year of it being produced
❖ Written in Latin
❖ Said to be an “opera-oratorio”-meaning that it can be performed without staging
❖ The music fits the “chilling and mesmerizing” feelings of the greek myth and Sophocles' play
8. The Rite of Spring
❖ Broken into two parts
➢ I. Adoration of the Earth
➢ II. The Sacrifice
❖ Noted as one of the first modernist piece of music
❖ Stood out with its barbaric rhythms, brutality, and its dissonance
❖ Premier performance caused disruption in the crowd
❖ Created with the help of Nicholas Roerich
❖ Is now performed for concert orchestra
9. The Rite of Spring (continued)
❖ Included in the Disney film Fantasia in 1940
❖ The film was used to bring classical music to
life
❖ Includes work from other famed composers
such as Beethoven, Stokowski, Schubert, and
Ponchielli
The Rite of Spring illustrates a battle scene of two
dinosaurs- one seemingly a ‘good’ guy and one
seemingly a ‘bad’ one. Rite is able to set the scene
with its harsh, accented melody and sporadic bursts
of sound.
10. Works Cited
“Fantasia (1940).” IMDb, IMDb.com, <www.imdb.com/title/tt0032455/>.
Lindemann Malone, Andrew. “Oedipus Rex, Opera-Oratorio in 2 Acts.” AllMusic,
<www.allmusic.com/composition/oedipus-rex-opera-oratorio-in-2-acts-mc0002361790>.
Lindemann Malone, Andrew. “Petrushka, Ballet (Burlesque) in 4... | Details.” AllMusic,
<www.allmusic.com/composition/petrushka-ballet-burlesque-in-4-scenes-for-orchestra-1911-
version-mc0002441521>.
Lugli, Alex. “Ten Best Works of Igor Stravinsky.” Rate Your Music,
<rateyourmusic.com/list/Alex_Lugli/ten_best_works_of_igor_stravinsky/>.
Myers, Chris. “Fascinating Insights into STRAVINSKY's The Firebird Suite.” Redlands Symphony, 2015,
<www.redlandssymphony.com/pieces/the-firebird-suite>.
11. Works Cited (continued)
Schwarm, Betsy. “The Rite of Spring.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 11 Dec. 2014,
<www.britannica.com/topic/The-Rite-of-Spring>.
Taruskin, Richard, and Eric Walter White. “Igor Stravinsky.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., 30 Mar. 2018, <www.britannica.com/biography/Igor-Stravinsky>.
