Igor Stravinsky
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20th-Century Composers
(Igor Stravinsky; Oranienbaum, Russia, 1882 – New York, 1971) A Russian composer who became a French and, later, an American citizen. May 29, 1913—the day Stravinsky’s ballet *The Rite of Spring* premiered—marks one of the key dates in the birth of so-called contemporary music. Its polytonal harmony, abrupt and dislocated rhythms, and aggressive orchestration provoked one of the greatest scandals in the history of music among the audience.
Igor Stravinsky
Having already created two ballets that caused a sensation—*The Firebird* (the work that brought him international renown in 1910) and *Petrushka*—Stravinsky cemented his status as the leader of the new musical school on that day in 1913. Yet, he never considered himself a revolutionary; much like Picasso in the visual arts, the composer was characterized by his ability to move from one style to another with absolute ease, without ever losing his own distinct personality. Broadly speaking, his career as a composer—that of a master and an unquestionable figurehead of 20th-century music—can be divided into three periods: the Russian, the Neoclassical, and the dodecaphonic.
A student of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in St. Petersburg, he was given his big break by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who commissioned a score for his company, the Ballets Russes, to premiere during their Paris season. The result was *The Firebird*, a work in which the profound influence of his teacher is evident in its overall conception, yet which already hints at some of the traits that would define Stravinsky's later style, such as his keen sense of rhythm and instrumental color.
His rapid evolution culminated in the aforementioned *The Rite of Spring* and another ballet score, *Les Noces* (The Wedding), scored for the unconventional combination of four pianos and percussion, with vocal participation. In these works, the composer pushed the legacy of the Russian nationalist school to its limits, virtually exhausting its possibilities.
His style then took a turn that baffled even his own followers: instead of pursuing the path opened by these works, in 1920 he unveiled a new ballet, *Pulcinella*—a recreation of Baroque music based on compositions by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi that appeared, at first glance, to be respectful.
Thus began his neoclassical period, characterized by a revisiting of musical languages from the past and tributes to his most admired composers—such as Bach (*Concerto in D*), Tchaikovsky (*The Fairy's Kiss*), Handel (*Oedipus Rex*), Haydn (*Symphony in C*), and Mozart (*The Rake's Progress*)—alongside major works like the *Octet for Wind Instruments*, the *Symphony of Psalms*, and the ballet *Apollon Musagète*.
In these pieces, Stravinsky abandoned the dissonant harmonies and brilliant orchestration of his earlier compositions in favor of a more austere and objective style—neoclassicism having emerged, in fact, in opposition to the impassioned subjectivism of Germanic Romanticism and Expressionism—though it was a style that did not preclude a certain sense of humor in his approach to the past. This phase concluded with the *Symphony in Three Movements* and the opera *The Rake's Progress*; subsequently, Stravinsky surprised everyone again by adopting the twelve-tone method systematized by his colleague and rival Arnold Schoenberg—though he did so only after the latter's death. Once again, a ballet—*Agon*—marked the beginning of this new period, which includes notable works such as *Canticum Sacrum*, *Threni*, *Monumentum pro Gesualdo*, and *Requiem Canticles*, none of which have achieved the same level of acceptance as the works from the two preceding eras. He passed away in the United States, and his remains were interred in Venice.
How to cite this article:
Tomás Fernández and Elena Tamaro. "Biography of Igor Stravinsky" [Internet]. Barcelona, Spain: Editorial Biografías y Vidas, 2004. Available at https://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/s/stravinski.htm [page accessed on October 1, 2026].
With affection,
Ruben
