Igor Stravinsky Is One of the Greatest Term Paper

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Igor Stravinsky is one of the greatest composers in history. The purpose of this discussion is to provide basic biographical information and important musical contributions of the subject. In addition there will be a reaction to one of his musical works.

Biographical information

Igor Stravinsky was born in 1882 in Oranienbaum, Russia. Stravinsky's father was a bass player with the St. Petersburg Opera house and Stravinsky was exposed to music at an early age. In his autobiography Stravinsky writes that one of his first memories of music was women singing in his village. He recalls hearing them singing in unison as they walked home. Stravinsky also states that he would imitate their voices and was complimented on how accurate an ear he had for music. He writes of this experience,

To this day I clearly remember the tune, and the way they sang it, and how, when I used to sing it at home, imitating their manner, I was complimented on the trueness of my ear. This praise made me very happy...And it is an odd thing that this occurrence, trifling though it seems, has a special significance for me, because it marks the dawn of my consciousness of myself in the role of musician." (Stravinsky 1936)

He began to play the piano at the age of nine and quickly fell in love with the instrument. He admits in his book that he sometimes lacked the discipline required of the piano and enjoyed the art of improvisation instead. Stravinsky was often chastised for improvising, but in the end improvisation aided him in perfecting his craft. Stravinsky also explains that he was able to efficiently read music at an early age and spent much of his time reading his father's opera scores.

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(Stravinsky 1936)

Stravinsky explains that in his adolescence he was a poor student and despised school. He also explains that he did not have many friends and often felt lonely. He writes that he often felt socially isolated and that he lacked some essential element, which made his company undesirable to his peers. (Stravinsky 1936)

Stravinsky goes on to explain that one of the few places that he felt comfortable was in the company of his uncle, Lelatchitch. The composer explains that his uncle and his cousins were all music lovers and encourage him to compose and practice. Stravinsky explains that this environment exposed him to the exceptional German composers of the day. (Stravinsky 1936)

Although the composer was a poor student, as a young man, Stravinsky studied law at the University of St. Petersburg and eventually met the composer Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. Korsakov was instrumental in shaping his early musical career of Stravinsky. ("Igor Statrvinsky")

Musical Contributions

One of Stravinsky's first works was Scherzo fantastique in 1908. An article in Encarta explains that many of the composer's first works were scores for ballets. The article asserts,

In 1908 the Russian impresario Sergey Diaghilev, impressed by Stravinsky's orchestral works Scherzo fantastique (1908) and Fireworks (1910), asked the composer to write for his Ballets Russes; thus began an association of many years. His first ballets for Diaghilev, The Firebird (1910) and Petrushka (1911), won immediate success and were greatly admired for their dramatic impact, rich orchestration, and melodies evoking Russian folk song. At the first performance of The Rite of Spring (1913), however, the unconventional choreography and the harsh dissonances and driving, asymmetrical, shifting rhythms of the music prompted a hostile uproar so noisy that the dancers could not.....

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