Born a Russian but later also
acquiring French and American nationality, Stravinsky is one of the most
influential composers of the 20th century. His music is most widely
known for the up-beat, energetic rhythmic structure, sort of like the techno
music of the 20th century (although I’m sure Stravinsky would turn
over in his grave if he ever read this). Modern listeners might not find his off-beat
rhythms strange, but for his time he was quite a revolutionist and rebel. His
debut of The Rite of Spring in 1913
actually caused a music riot! By the time the orchestra got to the second act
the police had to kick in to calm the situation down.
His
piece titled Symphony in Three Movements,
is characteristic of his style with an up-beat, almost war march like feel to
it. All of these characteristics are accentuated by the plucking of the violins
on the beats that pop out, as well as the running scales going in the back
ground. This is for sure a piece you want to listen to before, say, a big test
or a work out, rather than before you go to bed. The piece is also,
characteristic of Stravinsky, filled with complex rhythms and time signatures.
I would imagine that some very skilled players are probably required for the
execution of this piece in order to keep all the parts moving together at the
complex time changes. I personally like to relax when I listen to classical
music and this piece is all but relaxing. It is full of passion and zeal.
This
piece was composed in the latter part of Stravinsky’s life when he turned more
towards a neoclassical style. This type of style usually pays tribute to
earlier composers like J.S. Bach and Tchaikovsky. Pieces composed in this style
also usually closely relates to concerto grosso’s or symphony’s. During this
period Stravinsky also made use of a serial style of composing. This simply
means that he used many different note values to denote a complex rhythm, without
changing the time signature. All in all, Stravinsky was a trend setter for his
time.
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