Stravinsky… the neoclassical years.

This month SCMT are featuring Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. In our last blog we covered his ballet years, through the early 1900s. But what came next?

In his early career Stravinsky wrote many ballet scores but from the 1920s he moved forward while at the same time looking back. He wrote symphonies, concertos and operas using form, structures, instrumentation, and themes that were used in the Baroque and Classical periods.

His famous works from this period included:

Pulcinella – A ballet score that took structure and instrumentation  from the Baroque era and is even thought to have been based on a Baroque composition.

Symphonies of Wind Instruments – Using form and structure used in the Classical period.

Orpheus – Using classical form, structure and instrumentation and looking back at the classical theme of Greek mythology.