Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
The Russian composer Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) is among the most significant
musicians of the first half of the twentieth century because he challenged the
expectations of music through innovations of polytonality, meter and rhythm,
and he incorporated these challenges in a wide variety of musical genres.
His compositions can be split into polytonal works followed by a Neo-Classical period.
His early polytonal works include:
L’Oiseau de Feu (1909-1910)
Petrouchka (1910-1911)
Le Sacre du Printemps (1912-1913)
Les Noces (1914-1923)
L’Histoire du Soldat (1918)
Ragtime for Eleven Instruments (1918)
Symphony of Wind Instruments (1920)
Stravinsky’s Neo-Classical period included:
Pulcinella (1920)
The Ebony Concerto (1945)
the 1941 reharmonization of the United States national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.
Stravinsky’s innovations of polytonality, meter and rhythmic variation
are on display in his early ballets, which culminated in the ground-breaking Le Sacre du Printemps.
L’Oiseau de Feu, an adaptation of Russian folklore based on a rising phoenix,
and Petrouchka, a tale of a puppet brought to life, are conveyed musically
through harmonic variation and rhythmic complexity.
Le Sacre du Printemps captures the primitive Russian folklore of a young girl that dances herself to death
so that the elders of the tribe can sacrifice her to the god of spring.
The chaos of the story is captured through polytonality and aggressive ostinati.
Stravinsky utilizes mixed meter among the entire orchestra and
simultaneously between different sections of the orchestra.
Stravinsky’s innovation on rhythm includes the full orchestra syncopation,
which occurs during the Augurs of Spring movement,
and a high degree of rhythmic complexity between parts of the
orchestra that requires one measure to take up one page of the conductor’s score.
It was received as the musical equivalent of a slap in the face:
unexpected, not well-received, and resulted in lingering after-effects of which Hindemith cited
that “[Stravinsky’s] music would endure”.
Having set a tone of surprisingly-innovative compositions,
Stravinsky presented his audiences in 1920 with the ballet Pulcinella.
The remarkably classical tendencies in tonality, meter and rhythm made Pulcinella extraordinary.
Indeed, Pulcinella is considered the hallmark of Stravinsky’s Neo-Classical period because the
music contained less polytonality, mixed meter or rhythmic variation.
It is a credit to Stravinsky that he shocked his audiences with a work that was
reminiscent of the Classical period;
his musical tendencies were tied to innovation such that it seemed unusual for his music not to break any barriers.
Stravinsky’s innovation went beyond ballet and into a wide variety of musical genres.
The theatrical work L’Histoire du Soldat, utilizing voice solo
with an accompaniment ensemble of seven instruments,
sets the stage for his Neo-Classical period through its form, style and harmony.
Stravinsky dabbled in ragtime style in his Ragtime for Eleven Instruments,
featuring the cembalo, a metallic, percussive instrument.
Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto represents innovation on concerti and big-band playing
as it featured saxophone and clarinet soloists.
After Stravinsky moved to the United States in 1940, he released a
reharmonization of The Star Spangled Banner;
afterward, Stravinsky was briefly imprisoned for the sacrilege of altering such a Patriotic song.
Stravinsky was innovative in his use of different musical genres throughout his career.
musicians of the first half of the twentieth century because he challenged the
expectations of music through innovations of polytonality, meter and rhythm,
and he incorporated these challenges in a wide variety of musical genres.
His compositions can be split into polytonal works followed by a Neo-Classical period.
His early polytonal works include:
L’Oiseau de Feu (1909-1910)
Petrouchka (1910-1911)
Le Sacre du Printemps (1912-1913)
Les Noces (1914-1923)
L’Histoire du Soldat (1918)
Ragtime for Eleven Instruments (1918)
Symphony of Wind Instruments (1920)
Stravinsky’s Neo-Classical period included:
Pulcinella (1920)
The Ebony Concerto (1945)
the 1941 reharmonization of the United States national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.
Stravinsky’s innovations of polytonality, meter and rhythmic variation
are on display in his early ballets, which culminated in the ground-breaking Le Sacre du Printemps.
L’Oiseau de Feu, an adaptation of Russian folklore based on a rising phoenix,
and Petrouchka, a tale of a puppet brought to life, are conveyed musically
through harmonic variation and rhythmic complexity.
Le Sacre du Printemps captures the primitive Russian folklore of a young girl that dances herself to death
so that the elders of the tribe can sacrifice her to the god of spring.
The chaos of the story is captured through polytonality and aggressive ostinati.
Stravinsky utilizes mixed meter among the entire orchestra and
simultaneously between different sections of the orchestra.
Stravinsky’s innovation on rhythm includes the full orchestra syncopation,
which occurs during the Augurs of Spring movement,
and a high degree of rhythmic complexity between parts of the
orchestra that requires one measure to take up one page of the conductor’s score.
It was received as the musical equivalent of a slap in the face:
unexpected, not well-received, and resulted in lingering after-effects of which Hindemith cited
that “[Stravinsky’s] music would endure”.
Having set a tone of surprisingly-innovative compositions,
Stravinsky presented his audiences in 1920 with the ballet Pulcinella.
The remarkably classical tendencies in tonality, meter and rhythm made Pulcinella extraordinary.
Indeed, Pulcinella is considered the hallmark of Stravinsky’s Neo-Classical period because the
music contained less polytonality, mixed meter or rhythmic variation.
It is a credit to Stravinsky that he shocked his audiences with a work that was
reminiscent of the Classical period;
his musical tendencies were tied to innovation such that it seemed unusual for his music not to break any barriers.
Stravinsky’s innovation went beyond ballet and into a wide variety of musical genres.
The theatrical work L’Histoire du Soldat, utilizing voice solo
with an accompaniment ensemble of seven instruments,
sets the stage for his Neo-Classical period through its form, style and harmony.
Stravinsky dabbled in ragtime style in his Ragtime for Eleven Instruments,
featuring the cembalo, a metallic, percussive instrument.
Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto represents innovation on concerti and big-band playing
as it featured saxophone and clarinet soloists.
After Stravinsky moved to the United States in 1940, he released a
reharmonization of The Star Spangled Banner;
afterward, Stravinsky was briefly imprisoned for the sacrilege of altering such a Patriotic song.
Stravinsky was innovative in his use of different musical genres throughout his career.