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Igor Stravinsky is probably the most influential composer of the twentieth century. Russian by birth, he spent much of his life in exile, either in France, Switzerland and ultimately the USA. This course will concentrate on three influential scores that he composed in for Sergei Diaghilev, The Firebird (1910) Petrushka (1911) and the Rite of Spring (1913). Although they were composed and premiered in Paris they each look back to his native Russia with themes associated with folklore and ancient ritual. We will be considering each of these works in tandem with the visual arts produced at the same time. The Firebird occupies the world of Russian folklore and the Nationalist tradition. We will be looking at

pictures by artists such as Savrasov, Levitan, Repin, Vasnetsov Kustodiev etc. Petrushka is probably his first truly modernist score and its jagged rhythms and harsh dissonances can be compared with early Russian Modernists artists such as Malevich, Goncharova and Tatlin The Rite of Spring is probably his most significant work, if not THE most significant musical composition of the twentieth century. A complete rendition of this work will be illustrated with pictures by Kandinsky.