Stravinsky's Scherzo fantastique

Author: Sun Jia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Russian composer and conductor, an important figure in Western modernist music. His father was a bass singer at the St. Petersburg Imperial Opera. He studied composition with Rimsky-Korsakov. In 1939, he settled in the United States and later acquired French and American citizenship. His works are numerous and stylistically diverse. His creative career can be divided into three stages. Early works, such as the orchestral piece Fireworks (1908), the ballet The Firebird (1910), and Petrushka (1911), exhibit Impressionist and Expressionist styles. Mid-period works, such as the oratorio Oedipus Rex (1927) and the choral Symphony of Psalms (1930), lean toward neoclassicism, employing ancient forms and styles while advocating for the "absolute music" of abstraction. Late-period works, such as the Ebony Concerto (1945) and the opera The Journey of the Prodigal Son (1951), blend various modernist techniques such as the twelve-tone system, serial music, and pointillistic music. The silent drama The Story of a Soldier (1918) incorporates dance, performance, recitation, and a series of passages played by 7 instruments, without any singing roles, showcasing the unrestrained nature of his creative style.