Igor Stravinsky: biography and photos

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Igor Stravinsky, whose biography is presented in this article, is an outstanding Russian composer, pianist and conductor. He is a representative of musical modernism. Igor Fedorovich is one of the largest representatives of world art.

Biography

In 1882, June 17, Igor Stravinsky was born. A brief biography of the composer's parents gives an idea of where the boy has such a craving for music. His father - Fedor Ignatievich - was an opera singer, soloist of the Mariinsky Theater, Honored Artist of Russia. Mother Anna Kirillovna was a pianist. She took part in her husband's concerts as an accompanist. The family hosted artists, musicians and writers in their home. F. M. Dostoevsky was a frequent visitor to the Stravinskys. From childhood, Igor Stravinsky also became attached to music. A photo of the composer's parents is presented in this article.

At the age of 9, the future composer began taking piano lessons. When Igor Fedorovich graduated from high school, his parents insisted that he get a law degree.education. The future composer studied at St. Petersburg University and at the same time independently studied musical and theoretical disciplines. His only composing school was the private lessons that Igor Fedorovich took from Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov. Under the guidance of this great man, I. Stravinsky wrote the first works. In 1914, Igor Fedorovich left with his family for Switzerland. Soon the First World War began, because of which the Stravinskys did not return to Russia. A year later, the composer moved to France. Since 1936, Igor Fedorovich began to travel to the United States on tour. After World War II began, he moved permanently to America. In 1944, I. Stravinsky made an unusual arrangement of the US anthem and performed the work at a concert. For this he was arrested. He was owed a fine for distorting the anthem. The composer himself preferred not to advertise what happened and always said that in fact there was nothing like that. In 1945, the composer received American citizenship. Igor Fedorovich died in 1971. The cause of death is heart failure. The composer was buried in the Russian part of the San Michele cemetery in Venice.

Creative path

As mentioned above, under the guidance of Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov, Igor Stravinsky wrote his very first works. The composer presented them to the public, and Sergei Diaghilev was present at one of these performances. He highly appreciated the music of Igor Stravinsky. Soonthe famous impresario offered Igor Fedorovich cooperation. He commissioned him to write music for the ballet for his "Russian Seasons" in Paris. I. Stravinsky collaborated with S. Diaghilev for three years and during this time he wrote three ballets for his troupe, which made him famous: The Rite of Spring, Petrushka and The Firebird. In 1924, Igor Fedorovich made his debut as a pianist. Igor Stravinsky performed his own work, the Concerto for Piano and Brass Band, on stage. The conductor appeared in him even before that. In this capacity, he acted from 1915 to 1926. He mainly conducted the performance of his own works. He was very demanding of musicians. In the 1950s and 1960s, an audio recording of most of his compositions was made. In 1962, I. Stravinsky came on tour to the USSR.

Private life

In 1906, the composer married his cousin, Ekaterina Nosenko. It was a marriage of great love. The Stravinskys had four children: Milena, Lyudmila, Svyatoslav and Fedor. The sons became famous artists. Fedor is an artist, and Svyatoslav is a pianist and composer. Daughter Lyudmila was the wife of the poet Yuri Mandelstam. Due to the fact that Catherine suffered from consumption, the Stravinskys left for the winter in Switzerland, the damp air of St. Petersburg had a detrimental effect on her he alth. In 1914, Igor Fedorovich and his family had to stay in Switzerland for a long time, they could not return to Russia due to the outbreak of the First World War, followed by a revolution. All your property and money that remained inRussia, the family lost. This fact was perceived as a catastrophe by Igor Stravinsky. The composer's family was rather big, and they all had to be fed. In addition to his wife and four children, there was also a sister, nephews and mother. I. Stravinsky during this period stopped receiving roy alties for the performance of his works in Russia. It happened because he emigrated. All his works published in our country were allowed to be performed without paying money to the author. To improve the financial situation, Igor Stravinsky made new editions of his compositions. The personal life of the composer was not without legends. He was credited with an affair with Coco Chanel. When I. Stravinsky had almost no means of subsistence, Mademoiselle helped him. She invited the composer and his family to live in her villa. Igor Fedorovich lived with Mademoiselle Chanel for two years. She sponsored the organization of I. Stravinsky's concerts and supported his family. When the composer no longer lived in her villa, for another 13 years Koko sent him money every month. All this gave rise to rumors about their romance. In addition, Coco was a loving woman. But these rumors are unlikely to be true. I. Stravinsky was only interested in the money of the Frenchwoman.

In 1939, the wife of Igor Fedorovich died. After some time I. Stravinsky got married again. His second wife was an old friend of the composer - Vera Arturovna Sudeikina.

Russian period in creativity

Igor Stravinsky, whose photos are presented in this article, at the first stage of his career development is1908-1923 - wrote mainly ballets and operas. This period of his career is called "Russian". All the works written by him at this time have much in common. All of them contain motifs and themes of Russian folklore. The ballet The Firebird clearly shows the stylistic features inherent in the works of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Neoclassical period in creativity

This is the next stage in the development of the composer's creative path. It lasted until 1954. The opera "Mavra" laid the foundation for it. The basis of this period was the rethinking of styles and trends in the music of the 18th century. At the end of this period, in the development of his work, the composer turns to antiquity, to the mythology of ancient Greece. The ballet "Orpheus" and the opera "Persephone" were written. The last work of I. Stravinsky, relating to neoclassicism, is The Adventures of the Rake. This is an opera based on W. Hogarth's sketches.

Serial period in creativity

In the 50s, Igor Stravinsky began to use the principle of seriality. The transitional work of this period was the Cantata, written on verses by unknown English poets. In it, total polyphonization in music is obvious. Subsequent works of this time were completely serial, in which the composer completely abandoned tonality. "Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah" is a completely dodecaphone composition.

Musical Theater Works

List of operas, ballets, fairy tales and scenes written by composer Igor Stravinsky:

• The Wedding (libretto by Igor Stravinsky).
• "Ballet scenes".
• "Petrushka" (libretto by A. Benois).
• Agon.
• Playing Cards (libretto by Igor Stravinsky).
• Apollo Musagete.
• "The Firebird" (libretto by M. Fokin).
• Persephone.
• Fairy's Kiss (libretto by Igor Stravinsky).
• Pulcinella.
• "Mavra" (libretto by B. Kokhno based on the poem by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin).
• "Flood".
• "The Tale of a Fox, a Rooster, a Cat and a Sheep" (libretto by Igor Stravinsky).
• Orpheus.
• "Story of a Soldier" (libretto by C. F. Ramyu, based on Russian fairy tales).
• "The sacred spring".
• "The Rake's Adventures" (libretto by C. Collman and W. Auden based on paintings by W. Hogarth).
• Oedipus Rex.
• "The Nightingale" (libretto by S. Mitusov based on the fairy tale by H. H. Andersen).

List of works for orchestra

• "The Funeral Song".
• Symphony in C.
• Scherzo in Russian style.
• "Concert dancing".
• Congratulatory prelude.
• Symphony Es-dur.
• Dumbarton Oaks.
• Violin Concerto in D major.
• "Fireworks".
• “A circus polka for a young elephant.”
• Divertissement.
• "The Firebird" - a suite from the ballet.
• Capriccio for piano and orchestra.
• "Four Norwegian Moods".
• Basel concert.
• Fantastic scherzo.
• Suite from the ballet Pulcinella.
• Variations dedicated to the memory of Aldous Huxley.
• Ode.
• Concert forpiano, brass band, timpani and double basses.
• Movements for piano and orchestra.
• Symphony in three movements.

For choir

Igor Stravinsky wrote many choral works. Among them:

• "Memory Introit".
• "Symphony of Psalms" (for choir and orchestra).
• "Lamentation of the prophet Jeremiah".
• Cantata "Sermon, parable and prayer" (for viola, tenor, reciter, choir, and orchestra).
• "Symbol of Faith" (work for choir without musical accompaniment).
• Cantata on poems by K. Balmont "Star-faced".
• "Our Father" (for choir without musical accompaniment).
• "Chants for the Dead".
• "Rejoice Virgin Mary."
• Cantata "Babylon" (for reciter, male choir and orchestra).
• Sacred chant in the name of Saint Mark.
• "Mass" (for mixed choir with brass ensemble).
• Cantata on poems by anonymous poets of England 15th-16th centuries
• "Podblyudnye" - Russian peasant songs for women's choir.
• Hymn on lyrics by T. Eliot.

List of chamber works

• Ebony concert.
• Elegy for viola.
• Three pieces for clarinet.
• "The Story of a Soldier" - suite from the opera for violin, clarinet and piano.
• Symphony for wind instruments dedicated to C. Debussy.
• Concert duet.
• Three pieces for string quartet.
• Epitaph to the gravestone of M. Egon.
• Prelude for jazz band.
• Concertino for string quartet.
• Ragtime.
• Double canon in memory of R. Dufy.
• Fanfare for two trumpets.
• Septet for strings, winds and piano.
• Lullaby for two recorders.
• Octet for woodwinds.

In memory of the composer

The music school in Oranienbaum bears the name of Igor Stravinsky. Postage stamps and coins were issued in honor of the composer. In the French city of Montreux there is a musical auditorium named after Igor Stravinsky. The planet Mercury has a crater named after him. The name "Igor Stravinsky" is carried by a tourist ship and an Aeroflot A-319 aircraft. In honor of the great Russian composer are named: a street in Amsterdam, a fountain in Paris, an alley in Lausanne, a square in Oranienbaum. In Ukraine (Volyn) a museum of Igor Stravinsky was opened. And since 1994, an international music festival named after this composer, conductor and pianist has been held there.