Igor Stravinsky - Research Paper Example

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky Introduction Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian composer. He was born in a small, seaside town called Lomonosov (Venezia 3). Most people who know him may associate him with two of his early compositions: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring (Venezia 4). Stravinsky was a very important to Russian culture and he grew up in a musical family. The family often went to the opera because Stravinsky’s father was a major opera singer with the St Petersburg Opera. His mother was proficient with piano (Venezia, 10). Ironically, Stravinsky’s father wanted him to be a lawyer instead of a musician, but Stravinsky was bored with law study (Venezia 11). Stravinsky was always more interested in music. While at law school, Stravinsky met Vladimir Rimsky-Korsakov whose father was the very famous composer, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Stravinsky would eventually begin to work with Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov who would eventually teach him about composition. After a vast career in composing different musical scores, Stravinsky died of heart failure in 1971 (Henahan). 2. Biographical Information Stravinsky was born on June 17, 1882. His ancestry was Polish from his father’s side of the family (Oliver 12). Stravinsky had four brothers, and only the youngest brother, Gury was interested in music. Stravinsky was very close to his younger brother because they shared this musical interest, and his brother was a baritone singer. The two boys clung to each other for the affection that they did not receive from their parents. Stravinsky would describe his childhood as “lonely and unhappy” which created challenges for him as a child (Oliver 12). Unfortunately, his brother died of typhus in 1917 (Oliver 14). Needing love and affection, Stravinsky turned to the butler, Simon Ivanovich and his nurse, Bertha, for the affection that he did not receive from his family. For quite some time during his childhood, Stravinsky stayed in his room because his parents thought that his health was too fragile (Oliver 14). As he became older, Bertha and Simon found was to shield him from the cruelty of his father; although Stravinsky as he grew older would not talk about what happened (Oliver 14). At the age of nine, Stravinsky had begun to play piano and he was fascinated by the music. His father did not want him to become a musician because he felt this life was too insecure and it was not a proper career for a young man (Dobrin 14). Instead, Stravinsky’s father forced him into law school because he felt this would be a more lucrative career that would provide him with a more steady income (Dobrin 14). Enrollment into the University of St. Petersburg would be his fate to study law, but he soon found it to be boring. He was more fascinated by music, and although the concept of counterpoint can be considered boring to most musicians, it was of interest to Stravinsky (Dobrin 16). At the university, Stravinsky became friends with Vladimir Rimsky-Korsakov. The two men became fast friends and this lead to Stravinsky working for Vladimir’s father, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and eventually he would be able to begin learning composition from him (Dobrin 15). Stravinsky would live his life in Europe and in America. After studying with Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky began to be influenced by composers like Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel (Schwartz). In his various compositions, one can hear the influences if they listen closely. Within the music of “Fireworks”, “The Faun and the Shepherdess”, and the “Firebird” ballet, one can find the influence of Debussy and Ravel (Schwartz). All of Stravinsky’s music became a part of what is called “the standard repertory” because of his ability to write very good music. Stravinsky often performed his own work. He began by writing, composing, and playing it on piano, but he eventually began to conduct his own work. He is credited with being the “first contemporary composer” to perform his own work (“Igor Stravinsky” Boosey & Hawkes para. 7). When he was 24 years old Stravinsky did get married and he and his wife, Catherine Nossenko (who was his cousin and a friend from childhood), had four children which were two girls and two boys (Herrndorf). There was much controversy over this marriage because they were first cousins, but they were determined to find someone to marry them. 3. The Teachers who Taught Stravinsky The greatest influence on Stravinsky’s career was Rimsky-Korsakov. Through him, he learned how to compose and how to put his own work into musical form. The first thing that Stravinsky did was play his own sonata for piano when he visited Rimsky-Korsakov the first time. From the beginning, Rimsky-Korsakov saw Stravinsky’s potential and he worked with him to develop his talent (Dobrin 20). Rimsky-Korsakov would have Stravinsky take different classical pieces and make them into orchestral arrangements. Rimsky-Korsakov taught Stravinsky how to do this, and the different instrumentations of the orchestra (Dobrin 21). Rimsky-Korsakov would be the major teacher that Stravinsky had because he soon found that he wanted to learn on his own. He did attend many different social events with the Rimsky-Korsakov family, which introduced him to various music by other composers, and taught him English (Dobrin 25). Stravinsky’s father died in 1902, which provided him with more freedom to do what he wanted and allowed him to relax with his music. Although he met many composers during the time (one of them was Prokofiev) he did not work with any other teachers after Rimsky-Korsokov (Dobrin). 4. Educational Institutions Most of what Stravinsky learned about music was through listening to others and from Rimsky-Korsokov. He did not have formal training in college. He eventually earned his law degree from the University of Petersburg, but he learned his music as he worked with Korsakov. 5. Stravinsky’s Instrument and Musical Style Stravinsky’s personal instrument was the piano, but much of his music was made for orchestras. There are many things to consider about his style. In many ways Stravinsky was able to challenge the genre of ballet and opera through the intricate development of his ability to compose. Many people described his work as that of a fine jeweler. His work has been classified as neo-classicism, classicism or classicism; some people thought of his work as atonal (“Igor Stravinsky” Oracle). Because of the way he wrote music, he was able to write many different types of music. He composed music for orchestra, string quartet, ballet and he did choral arrangements (Oliver). There were many things that happened in the world that caused Stravinsky to change his musical style from time to time, and that influenced him. He grew up in Russia for a time and this is where he met Korsokov. In doing so, his music was influenced by Korsakov for many years. He would eventually move to France and then to America during World War II. The Russian influence would make his music somewhat dark and foreboding at times, as he grew up in Czarist Russia. This had to have some type of influence on what he did. In in France, Stravinsky met many artists, musicians, and dancers, but he did not settle in France enough to have his own circle of people. His wife’s health and the fact that he traveled a lot between 1920 and 1930, prevented him from having a permanent home in France until 1932 (Oliver 101). This is where he met Debussy and Mussorgsky, but felt that his music was more influenced by Debussy. Stravinsky was one of the leading composers at this time and he had mostly written music to what he describes as his “Russian phase” (Oliver 107) when he was in France. In France, he wrote many of his works: Les Noces, Oedipus Rex, Apollo, and Persephone are among the ones that he wrote during this time. The musical style in these pieces was considered classism or neo-classism, but Stravinsky never felt that his music fell into these patterns. Instead, he felt that he was writing music that was very different than what other composers were doing at that time; he did not like being placed into any particular category (Oliver). When World War II broke out, Stravinsky moved to America. Also at this time, his wife died after her daughter had died, and Stravinsky spend several months in a sanitarium for tuberculosis where is wife and daughter had died (Oliver, 138). Once he recovered, he moved to America and stayed in New York. Once in New York, his musical style was influenced by jazz, Benjamin Britten’s work and by religion. His religious music started with something called Mass, and then The Rake’s Progress (Oliver). The influences of the times would provide him with many different types of music to compose. The challenge for him was that America was very different than other places he had lived, and it took him some time to get accustomed to working in America. However, he found that he was beloved in America as much as he was in other countries because of the nature of his work (Oliver). 6. Critique of Two Works: Firebird and Rite of Spring 6.1 Firebird Firebird was the first commissioned piece from the Ballets Russes for Stravinsky and it was well received by the Russian people. Dobrin states that the music for the Firebird is heavily influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov although the harmonies that were put into the Firebird are more complicated than what Korsakov had done. In some respects, one can hear Debussy’s influence in this work and the music is unique to Stravinsky’s rhythm, his development of a sense of urgency in the piece and the vibrant orchestral color that are used in the Firebird are unique to Stravinsky. Firebird was also Stravinsky’s entrance into the world of music throughout the world (Dobrin). Firebird has entertained audiences today as the genius of Stravinsky’s work continues. 6.2 Rite of Spring Stravinsky drew quite a stir with this piece because it was very different from other ballets of the day. He had inharmonic notes which people were not used to hearing. They were looking for something beautiful, and they received something different. The ballet also had dancers dancing with their arms bent and landing on the floor. This was not what people wanted to see. People were so angry and uncomfortable with this ballet that many of them began to riot in the streets (Green). The ballet was also seen as a pagan ritual and there were scenes of violence and a “savage portrayal of pre-Christian Russia” (Dobrin 65). People were not prepared to see such things in a ballet. This was one of the first ballets that caused people to fear what they saw. It shows how different Stravinsky’s music was for the time period. 7. Conclusion Stravinsky’s work was very different for the public because of his use of inharmonic tones and intricate patterns of music. He was very meticulous about the work and has been described by many authors as a composer that was like a fine jeweler. His work with Rimsky-Korsakov presented him with an opportunity to dig deeply into composition and he soon began to write on his own. Although Stravinsky’s father wanted him to be a lawyer, Stravinsky showed that he could work as a musician. Works Cited Dobrin, Arnold. Igor Stravinsky: His Life and Times. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1970. Print. Green, Aaron. “The Rite of Spring Riot, 1913, Igor Stravinsky”. About.com. 2013. Web. 13 April 2013. Henahan, Donal. “Igor Stravinsky, the Composer, Dead at 88”. , On This Day: Obituary. The New York Times. 07 April 1971. Web. 10 April 2013. Herrndorf, Peter. “Igor Stravinsky.” Arts Alive. Music Arts Center. 2013. Web. 10 April 2013. “Igor Stravinsky.” Boosey & Hawkes. 2013. Web. 10 April 2013. “Igor Stravinsky, Composer.” Balletmet. 2013. Web. 11 April 2013. “Igor Stravinsky”. Oracle Thinkquest. 2013. Web. 11 April 2013. Oliver, Michael. Igor Stravinsky. London: Phaidon Press, Ltd., 1995. Print. Schwartz, Steve. “Igor Stravinsky.” Classicalnet.com. 2013. Web. 10 April 2013. Tuttle, Ray. “The Firebird, Les Noces”. Classicalnet.com. 2003. Web. 10 April 2013. Venezia, Mike. Igor Stravinsky. New York: Children’s Press, 1996. Print. Read More