Igor Stravinsky

            Stravinsky burst onto the international musical scene as a Russian enfant terrible, with his epochal three ballets.  Everyone grew to adore those works, and still do.  But, Stravinsky’s restless mind soon gravitated to exceeding diverse musical places, never pausing to establish a consistent, life-long stylistic...

            Stravinsky’s reputation as one of a handful of the most respected and influential composers of the twentieth century has been secure almost from the beginning of his career.  Yet, as he grew older, the bold changes in the nature and sources of his musical style stand as almost unique among his peers.   We may speak...

          It would be difficult, indeed, to posit a composer whose artistic achievement and influence on the direction of music during the twentieth century exceeded that of Igor Stravinsky.  Moving through a series of explorations of different styles of composition, his works consistently exhibited a remarkable seriousness of purpose, solid...

           It’s somewhat fun to look back at the styles and fashions that shocked our ancestors, smugly reveling in our own sophistication and advanced thinking.    Yet, it must be said that almost a century on, the musical impact of Stravinsky’s epochal ballet, Le Sacre du printemps, still has the power, if not to shock, at least...

            Stravinsky’s reputation as one of a handful of the most respected and influential composers of the twentieth century has been secure almost from the beginning of his career.  Yet, as he grew older, the bold changes in the nature and sources of his musical style stand as almost unique among his peers.   We may speak...

           A few years after the end of WWI, Stravinsky’s musical thinking underwent a major shift.  Of course, he was not alone in his generation, for ever since the turn of the century various composers had sought contrasts and answers to the inflated musical ideas of late Romanticism.  Large orchestras gave way to small, varied groups. ...