Igor Stravinsky
1882-1971

Igor Stravinsky is the leading spirit of modern 20th century classical music. He was a great success, and lived to see that success, unlike the lives of Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and many others. More than any composer, Stravinsky changed his style of music so much to fit his feelings of each piece. Because of this, he has no one characteristic style of composition, like the Mongolian stature of Rachmaninoff, the dainty sounds of Mozart, and the bold minor keys of Beethoven. Even at performances of his works, the audience expected one style of Stravinsky, but is puzzled when they heard a totally different style on the present stage. The style was so changed that some audience members even questioned if they were at the right performance, thinking the music performed on stage was that of somebody else. Nonetheless, it was the works of Stravinsky, whose "style" a nomadic, ever-changing one.

Born in Oranienbaum, near St. Petersburg, Russia, his father was a leading bass singer at the Imperial Opera. He easily encountered music at a young age, when he began to study the piano at the age of nine. However, instead of practicing, he often preferred improvising and reading through his father's opera scores instead. Taken to many concerts and operas, Igor lengthened his long, yet young rope of music. But he never thought about an actual music career in music until he became a law student the St. Petersburg University. There, he was given harmony lessons by a private teacher.

From then on, his inspiration to write music was very direct. At the University, he was friends with the son of the Russian great, Rimsky-Korsakov. He spoke with the master about tips and suggestions about his own compositions. From that moment on, Stravinsky traveled a unique rampage of composition throughout his life. His most famous of them all, "L'Oiseau de Feu (The Firebird)" and "Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring)", bring a sense of adventure just by listening. They are so mysterious, yet so bold in tone that it is like watching an entire action movie in the form of music. But those works are only a minute fraction of his many different styles of music. In fact, as he gained fame, more and more people began to question him about his amazing ability to alter styles so differently that he wrote several books and autobiographies which explain his often-changing views of music and musicians. The absolute master of modern music strongly proves the fact that as time turns the pages, everything else seems to change as well.

© 1999 H.Tsai

Some Famous Works:
L'Oiseau de Feu (The Firebird)

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