Igor+Stravinsky+and+Sergei+Prokofie

Group 2--Music **THE RUSSIANS**

**Igor Stravinsky (June 17, 1882 - April 6, 1971) ** [|**Stravinsky on TIME 100**] **__Life:__** Born in tsarist Russia in 1882, Stravinsky was the son of famous opera singer Fyodor Stravinsky. Though his father initially sent him into law studies, the year of his father's death, Stravinsky began studying with Rimsky-Korsokov and started his official composition studies. Stravinsky was forced to flee from Russia in 1914, as life was becoming restricted and possibly dangerous for artists. Stravinsky first lived in Switzerland, and later, he moved to Paris. He never returned to Russia, since he was technically permanently exiled.

After living in the United States for a period of time, Stravinsky returned to Paris and became a French citizen. Throughout the latter half of his life, Stravinsky relied heavily on performances rather than compositions for finance.

**__Music:__** Stravinsky's music underwent extreme changes throughout his lifetime, much more drastic than Prokofiev's music. Russian composers such as these two were not the only ones whose music evolved significantly over time. John Lennon and The Beatles, an entirely different genre, also noticeably altered their style.

Beginning with rich Romantic music, Stravinsky's //Firebird// embodies the first phase of his composing and is quite a contrast in comparison to his later composition style, such as the //Rite of Spring//.



Firebird

Stravinsky launched the Modernism movement in European music, most notably with the premier of his //Rite of Spring//. The premier of this auspicious work caused riots and protests, as both famous composers, such as Camille Saint-Saens, and the general public responded negatively and violently to this sudden change in tonality, style, instrumentation, and the fashion which the instruments were played.

In 1920, Stravinsky's music took a turn to a "neo-classical" style with his //Pulcinella Suite// for ballet. For the premier of //Pulcinella//, Stravinsky worked together with Pablo Picasso on its production.

The final transition of Stravinsky's music was after he accepted Arnold Schoenberg's style of twelve-tone music after defying it for years. This acceptance in the 1950s led to Stravinsky using some of Schoenberg's techniques in his compositions.

[|Click here to watch Stravinsky conducting his own //Firebird//.]

__**Relation to European Affairs:**__ Part of the reason for the extreme evolution Stravinsky's compositions experienced throughout his lifetime is his sudden relocatons.

In 1914, Stravinsky became one of the first emigres of the Russian musical community, which was good for him, as the Bolshevik takeover in 1917 deprived artists of their creative freedom. He moved to Switzerland for a time before settling down in Paris.

Because of World War II, Stravinsky fled from western Europe (France) to the United States in 1939 and settled down in Hollywood, where he both influenced American artists as well as absorbed some of their style into his own music. He later returned to France.

** Sergei Prokofiev (April 27, 1891 - March 5, 1953) [|Prokofiev Page] ** **__Life:__** Sergei Prokofiev, born in Ukraine of the former USSR, was a pianist and a conductor. At age 5, Prokofiev had already composed his first piece for piano. Soon afterwards, he also became a brilliant chess player, in addition to his already manifesting musical talents. In 1901, he finished his first opera, "The Giant," staged only for family and friends. From that experience, he pursued music from then on, and his mother decided that he needed better instruction, to be found at Moscow. Much of his musical prowess was gathered during his time at the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1904 to 1914.  <span style="FONT-SIZE: 110%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif">He also spent many years in Paris and Ettal in the Bavarian Alps, as well as touring the United States five times. Prokofiev lived through both World War I and World War II. His personal life and the effects of the Wars had a significant effect on his music, leading him to pioneer a new musical path through many genres. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif">**__Music:__** A composer of nearly all genres like Stravinsky, Prokofiev's music is marked by alternating lyrical melodies and seemingly dissonant phrases. His music characterized much of Russian culture and life of the time, often having a militaristic, marching beat and/or harsh tones. He is famous for composing operas, symphonies, concertos, film pieces, ballets, and program pieces. His //Romeo and Juliet// and //Cinderella// are his most famous ballets, and their immense popularity is a lasting effect.

Romeo & Juliet

Prokofiev was a contemporary and a competitor of Stravinsky. Envious of the effect that //Rite of Spring// and //Petrouchka// had on the public and musical community in 1913, Prokofiev strove to achieve even greater results, as his //Romeo and Juliet// at the time wasn't nearly as significant as Stravinsky's works. The result of his efforts came with the //Scythian Suite//, which, although did not cause riots, caused classicists and other respectable musicians to run out of the premier in protest. However, contrary to the reception of //Rite of Spring//, the public generally seemed to receive the //Scythian Suite// rather well.

[|Click Here to watch Jascha Heifetz playing Prokofiev's //March//]

[|Click Here to Watch part of Romeo and Juliet]

Prokofiev was strongly influenced by European affairs. This led his music to go through changes over time, though not quite as drastic as that of Stravinsky.
 * __Relation to European Affairs:__**

Originally, when the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 occurred, Prokofiev locked himself up in a room listening to the bullets. In that setting, he composed the cantata //Seven, They Are Seven// as an anti-Bolshevik piece.

Though musicians' creative freedom was suppressed in Russia after the revolution, Prokofiev remained in Russia until leaving in 1918 for better prospects. The Bolsheviks apparently did not find his music to be as contrary to Bolshevism as that of other composers.

Though many musicians of the time attempted to compose music with veiled criticism of communism in Russia, Prokofiev seemed to strive to truly glorify communism and Marxist, Stalinist, and Leninist theories through his music. His Cantata //for the Twentieth Anniversary of the October Revolution// was an obvious attempt to do so, transforming a harsh reality into lyrical and soaring melodies with the intention of inspiring. This was a significant change

In the 1920s, when Russia began really industrializing, Prokofiev composed the ballet //Le Pas d'acier Suite//. This extolled Russian industrialization, also with lyrical melodies, again emphasizing the different stance he had taken since his initial protests againt the Bolshevik revolution.

His Symphony No. 5, "War Sonatas," composed after he returned permanently to Russia, were finished in 1944, three years after Germany invaded Russia during World War II in 1941.

__**<span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif">Bibliography: **__ <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif">http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/stravinsky3.html <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif">http://www.pianoparadise.com/stravinsky.jpg <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif">http://www.kith.org/jimmosk/turlish.html <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif">http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00022/prokofiev1_22403t.jpg http://www.prokofiev.org/biography/index.html http://www.essentialsofmusic.com/composer/stravinsky.html [|www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCS7on6igXg] [|www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNqP-PO66c8] [|www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tGA6bpscj8] http://www.siue.edu/~aho/musov/proko/prokofiev1.html [|www.yurisimonov.com] http://www.naxos.com/composerinfo/Sergey_Prokofiev/20990.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNqP-PO66c8 http://www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=c&p=a&a=i&ID=756 http://fmg-www.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/prognotes/stravinsky/pulcinella.html [|http://www.opusarte.com/productGallery_images/91893542/Firebird3.jpg] http://www.milwaukeeballet.org/images/romeo_new_main.gif