The Life and Times of Igor Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring created a near-riot when it premiered in Paris in 1913. Neither the music nor the dancing was like anything that audiences had seen before. Fistfights broke out among the spectators and their noise level was close to that of a modern rock concert. Three years earlier, Stravinsky was virtually unknown. He had had to overcome serious parental objections to even begin composing. Yet by the time that The Rite of Spring premiered, he was already famous for composing The Firebird and Petrushka. These three works—among his very earliest—remain his most popular. Stravinsky was a prolific composer for well over half a century, achieving success in a variety of musical styles. An exile from his native Russia for 48 years, he finally returned in 1962 to a great deal of acclaim. Many people consider him to be one of the greatest composers of the twentieth century.