A Documentary on Igor Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky Born in Lomonosov, Russia on June 17, 1882/Died on April 6, 1971, New York. His father was a bass singer. Stravinsky took up music composition at the age of twenty and took lessons from Rimsky-Korsakov. His first major orchestral work, Fireworks, written in 1908 was heard by the impresario Sergey Diaghilev. He commissioned Stravinsky to write the Firebird ballet a couple of years later. The success of Firebird made Stravinsky famous. In fact, Fiebird could easily be called the greatest ballet written in the twentieth century after Le Sacre du Printemps. It is magnificent.The great ballet score Petrushka was written in 1911. His next ballet, The Rite of Spring, with its revolutionising rhythms and unsolved dissonances, was a landmark event in the history of music. The Premiere of the work in Paris resulted in an actual riot in the theatre. Stravinsky adopted a neo-classical approach to writing music for a while iin the nineteen twenties. His major Neoclassical works include Oedipus Rex and the Symphony of Psalms along with the Pulcinella Ballet. For those who are interested in exploring Stravinsky's music, these are his major works - Operas: The Nightingale (1914) Mavra (1922) Oedipus Rex, opera-oratorio (1927) The Rake's Progress (1951) Miscellaneous Dramatic Music: The Soldier's Tale (1918) Renard (1922) The Flood (1962) Ballets: The Firebird (1910) Petrushka (1911) The Rite of Spring (1913) Song of the Nightingale (1919) Pulcinella (1920) The Wedding (1923) Apollon Musagète (1928) Le Baiser de la Fée (1928) Perséphone (1934) Jeu de Cartes (1937) Circus Polka (1942) Scènes de Ballet (1944) Orpheus (1948) Agon (1957) Orchestral Music written: Symhony in E Flat Major (1907) Fireworks (1908) Symphony for Wind Instruments (1920) Concerto for Painoforte, Timpani, Winds and Double Bassoon (1924) Capriccio for Pianoforte and Orchestra (1929) Violin Concerto in D Major (1931) ‘Dumbarton Oaks’ Concerto (1938) Symphony in C Major (1940) Danses concertantes (1942) Circus Polka (1942) 4 Norwegian Moods (1942) Ode (1943) Symphony in Three Movements (1945) Ebony Concerto (1945) Concerto in D,Major for Strings 1946) Movements for Pianoforte and Orchestra (1959) Variations (1964) Choral Music written: The King of the Stars (1912) Symhony of Psalms (1930) Babel (1944) Mass (1948) Cantata (1952) Canticum sacrum (1955) Threni (1958) A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer (1961) The Dove Descending (1962) Introitus (1965) Requiem Canticles (1966) Two Bal′mont Poems (1911) Three Japanese Lyrics (1913) Pribaoutki (1914) Berceuses du chat (1916) 3 Shakespeare Songs (1953) In memoriam Dylan Thomas (1954) Abraham and Isaac (1963) Elegy for J. F. K. (1964) The Owl and the Pussy-Cat (1966) http://youtu.be/FSJQwkBKKBo