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The Life and Times of Igor Stravinsky

The Life and Times of Igor Stravinsky. By Caitlin Collins. Background. 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. Childhood. Avid reader

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The Life and Times of Igor Stravinsky

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  1. The Life and Times of Igor Stravinsky By Caitlin Collins

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

  3. Childhood • 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

  4. Growing Up • Despite his musical interest he attended St. Petersburg University from 1901-1905. • Criminal law and legal philosophy. • His father died in 1902 • Rimsky-Korsakov encouraged him to take music lessons

  5. How He Got Started • 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

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

  7. “The Firebird”

  8. “Petrushka” • Based on Russian folklore • Choreographer- Folkine • Also choreographed “The Firebird” • It was a success • Introduced to the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky

  9. Petrushka

  10. “The Rite of Spring” • 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

  11. “The Rite of Spring” • 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 5th, 1914: concert performance was given in Paris and was a success

  12. “The Rite of Spring”

  13. WWI • 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”

  14. “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

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

  16. After the War • “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

  17. Tryin’ New Things • 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

  18. Decisions, Decisions • 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

  19. “The Fairy’s Kiss” • 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.

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

  21. Coming to America • Sept. 20th 1939 Stravinsky arrived in New York City to live in America • March 9th 1940 He married Vera Bosset and they settles in Los Angeles • Stravinsky was 58 • Asked to do movie scores, but he never did any

  22. “DansesConcertantes” – 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”

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

  24. Works Cited "Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.google.com/search?hl=en>.  "Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.google.com/search?hl=en>.  "Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.google.com/search?hl=en>.  "Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.google.com/search?num=10>.  "Igor Stravinsky." Igor Stravinsky. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.richeast.org/htwm/2003/to/igor.html>. "Igor Stravinsky." Music History 102. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ipl.org/div/mushist/twen/stravinsky.html>.

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