Igor Stravinsky (born 17 June 1882 in Lomonosov, then Oranienbaum, location; died 6 April 1971 in New York city) was a composer whose work helped define musical modernism. Celebrated and controversial in equal measure, he is widely regarded as one of the most important composers of the 20th century and a leading figure in musical modernism. Born and raised in Russia, his life and career were shaped by political upheaval and frequent moves: he left Russia during the Russian Revolution, lived in Switzerland and later in Paris, and relocated to the United States during the outbreak of World War II.

Early life and training

Stravinsky received his early musical instruction in Russia and was a pupil and friend of the composer and orchestrator Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He drew heavily on Russian folk and liturgical sources in his first major compositions. During this period his orchestra writing and rhythmic imagination became increasingly distinctive: his music used complex harmonic structures and sharply pointed rhythms that challenged established concert practice.

Breakthrough ballets and innovations

Stravinsky's international reputation was established through ballets created for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (company) under the impresario Diaghilev. Notable works from 1910 to the 1920s include The Firebird, Petrushka and the epochal The Rite of Spring. These scores combined vivid orchestration, folkloric elements and novel approaches to meter and accent, provoking strong audience reactions and influencing generations of composers and performers. Other notable stage works from this era include Les noces, Pulcinella and Apollo musagète.

Neoclassicism, opera and later serialism

After World War I Stravinsky turned to a style often labeled "neoclassical," reworking forms and textures from the 18th and early 19th centuries through a modern lens. He composed chamber pieces, concertos and his only full-length opera, The Rake's Progress, in this idiom. In the final phase of his career he engaged with twelve-tone and serial techniques (serial music), integrating them with his distinctive sense of rhythm and color rather than adopting orthodox serial procedures.

Major works and characteristics

  • Rhythm and meter: irregular accents, changing meters and polyrhythms.
  • Harmony: bitonal or modal passages, novel chord combinations, and sparsely voiced textures.
  • Orchestration: vivid, often percussive use of instruments and novel timbral contrasts.
  • Representative works: The Firebird, Petrushka, The Rite of Spring, The Rake's Progress, and later serial compositions.

Legacy and notable facts

Stravinsky's influence extends beyond composition into conducting, pedagogy and the shaping of modern musical taste. He collaborated with dancers, choreographers and literary figures, and his stylistic shifts—from Russian nationalism to neoclassicism to serial experimentation—illustrate a rare capacity for reinvention. Scholars and performers continue to study his scores for their rhythmic ingenuity and orchestral color, and his works remain standard repertory in concert halls and ballet companies worldwide.

Further reading and resources: biographies, score collections and recordings provide detailed entry points to Stravinsky's periods and works; for introductory context see resources listed by major libraries and music institutions (birthplace, death, composer, modernism, Russia, revolution, Switzerland, Paris, World War II, United States, Rimsky-Korsakov, harmony, rhythm, Ballets Russes, Diaghilev, Firebird, Petrushka, Rite of Spring, Les noces/Pulcinella, opera, The Rake's Progress, serialism).