Igor Stravinsky

Russian composer and conductor, considered by many to be one of the greatest and most versatile composers of the twentieth century. He helped revolutionize modern music with his vast imagination and impeccable craftsmanship. Stravinsky was to music what Picasso was to art; he departed radically from musical tradition by using irregular, primitive rhythms and harsh dissonances. His greatest works include "The Firebird," 1910, "The Rites of Spring," 1913 "Petrouchka," 1923, "The Rake's Progress,"1951, "Symphony of Wind Instruments," 1920 and "The Dumbarton Oaks Concerts," 1938. Author of "Chronicles of My Life," 1936, "The Poetics of Music," 1947. His later literary works "Memoirs and Commentaries," 1960, "Expositions and Developments," 1962 and "Dialogues and a Diary," 1963, were all co-written with American composer Robert Craft.

Stravinsky led a privileged childhood, spending much of his youth on the vast estates of his aristocratic relatives. His father was a Russian opera singer who raised his son to be educated for the law. Music was young Igor's avocation until he met Rimsy-Korsakov in 1902, and began to study music formally with him in 1907. One year later his first symphony was performed. His prodigious ability was brought to the attention of Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev of the Ballet Russe, who commissioned the young composer to write ballet scores. Dropping his law books forever, Stravinsky became an overnight sensation when his famous ballet "Firebird," was performed in 1910. When the avant-garde ballet "The Rite of Spring," choreographed by Nijinsky, was first performed in Paris three years later, riotous protests broke out in what Stravinsky later called "the battle of May 29, 1913." The following year the work was performed by a symphony orchestra and was recognized as a landmark and masterpiece of modern music.

Only seven years prior he had decided on a career in music.