Meet a Composer: Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky is commonly referred to as the most influential composer of the 20th century. His music has shaped the way for composers to make music that is less traditional and more experimental and unique.
Stravinsky's father was an opera singer with the Kyiv Opera and Stravinsky was quite an accomplished pianist by the time he was 15 years old. Stravinsky went to the University of Saint Petersburg to study law, but while there, he met the son of famous composer Nikoli Rimsky-Korsakov. Then, he started studying composition with Rimsky-Korsakov and dropped his law studies.
Some of Stravinsky's most famous works are ballets such as The Firebird and The Rite of Spring. The Rite of Spring was so ground-breaking that a riot broke out during the premiere. The style of dancing along with the music was quite unusual for that time and the audience didn't like it. Eventually the public came around to understanding this innovative work and the piece is frequently performed today.
Did you know?
Igor Stravinsky lived at the same time as the famous artist Pablo Picasso and Picasso made several drawings of Stravinsky. Here are two of the drawings:
Listen to The Rite of Spring while watching a colorful, animated graphical score of the music on this YouTube video from Musanim!
Try to clap along to the tricky rhythms of The Rite of Spring, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, in this YouTube video from Pin Swede!
This Kiddle Encyclopedia article includes lots more information about Stravinsky and some pictures too!
Read a short biography of Stravinsky and listen to a part of The Firebird on Classics for Kids!
This audio episode about Stravinsky's life from Classics for Kids includes clips of some of his most important music and this episode tells the story of The Firebird, along with some of Stravinsky's music from the ballet.
This Google Doodle was created to celebrate Stravinsky's June 17th (1882) Birthday.
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