Igor Stravinsky 1882-1971

HE WAS the father of modern music, the driving force behind the art in the twentieth century. With a combination of talent and courage, he opened the pathway down which hundreds of composers have since come. Everyone must know by now the story of the riot at the premiere of Le Sacre du Printemps, of the mingled approbation and opprobrium he earned for it. By the time of his death, he had gotten a place in the standard repertoire, but he never lost his talent, or his courage.

Stravinsky's career spanned a series of distinguished creations. Petrouchka, L' Histoire du Soldat, Oedipus Rex, dozens more. But perhaps his true spirit is reflected as well in his later works, his short pieces composed when he no longer had the energy for major works. His arrangements of poems and other texts, like his setting of The Dove Descending Breaks the Air. his short fanfares, his occasional pieces and variations, all are touched by his genius. Although his health failed drastically in his later years, and most of his business was carried on by an assistant, his creative career was longer than that of almost any other great composer.

Stravinsky's death will probably lead to a spate of evaluations of his effect upon the art. Many pages will be used up, many hours will be spent, but the net of it all will be merely to prove that he was the composer of the century, the man who set the tone for composers of his age, and for ages to come.