Diaghilev then entrusted Nijinksy with the choreography of The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps), on which Stravinsky collaborated with the painter Nicolas Roerich who created the sets and costumes.
Vaslav Nijinsky’s extraordinary performance in the role of Petrushka, made the dancer, as well, an over-night star.
The following year, Stravinsky’s success was confirmed at Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet with a second ballet, Petrouchka, the story of three puppets brought to life by a magician. Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Florent Schmitt welcomed him enthusiastically and the young composer joined the Parisian artistic circles of the time frequented by Picasso, Braque, Cocteau and Satie. The performance was a triumph and marked the beginning of fame for Stravinsky, then only 28. Firebird (L’Oiseau de Feu), choreographed by Michel Fokine, opened at the Paris Opera in 1910. He then commissioned a ballet inspired by a Russian folktale. Initially, Diaghilev asked Stravinsky to orchestrate Chopin’s Nocturne and Valse Brillante. For the next 20 years, Diaghilev would remain both Stravinsky’s friend and impresario Impressed by these works, Diaghilev encouraged Stravinsky to compose for his company. In 1909, Sergei Diaghilev, the director of the itinerant ballet company Ballets Russes, discovered Igor Stravinsky’s compositions Scherzo Fantastique and Fireworks. Catherine, a fine musician in her own right, was a valuable aid for Igor, reading and faithfully copying his scores. Igor and Catherine had known each other since childhood and shared many interests. The following year, he married his cousin, Catherine Nossenko, with whom he had four children. Omelno 1906 – Igor & Catherine Stravinsky *Īfter the death of his own father in 1902, Igor Stravinsky became financially independent and expanded his circle of acquaintances to include such artists as Claude Debussy, Cesar Franck, Emmanuel Chabrier and Paul Dukas. During vacations in the country, Igor was also exposed to Russian peasant songs, music that would influence his early compositions. He also regularly attended performances at the famous Imperial Mariinsky Theater where his father often performed. From his earliest years, Stravinsky appreciated music and he began piano lessons at age nine. Their home and its exceptional library attracted many artists of the time and the young Igor grew up in a cultured atmosphere. Igor’s father, Fyodor Ignatievich Stravinsky, first bass of the Imperial Opera, and his mother, an excellent pianist, held high intellectual standards. Petersburg, the city created by Peter the Great that became the Russian Empire’s political and cultural center for over 200 years. Feodorovitch Igor Stravinsky was born on J(June 5, according to the old Russian calendar) in Orianenbaum (now Lomonosov), a small Russian resort on the Gulf of Finland.
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