Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: ́Игорь Фёдорович Страв́инский Igor' Fjodorovič Stravinskij) (born June 17, 1882, Oranienbaum- now Lomonosov- near St. Petersburg, Russia - died April 6, 1971, New York City) was a Russian-born composer
A quintessentially cosmopolitan Russian, Stravinsky was one of the most influential composers and artists of 20th century music, both in the West and in his native land. He was named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people of the century.
Although he composed primitivist, neo-classical and serial works, he is best known for three compositions from his earlier, Russian period: L'Oiseau de feu ("The Firebird") (1910), Petrushka (1911), and Le sacre du printemps ("The Rite of Spring") (1913). These daring and innovative ballets practically reinvented the genre. Stravinsky also wrote for a wide range of ensembles in a broad spectrum of classical forms, ranging from opera and symphonies to piano miniatures and works for jazz band.
Stravinsky began re-thinking his use of the motif and ostinato as early as The Firebird ballet, but his use of these elements reached its full flowering in The Rite of Spring.
Motivic development, that is using a distinct musical phrase that is subsequently altered and developed throughout a piece of music, has its roots in the sonata form of Mozart's age. The first great innovator in this method was Beethoven; the famous "fate motif" which opens Fifth Symphony and reappears throughout the work in surprising and refreshing permutations is a classic example. However, Stravinsky's use of motivic development was unique in the way he permutated his motifs. In the "Rite of Spring" he introduces additive permutations, that is, subtracting or adding a note to a motif without regard to changes in meter.
The same ballet is also notable for its relentless use of ostinati. The most famous passage, as noted above, is the eighth note ostinato of the strings accented by eight horn that occurs in the section Auguries of Spring (Dances of the Young Girls). This is perhaps the first instance in music of extended ostinato which is neither used for variation nor for accompaniment of melody. At various other times in the work Stravinsky also pits several ostinati against one another without regard to harmony or tempo, creating a pastiche, a sort of musical equivalent of a Cubist painting. These passages are notable not only for this pastiche-quality but also for their length: Stravinsky treats them as whole and complete musical sections.
Such techniques foreshadowed by several decades the minimalist works of composers such as Terry Riley and Steve Reich.
