[[quoteright:193:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/igorstravinsky_9714.png]]
[[caption-width-right:193:''"I haven't understood a bar of music in my life, but I have felt it."'']]

->''I-Gor-Stra-Vin-Sky-Is-A-Son-Of-A-Bitch.''
-->--Mnemonic to count drum hits in a movement of ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring''.

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (June 17, 1882 - April 6, 1971) was a Russian-born composer. He is the only classical composer present on Magazine/TimeMagazine's list of "100 People of the 20th Century". Regardless of what criticism people might have of this list, Igor Stravinsky is widely acknowledged as a massively influential composer and one of the most important and iconic figures of modern classical music.

Stravinsky's most famous works include three early ballets: ''Theatre/TheFirebird'', ''Theatre/{{Petrushka}}'', and ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring''. ''Theatre/TheFirebird'' is one of the most accessible and popular works the composer wrote and was his first major work, premiering in 1910. Many people will recognize certain parts of the piece due to its use in ''{{WesternAnimation/Fantasia 2000}}'' and the opening for live concerts of {{Music/Yes}}. It was frequently compared to the works of Music/ClaudeDebussy by critics. It uses many more Romantic elements than Stravinsky's later work.

''Theatre/{{Petrushka}}'' is a ballet about a puppet that come to life. It premiered in 1911, and is a more modernistic work, using more polytonality and polyrhythms. Although less accessible it nevertheless found critical success upon its debut, and is very popular today.

''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring'' was a ballet portraying a savage tribal ritual in which a virgin is sacrificed to bring about spring; it premiered in 1913. It uses dissonance, primitive melodies, polyrhythm, and polytonality, to express this. It was met with extreme hostility on its opening night (the legend is that the audience rioted, but there’s no evidence whatever for this; it did get a lot of hissing, though.) The piece was fairly quickly critically acclaimed as a masterpiece, and is one of the most famous works of classical music of the modern era, and of all time. Creator/WaltDisney even used it in the original ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'', which cemented its reputation and even [[OvershadowedByControversy overshadowed it]]. (Stravinsky is the only composer of a piece used in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'' films that actually was alive to see it used on the movie in theaters. Unfortunately, [[DisownedAdaptation he hated it]].)

This is by no means the entirety of Stravinsky's work, as he went through a multitude of styles after the three ballets for which he is most remembered. His change in style throughout his career has been compared to that of Creator/PabloPicasso. Among other works were the ballet ''Theatre/{{Agon}}'', the ballet ''Theatre/{{Pulcinella}}'', and the opera ''[[Theatre/TheRakesProgress The Rake's Progress]]''.

Rumoured that he had an affair with French couturier UsefulNotes/CocoChanel, although this is likely untrue.

!!This creator provides examples of the following tropes:

* AvantGardeMusic: Stravinsky's music pushed the boundaries of harmony, rhythm, and instrumental technique far beyond what was conventional in his day.
* ArtStyleDissonance: Despite his reputation for dissonance most of his work is actually quite melodic.
* BadassBoast: When Stravinsky played sections of ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring'' to ballet choreographer Sergei Diaghilev Diaghilev was shocked by the dissonance. So he asked Stravinsky: "How long does this go on?" To which the composer snapped back: "Until the very end!"
* BiggerIsBetter: Like many tropes, played straight early in his career and averted later. His three great ballets use enormous orchestras, but he began to show more interest in writing for smaller or more unusual bands. ''Les Noces'' (The Wedding), his next big ballet after ''The Rite of Spring'', ended up using a pit with nothing but percussion instruments (including four pianos).
* DealWithTheDevil: Central plot in ''[[Theatre/LHistoireDuSoldat L'Histoire du Soldat]]'' ("The Soldiers' Tale") and ''[[Theatre/TheRakesProgress The Rake's Progress]]''.
* DeconReconSwitch: While ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring'' blew up musical conventions, he later became a cofounder of Neoclassicism, which essentially was a Reconstruction of pre-Romantic ClassicalMusic.
* GenreMashup: Some of this composer's music shows influence of [[Music/{{Ragtime}} ragtime]] and [[{{Jazz}} jazz]].
** All of ''[[Music/RagtimeForElevenInstruments Ragtime for Eleven Instruments]]'', the solo piano work ''[[Music/PianoRagMusic Piano-Rag-Music]]'', the last movement of the ''[[Music/ThreePiecesForClarinetSolo Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo]]'' and the ragtime movements from ''[[Theatre/LHistoireDuSoldat L'Histoire du Soldat]]'' ("The Soldiers' Tale") show significant ragtime influence.
** The ''Music/EbonyConcerto'' (written for jazz clarinetist Music/WoodyHerman) and the second movement of the ''[[Music/ThreePiecesForClarinetSolo Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo]]'' show significant jazz influence. Other works, such as ''Theatre/{{Agon}}'', ''Theatre/{{Orpheus}}'', ''[[Music/{{Persephone}} Perséphone]]'', and the ''[[Music/SymphonyInThreeMovements Symphony in Three Movements]]'' do as well, per the composer.
* {{Homage}}: The composer wrote several "in memoriam" works, especially in his final years. Not surprising given that he outlived many of his friends.
** An early example of this trope is ''Music/SymphoniesOfWindInstruments'' for wind ensemble, which is dedicated to the memory of Music/ClaudeDebussy.
** ''Music/InMemoriamDylanThomas'' for tenor voice, string quartet, and four trombones, in memory of [[Creator/DylanThomas this author]].
** ''Music/{{Epitaphium}}'' for flute, clarinet, and harp, in memory of [[UsefulNotes/MaxEgonZuFurstenburg Prince Max Egon zu Fürstenberg]].
** ''[[Music/DoubleCanonRaoulDufyInMemoriam Double Canon ("Raoul Dufy in Memoriam")]]'' for string quartet, in memory of [[Creator/RaoulDufy this painter]].
** The last movement of the {{cantata}} ''[[Music/ASermonANarrativeAndAPrayer A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer]]'' is dedicated to the memory of [[UsefulNotes/JamesMcLane Reverend James McLane]].
** ''[[Music/ElegyForJFK Elegy for J. F. K.]]'' for solo voice and three clarinets, in memory of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy.
** ''[[Music/VariationsAldousHuxleyInMemoriam Variations: Aldous Huxley in Memoriam]]'' for orchestra, in memory of [[Creator/AldousHuxley this author]].
* LighterAndSofter: After ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring'', Stravinsky never wrote anything as overtly extreme or shocking ever again.
* LivingToys: ''Theatre/{{Petrushka}}'', about a puppet that comes to life.
* MoodMotif: Used in ''[[Theatre/LHistoireDuSoldat L'Histoire du Soldat]]'' ("The Soldiers' Tale").
* OddFriendship: He was mutual admirers with Music/CharlieParker, surprising many in both the classical and jazz worlds. In retrospect, this shouldn't have been surprising given that some of his music shows jazz and ragtime influence.
* OlderIsBetter: Between 1920 and 1950 Stravinsky composed a lot of neoclassical works, where he reinvented 18th century style baroque music, sometimes to the point of parody.
* PopCulturalOsmosis: Stravinsky is still popularly associated with the scandal of ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring'', more than any other composition he wrote during his life. Still the infamy helped his name to be recognized all around the world.
* RealMenLoveJesus: After abandoning the Russian Orthodox Christian faith in his mid-teens, Stravinsky reverted to the faith in his early forties and remained devout for the rest of his life. He prayed daily, before and after composing, and when facing difficulty. He even composed some sacred works, like a Roman Catholic Mass and his ''Symphony of Psalms''. He once stated:
-->"The Church knew what the psalmist knew: Music praises God. Music is well or better able to praise Him than the building of the church and all its decoration; it is the Church's greatest ornament."
* RefugeInAudacity: If you compare ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring'' to the music before it, it's ''incredibly'' brutal. It de-emphasized traditional melody (often relying on brief melodic cells), and the overwhelming focus is on pounding, often irregular rhythm. With a good orchestra and conductor in a decent hall, it's like listening to metal, only less predictable and so more disturbing. Back in 1913, there was literally nothing like it.
** The piece is so close to 20th-century metal that it can be [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFG70gFbvOg played on electric guitar]] and sound ''right at home''.
* ShoutOut: In his neoclassical works Stravinsky often provided little shout outs to composers from previous centuries.
* SmallReferencePools: Stravinsky is the most famous composer of the first half of the 20th century, at any rate.
* UncommonTime: Used this so much he nearly inverted it, and considered it noteworthy when he wrote a piece (''Music/SymphonyInC'') that had no meter changes at all. Generally considered the TropeCodifier for this tendency in modern ClassicalMusic, and undoubtedly a rather large influence on many of the legions of ProgressiveRock and ProgressiveMetal bands who use the trope as well.

!Igor Stravinsky in popular culture:
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'': ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring'' segment is a centrepiece in the first film. Igor Stravinsky was brought in to oversee the production, but didn't like how his music was re-edited to match the "story" Disney thought up for it and the small fee he received. He hated what Disney did to his music (mostly due to omitting a crucial ending to the segment out of controversy fears, something that nearly got Creator/WaltDisney sued by him) and hated animation for the rest of his life. ''WesternAnimation/Fantasia2000'' closes with another edited version of ''Theatre/TheFirebird''.
** An alternate version of ''Theatre/TheFirebird'' was used in the AffectionateParody ''WesternAnimation/AllegroNonTroppo''.
* Music/FrankZappa quoted from ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring'', ''Theatre/TheFirebird'' and ''[[Theatre/LHistoireDuSoldat L'Histoire du Soldat]]'' ("The Soldiers' Tale") a few times on his albums.
** ''Music/AbsolutelyFree'' quotes ''Theatre/{{Petrushka}}'' during "Status Back Baby", the Royal March from ''[[Theatre/LHistoireDuSoldat L'Histoire du Soldat]]'' ("The Soldiers' Tale") during "Soft Sell Conclusion" and the "Berceuse" from ''Theatre/TheFirebird'' during "Amnesia Vivace".
** "Igor's Boogie" from ''Music/BurntWeenySandwich'' is a {{Homage}}.
** Stravinsky is namedropped as one of the things Zappa might love during "Titties & Beer" from ''Music/ZappaInNewYork'' and ''Music/{{Lather}}''.
** "In-A-Gadda-Stravinsky" on ''Music/{{Guitar}}'' combines ''Music/InAGaddaDaVida'' by Music/{{Iron Butterfly|Band}} with the intro of ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring''.
** The theme from ''[[Theatre/LHistoireDuSoldat L'Histoire du Soldat]]'' ("The Soldiers' Tale") is covered on Zappa's ''Music/MakeAJazzNoiseHere''.
* Mentioned in Creator/AllanSherman's satirical commentary "The Ballad of Oh Boy."
* The 2009 French film ''Coco Chanel et Igor Stravinsky'' is a {{Biopic}} about the rumored affair between him and fashion designer UsefulNotes/CocoChanel. The opening scene detailed the premiere of ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring'' which resulted in a riot, but Coco Chanel (who was attending) was enthralled by it.
* ''Literature/MyUncleOswald'': Stravinsky is one of the celebrities of whom Uncle Oswald wants to collect the sperm from.
* The PostHardcore band, Music/RitesOfSpring, obviously named their band after his most famous ballet.
* The ProgressiveRock Music/{{Yes}}, as mentioned above, would open their shows with a segment from ''Theatre/TheFirebird'', and claimed him as a major influence on their style overall.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' composer Creator/NobuoUematsu has said that "OneWingedAngel" from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is a fusion of Stravinsky's style with that of Music/JimiHendrix.
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