Early 20th-Century Modernism—Igor Stravinsky

Overview

Debussy was a powerful influence on Igor Stravinsky, who absorbed the French composer’s use of pedals and ostinati and his avoidance of traditional pitch collections. But Stravinsky goes further in his creation of complex webs of interactive thematic lines, and unlike that of Debussy, Stravinsky’s music exudes a powerful sense of kinetic energy and drive through the use of asymmetrical rhythms. Key elements of Stravinsky’s innovative genius are manifest in his groundbreaking The Rite of Spring of 1912.