June 17, 1882:
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky is born at no.137 Shveytsarsakya Ulitsa (Swiss Street) in Oranienbaum (Lomonosov), 40 km west of St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, the third of four children born to Fyodor Ignatyevich Stravinsky, bass singer at the Imperial Opera House (Mariinsky), St. Petersburg, and Anna Kirilovna Kholodovsky, daughter of an official in the Ministry of Estates in Kiev.
August 10, 1882:
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (0) is baptized in Nikolsky Cathedral, St. Petersburg.
May 9, 1893:
Igor Stravinsky (10) passes an entrance examination to the Second St. Petersburg Gymnasium.
November 18, 1893:
The Symphony no.6 of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (†0) is performed again, in the Hall of the Nobility, St. Petersburg. Unlike its premiere, three weeks ago before the composer’s death, it is received tumultuously. In the audience is Igor Stravinsky (11), brought to the occasion by his mother.
March 19, 1903:
At a party celebrating the 59th birthday of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov in St. Petersburg, Igor Stravinsky (20) meets the master for the first time.
March 19, 1904:
A cantata for the 60th birthday of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (60) by Igor Stravinsky (21) is performed for the first time, in the master’s St. Petersburg apartment, conducted by the composer. Also premiered is Stravinsky’s song Conductor and Tarantula.
October 16, 1904:
The opera Pan Voyevoda, by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (60) to words of Tyumenev, is performed for the first time, at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. An interested young protege of the composer, Igor Stravinsky (22), is in the audience.
February 22, 1905:
At a private performance for Rimsky-Korsakov (60) and his circle in St. Petersburg, a Piano Sonata in f# minor by Igor Stravinsky (22) is performed for the first time.
August 28, 1905:
Igor Stravinsky (23) announces his engagement to his cousin, Yekaterina Gavrilovna Nosenko, in St. Petersburg.
January 24, 1906:
Igor Stravinsky (23) marries Yekaterina Gavrilovna Nosenko in the Church of the Annunciation at Novaya Derevnya, near St. Petersburg. The ceremony is small and quiet due to the imperial prohibition against the marriage of first cousins. She is the daughter of a large landowner.
April 27, 1907:
The second and third movements of Igor Stravinsky’s (24) Symphony in Eb op.1 are premiered by the Russian court orchestra in a private performance at the Imperial Chapel, St. Petersburg, arranged by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (63). See 4 February 1908.
April 29, 1907:
Igor Stravinsky’s (24) Faun and Shepherdess for mezzo-soprano and orchestra op.2 to words of Pushkin, is premiered by the Russian court orchestra in a private performance at the Imperial Chapel arranged by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (63). See 29 February 1908.
October 31, 1907:
A wordless Pastorale for soprano and piano by Igor Stravinsky (25) is performed for the first time, to the Rimsky-Korsakov (63) circle in St. Petersburg.
December 25, 1907:
Two Romances op.6 for voice and piano by Igor Stravinsky (25) to words of Gorodetsky are performed for the first time, privately, at the home of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (63) in St. Petersburg. See 22 January 1908.
January 9, 1908:
Two works for voice and piano by Igor Stravinsky (25) are performed publicly for the first time, in St. Petersburg: Spring to words of Gorodetsky, and Pastorale, a vocalise.
January 22, 1908:
Two Romances op.6 for voice and piano by Igor Stravinsky (25) to words of Gorodetsky are performed publicly for the first time, in St. Petersburg. See 25 December 1907.
February 4, 1908:
Igor Stravinsky’s (25) Symphony in E flat op.1 is given its first public performance, in a public sight-reading by the Court Orchestra in St. Petersburg. See 27 April 1907.
February 29, 1908:
The first public performance of Igor Stravinsky’s (25) Faun and Shepherdess op.2 for mezzo-soprano and orchestra to words of Rushkin takes place in St. Petersburg. See 29 April 1907.
June 17, 1908:
Igor Stravinsky’s orchestral work Fireworks is performed for the first time, a few hours after the wedding of the dedicatees, Maximilian Steinberg and Nadezhda Rimsky-Korsakov on the composer’s 26th birthday. See 6 February 1909.
June 24, 1908:
Funeral services for Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov are given in the church of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The body of the composer is interred in the cemetery of the Novodyevichi Monastery. Igor Stravinsky (26) will later remember that it was “one of the unhappiest days of my life.”
January 30, 1909:
Funeral Song op.5 for orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (26) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg.
February 6, 1909:
Scherzo fantastique op.3 for orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (26) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg. Also possibly performed is an early version of Fireworks op.4. An interested ballet impressario named Sergey Dyaghilev is in the audience. See 17 June 1908.
December 9, 1909:
Among the four second prizes of the Glinka Prize, one goes to Alyeksandr Skryabin (37) for his Piano Sonata no.5 and one to Igor Stravinsky (27) for his Scherzo fantastique.
January 22, 1910:
Fireworks op.4 for orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (27) is performed publicly for the first time, in St. Petersburg. See 17 June 1908.
June 25, 1910:
The Firebird, a ballet by Igor Stravinsky (28) to a scenario by Fokin, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. After the performance, Claude Debussy (47) is brought on stage to meet the young composer and compliments him warmly.
November 5, 1910:
Suite from The Firebird for orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (28) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg. See 25 June 1910.
January 26, 1911:
Two Poems of Verlaine for voice and piano by Igor Stravinsky (28) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg.
June 13, 1911:
Petrushka, a ballet by Igor Stravinsky (28) to a story by Benois, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris. Present is Maurice Ravel (36).
May 29, 1912:
Claude Debussy’s (49) Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune is danced for the first time, in the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris. The part of the faun is taken by the choreographer, Vaclav Nizhinsky. It causes such a scandal that police will be called out for the second performance. A young composer named Igor Stravinsky (29) is in the audience.
June 8, 1912:
Maurice Ravel’s (37) symphonie choreographique Daphnis et Chloè to a scenario by Fokin after Longus, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris. The work is not a success. One box contains the party of Mme Ravel and her sons, along with Florent Schmitt (41) and Igor Stravinsky (29).
June 10, 1912:
At the home of Louis Laloy in Paris, Igor Stravinsky (29) and Claude Debussy (49) play through a four-hand piano transcription of The Rite of Spring. Laloy and Debussy are “dumbfounded, thunderstruck as though by a hurricane from the remote past, which had seized our lives by the roots.” (Stravinsky may have played through some of The Rite of Spring but it seems unlikely he would have had a full four-hand version this early.)
August 20, 1912:
Igor Stravinsky (30) and Sergey Diaghilev witness a performance of Parsifal at Bayreuth.
October 7, 1912:
Igor Stravinsky (30) boards a train in St. Petersburg for Ustilug (Ustyluh, Ukraine) and thence to Paris and Switzerland. He will not see his native city again for 50 years.
November 21, 1912:
The Berlin premiere of The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky (30) takes place and is very successful. Richard Strauss (48) greets the composer afterwards and congratulates him.
December 4, 1912:
The two giants of early twentieth century music meet for the first time, in Berlin. Arnold Schoenberg (38) and Igor Stravinsky (30) are introduced by Sergey Diaghilev at a performance of Petrushka. Stravinsky will say that Schoenberg was warm and friendly to him and was interested in his music.
December 8, 1912:
Igor Stravinsky (30), in Berlin with the Ballets Russes, witnesses a performance of Pierrot Lunaire at the Choralion-Saal. He is favorably impressed. Stravinsky says that “Schoenberg (38) is one of the greatest creative spirits of our day.”
March 29, 1913:
Igor Stravinsky (30) completes The Rite of Spring in Paris.
May 29, 1913:
Le Sacre du Printemps, a ballet by Igor Stravinsky (30) to a scenario of Roerich, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris. The ballet and its music cause a riot in the theatre as proponents and opponents resort to fisticuffs to exchange opinions on the value of art. The dancers perform to music that they have to imagine, as few in the auditorium can hear it, except during certain lulls. The choreographer, Vaclav Nizhinsky, almost runs onto the stage from the wings but is physically restrained by the composer. Sergey Diaghilev, the impresario, flicks the lights several times in an effort to douse the demonstrations. Nothing works. Those participating in the discussions include Maurice Ravel (38) and Florent Schmitt (42). Camille Saint-Saëns (77) simply repeats “he’s mad, he’s mad” several times before walking out. In the audience is a young composer named Gian Francesco Malipiero (31) who was encouraged to attend by Alfredo Casella (29). “I awoke from a long and dangerous lethargy.” He decides to disown all his previous work and strike out anew. Daniel Chennevière (Dane Rudhyar) (18) calls it “a tremendous experience.”
June 5, 1913:
A version of Modest Musorgsky’s (†32) opera Khovanshchina, arranged by Igor Stravinsky (30) and Maurice Ravel (38), is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris.
January 14, 1914:
New works are heard at a concert of the Société Indépendante in Salle Erard, Paris. They are Three Japanese Lyrics for solo voice and piano by Igor Stravinsky (31) to words translated by Brandta, Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé for solo voice and chamber ensemble by Maurice Ravel (38), Une semaine du petit elfe Ferme-l'oeil for piano duet by Florent Schmitt (43), and Erik Satie's (47) piano work Chapitres tournés en tous sens.
April 5, 1914:
After a concert performance of Le Sacre du Printemps in Paris conducted by Pierre Monteux, Igor Stravinsky (31) is mobbed by admiring well-wishers. See 29 May 1913.
May 26, 1914:
The Nightingale, an opera by Igor Stravinsky (31) to words of Mitusov and the composer after Andersen, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. Critics, including Maurice Ravel (39), generally like the music but are mixed about the work as a whole.
July 25, 1914:
Today sees the last performance of the Ballets Russes season in London. They will shortly dutifully return their rented music of Igor Stravinsky’s (32) The Nightingale to the Russische Musikverlag in Berlin.
April 2, 1915:
Sergey Diaghilev, Sergey Prokofiev (23), and Leonide Massine arrive in Milan where they meet Igor Stravinsky (32). Prokofiev’s former negative opinion of Stravinsky’s music has changed over the last two years. The two get along and Stravinsky invites Prokofiev to Switzerland.
April 23, 1915:
Three Little Songs “Recollections of my Childhood” for voice and piano by Igor Stravinsky (32) to traditional Russian words are performed for the first time, at Petrograd Conservatory.
May 1, 1915:
The Moscow journal Musika informs it readers that Igor Stravinsky (32), currently in Switzerland, is working on a new project which is neither an opera nor a ballet, called Svadebka (Les Noces).
May 13, 1915:
Three Pieces for string quartet by Igor Stravinsky (32) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
December 20, 1915:
Igor Stravinsky (33) conducts for the first time in public at a concert in Geneva organized by Sergey Diaghilev to support the International Committee of the Red Cross.
April 9, 1917:
Igor Stravinsky’s (34) orchestral arrangement of The Song of the Volga Boatman, composed as a replacement to the Tsarist anthem, is performed for the first time, at a Ballets Russes performance in Rome.
April 12, 1917:
Igor Stravinsky (34) meets Pablo Picasso for the first time, at a reception in the Hôtel de Russie following a concert of Stravinsky's music at the Teatro Costanzi, Rome. They are introduced by Sergey Diaghilev.
April 16, 1917:
Four days after their first meeting, Pablo Picasso draws a portrait of Igor Stravinsky (34) at his studio at 54 Via Margutta, Rome.
April 24, 1917:
While attempting to cross from Italy into Switzerland, Igor Stravinsky (34) is detained at Chiasso. Police confiscate the drawing of him made by Picasso eight days ago. They suspect that it is a coded map of military significance. Stravinsky admits that it is a map, of his face.
September 26, 1917:
On the recommendation of Paul Dukas (51), Francis Poulenc (18) visits Paul Vidal, conductor of the Opéra-Comique, in search of composition lessons. Poulenc shows him his Rapsodie nègre. When he sees the dedication to Satie (51) Vidal stands and bellows, “Your work stinks, it is ridiculous, it is merely a load of balls...Ah! I see you are running with Stravinsky (35), Satie, and company. Well then, good day!”
October 11, 1917:
Igor Stravinsky (35) completes the short score to Les Noces in Switzerland, but it will not be performed until 6 April 1923.
February 9, 1918:
Two collections for piano four hands by Igor Stravinsky (35) are performed for the first time, in Paris: Three Easy Pieces and Five Easy Pieces.
February 22, 1918:
Pribaoutki for solo voice and chamber ensemble by Igor Stravinsky (35) is performed for the first time, in Aeolian Hall, London. This performance is done with piano accompaniment. See 6 June 1919.
July 10, 1918:
15 months after it was confiscated by Italian police, Pablo Picasso's drawing of Igor Stravinsky (36) is delivered to the artist in Paris. See 24 April 1917.
September 28, 1918:
L’Histoire du Soldat, a theatre piece by CF Ramuz and music by Igor Stravinsky (36), is performed for the first time, in the Lausanne Municipal Theatre.
November 11, 1918:
While completing his instrumentation of Rag-time in Lausanne, Igor Stravinsky (36) hears a buzzing in his ears. Going down to the street, he sees that everyone else heard the same buzz. They later learn that the noise is a cannon on the French frontier signaling the armistice.
November 20, 1918:
Berceuse du chat, for solo voice and three clarinets by Igor Stravinsky (36) is performed for the first time, in the Salle des agriculteurs, Paris. This performance is done with piano accompaniment. See 6 June 1919.
April 12, 1919:
The first revision of Igor Stravinsky’s (36) Suite from “The Firebird” for orchestra is performed for the first time, in Geneva.
June 6, 1919:
Two works by Igor Stravinsky (36) are premiered by the Society for Private Performances, Vienna: Pribaoutki, for solo voice and chamber ensemble to anonymous words, and Berceuse du chat, for solo voice and three clarinets. These are the first performances with the instrumental ensembles. See 22 February 1918 and 20 November 1918.
November 8, 1919:
Several small works by Igor Stravinsky (37) are performed for the first time, in Lausanne: Piano-rag Music, Three Easy Pieces for piano duet, Five Easy Pieces for piano duet, and Three Pieces for clarinet.
December 6, 1919:
The Song of the Nightingale, a symphonic poem by Igor Stravinsky (37), is performed for the first time, in Geneva. See 2 February 1920.
December 7, 1919:
Igor Stravinsky (37) delivers a talk on the "Dada musician" at the first Dada congress in Geneva.
February 7, 1920:
Four Russian Songs for voice and piano by Igor Stravinsky (37) are performed for the first time, in the Salle Gaveau, Paris.
April 27, 1920:
Rag-Time for eleven instruments by Igor Stravinsky (37) is performed for the first time, in Aeolian Hall, London.
May 15, 1920:
Igor Stravinsky’s (37) ballet with song Pulcinella is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. The choreography is by Massine and the sets by Picasso.
May 24, 1920:
Pablo Picasso makes a three-quarter drawing of a seated Igor Stravinsky (37) in Rome.
July 20, 1920:
A concert suite from Igor Stravinsky’s (38) L’histoire du soldat, for seven players, is performed for the first time, at Wigmore Hall, London. See 28 September 1918.
November 23, 1920:
Concertino for string quartet by Igor Stravinsky (38) is performed for the first time, in Aeolian Hall, New York. See 11 November 1952.
February 21, 1921:
At the invitation of Sergey Diaghilev, Igor Stravinsky (38) meets Vera de Bosset Sudeikina, a married Russian woman, in Paris. They hit it off immediately and will soon begin an affair.
June 10, 1921:
Symphonies of Wind Instruments by Igor Stravinsky (38) is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London. The work is dedicated to the memory of Claude Debussy (†3).
July 14, 1921:
In Paris, Igor Stravinsky (39), married and the father of three, begins an open affair with Vera de Bosset Sudeikina, a wealthy Russian, presently in her third marriage.
October 13, 1921:
Igor Stravinsky’s (39) Study for Pianola is performed for the first time, in Aeolian Hall, London.
December 15, 1921:
Les cinq doits for piano by Igor Stravinsky (39) is performed for the first time, in Salle des Agriculteurs, Paris.
May 18, 1922:
Renard, a burlesque in song and dance by Igor Stravinsky (39) to his own scenario after Afanasyev, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. A party afterwards, organized by Sydney and Violet Schiff, is attended by Stravinsky, Sergey Diaghilev, Pablo Picasso, TS Eliot, Edith Sitwell, Frederick Delius (60), Marcel Proust, and James Joyce.
May 29, 1922:
Mavra, an opera buffa by Igor Stravinsky (39) to words of Kochno after Pushkin, is performed for the first time, with singers and the composer at the piano, at the Hôtel Continental, Paris. See 3 June 1922.
June 3, 1922:
Mavra, an opera buffa by Igor Stravinsky (39) to words of Kochno after Pushkin, is performed publicly for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. In spite of the good reception of the invited audience five days ago, the public response is a general yawn. See 29 May 1922.
November 10, 1922:
Igor Stravinsky (40) is reunited with his mother, Anna Kyrillovna Stravinsky, in Stettin (Szczecin). She has been allowed to leave Russia partly through the efforts of Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (31).
December 22, 1922:
A suite from Igor Stravinsky’s (40) ballet Pulcinella, prepared by the composer, is performed for the first time, in Boston.
April 6, 1923:
Igor Stravinsky (40) completes the score to Les Noces in Monaco.
June 13, 1923:
Les Noces, choreographic scenes by Igor Stravinsky (40) to his own scenario after a traditional Russian story, is performed for the first time, at Théâtre de la Gaîté Lyrique, Paris.
June 17, 1923:
An American couple, Gerald and Sara Murphy, are so enthralled by Les Noces that they hire a barge moored in the Seine before the Chambre des Députés and throw a party in its honor. Attending (among others) are Igor Stravinsky (on his 41st birthday), Pablo Picasso, Darius Milhaud (30), Jean Cocteau, Ernest Ansermet, Sergey Diaghilev, and Germaine Tailleferre. Ansermet plays the piano while Cocteau puts on the barge captain’s uniform “and went about the barge with a lantern, putting his head in at portholes to announce the ship was sinking. At one point, Ansermet and Boris Kochno managed to take down an enormous laurel wreath bearing the inscription ‘Les Noces-Hommages’ that had been hung from the ceiling and were holding it for Stravinsky who ran the length of the room and leaped nimbly through the center.”
June 25, 1923:
El retablo de maese Pedro, a puppet opera by Manuel de Falla (46) to his own words after Cervantes, is staged for the first time, privately, at the home of Princesse Edmond de Polignac, Paris. Present is Falla’s friend, Igor Stravinsky (41) as well as Francis Poulenc (24), Darius Milhaud (30), Pablo Picasso, and Paul Valéry. The audience calls for an encore but the musicians refuse to perform it since the Princesse did not invite them to the dinner before the concert. See 23 March 1923 and 24 October 1924.
July 6, 1923:
In the Théâtre Michel in Paris, Tristan Tzara attempts to save Dada, the movement he began in 1916. It is a hodgepodge of music, poetry, and theatre including readings of Cocteau, Soupault, and Eluard, music of Stravinsky (41) and Satie (57), and Tzara’s play Le Coeur à gaz . Fights break out in the hall and onstage, then moving out into the street. The electric footlights are smashed and candles are brought forth. Police are called in twice to restore order. This marks the virtual end of Dada, a movement Jean Cocteau called “Le Suicide-Club.”
August 15, 1923:
The first Bauhaus festival opens in Weimar. Concerts over the next six weeks will include music by Igor Stravinsky (41), Feruccio Busoni (67), Ernst Krenek (22), and Paul Hindemith (27).
August 19, 1923:
Igor Stravinsky (41) and Ferruccio Busoni (57) meet for the first time, in Weimar.
October 18, 1923:
Igor Stravinsky’s (41) Octet for Winds is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra, conducted by the composer. Also on the program is the premiere of the First Violin Concerto op.19 of Sergey Prokofiev (32). Present for the occasion, along with both composers, are Nadia Boulanger (36), members of Les Six, Karol Szymanowski (41), Aaron Copland (22), Pablo Picasso, Anna Pavlova, Arthur Rubinstein, and Josef Szigeti. Comparing it to Stravinsky’s earlier ballets, Copland calls this “a reverse shocker.”
January 7, 1924:
Trois histoires pour enfants for voice and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (41) to anonymous words, are performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.
January 14, 1924:
Igor Stravinsky (41) meets Arthur Lourié (32) in Brussels.
May 14, 1924:
The Concerto for piano and winds by Igor Stravinsky (41) is performed for the first time, privately, at the Paris home of the Princesse de Polignac, the composer at the keyboard. The orchestral part is played on a second piano. See 22 May 1924.
May 22, 1924:
The Concerto for piano and winds by Igor Stravinsky (41) is performed publicly for the first time, at the Paris Opéra, the composer at the keyboard. At the beginning of the largo movement, conductor Serge Koussevitzky has to hum the first few bars to the pianist who has forgotten them. The work, however, is a triumphant success. See 14 May 1924.
December 27, 1924:
Igor Stravinsky (42) sails from Le Havre aboard the SS Paris for his first tour of the United States, a three-month performing tour.
January 7, 1925:
At the New York home of mutual friends Paul and Zosia Kochansky, Igor Stravinsky (42) and George Gershwin (26) meet for the first time. Tomorrow, Stravinsky will give his first performances in the United States, conducting the New York Philharmonic. Stravinsky finds Gershwin “nervously energetic.” (Peyser, 97)
February 13, 1925:
Nadia Boulanger (37) gives a lecture at the Cleveland Institute of Music on “Modern Music and its Evolution.” Afterwards, she dines with Roger Sessions (28), whom she met last summer in France. They attend a concert by Igor Stravinsky (42) and afterwards, Boulanger introduces Sessions to Stravinsky.
February 22, 1925:
John Alden Carpenter (48) hosts a party in his home for Igor Stravinsky (42), presently visiting Chicago.
February 24, 1925:
John Alden Carpenter (48) helps to organize a reception for Igor Stravinsky (42) at the Chicago Arts Club during Stravinsky’s American tour.
March 20, 1925:
Igor Stravinsky (42) arrives in Cherbourg aboard the SS Aquitania after a three-month tour of the United States.
June 6, 1925:
Symphony no.2 op.40 by Sergey Prokofiev (34) is performed for the first time, in Paris. The audience response is tepid. Among those confused by the music is Igor Stravinsky (42).
June 9, 1925:
A Piano Sonata by Igor Stravinsky (42) is performed for the first time, privately, at the Paris home of the Princesse de Polignac, the dedicatee. See 16 July 1925. (It is possible that Stravinsky played it for a small number of people (less than ten) in Warsaw on 6 November 1924)
July 16, 1925:
Piano Sonata by Igor Stravinsky (43) is performed publicly for the first time, in Donaueschingen. See 9 June 1925.
July 21, 1925:
In an attempt to establish ties with émigré artists, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union gives permission to Sergey Prokofiev (34), Igor Stravinsky (43), and Alyeksandr Borovsky to visit the USSR.
September 7, 1925:
In Venice, at the ISCM Festival, Arnold Schoenberg (50) conducts his Serenade op.24. Igor Stravinsky (43), though present at the festival, does not attend.
September 8, 1925:
In Venice, at the ISCM Festival, Igor Stravinsky (43) performs his Piano Sonata. Arnold Schoenberg (50), though present at the festival, does not attend.
October 9, 1925:
Igor Stravinsky (43) writes to Jean Cocteau suggesting an opera in Latin on an ancient tragedy.
October 11, 1925:
In Nice, Igor Stravinsky (43) writes to Jean Cocteau asking for a libretto based on Oidipous Turannos of Sophocles.
November 24, 1925:
Igor Stravinsky’s (43) Suite no.2 for orchestra, an arrangement of the Three Easy Pieces and Five Easy Pieces for piano four hands, is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt.
November 25, 1925:
Serenade in A for piano by Igor Stravinsky (43) is performed for the first time, by the composer, in Frankfurt.
March 2, 1926:
Suite no.1 for orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (43), an arrangement of the Five Easy Pieces for piano four hands, is performed for the first time, in Haarlem conducted by the composer.
January 17, 1927:
Nikolay Roslavets (46) gives a lecture at the Igor Stravinsky Music Polytechnic in Moscow, entitled The New System of Tonal Organization and New Methods of Teaching the Theory of Composition. “With Debussy (†8), in my opinion, begins tonal anarchy.” He compares the anarchy and individualism of western music with the individualism of capitalism and dismisses the work of Skryabin (†11) and Stravinsky (44) as dead ends.
May 29, 1927:
Igor Stravinsky’s (44) Oedipus Rex, accompanied by two pianos, is performed at a party given by the Princesse de Polignac in Paris. The piano parts are played by Sergey Prokofiev (36) and the composer. See 30 May 1927.
May 30, 1927:
Igor Stravinsky's (44) opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex, to words of Cocteau after Sophocles (translated into Latin by Daniélou), is performed publicly for the first time, in a concert setting, at the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt, Paris, the composer conducting. The chorus and speaker are onstage, the orchestra and soloists in the pit. The performance has little success. The audience is, in the composer's words, “barely polite.” Among them is Aaron Copland (26). See 23 February 1928.
June 19, 1927:
Igor Stravinsky (45) plays and conducts for the first time in a broadcast performance, in London.
October 18, 1927:
The new (third) Salle Pleyel is opened in Paris with a grand concert. Maurice Ravel (52) conducts his La Valse and Igor Stravinsky (45) conducts his 1919 Firebird Suite.
February 23, 1928:
Igor Stravinsky’s (45) opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex, to words of Cocteau after Sophocles, is staged for the first time, in the Vienna Staatsoper. See 30 May 1927.
April 27, 1928:
Igor Stravinsky’s (45) ballet Apollon musagète is performed for the first time, at the Library of Congress, Washington. It is the first time that a ballet by a major international composer is premiered in the United States.
October 18, 1928:
The newly restored Salle Pleyel reopens in Paris. Maurice Ravel (53) conducts his La Valse and Igor Stravinsky (46) conducts his Firebird Suite.
November 16, 1928:
The fourth of the Four Etudes for Orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (46) is performed for the first time, in Paris. See 7 November 1930.
November 27, 1928:
The Fairy’s Kiss, a ballet by Igor Stravinsky (46) to his own scenario after Andersen, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
April 25, 1929:
A setting of Psalm 80 for tenor, chorus, and orchestra and Fanfare pour un sacre païen for brass and percussion, both by Albert Roussel (60), are performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
December 6, 1929:
The Capriccio for piano and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (47) is performed for the first time, in Paris the composer at the keyboard.
December 12, 1929:
Igor Stravinsky (47) signs a contract with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a symphony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the orchestra.
November 7, 1930:
Four Etudes for Orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (48) are performed completely for the first time, in Berlin. See 16 November 1928.
December 13, 1930:
Symphony of Psalms for chorus and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (48) is performed for the first time, in the Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels. The work was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but the music is delayed in transit and their performance has to be put off until 19 December.
October 23, 1931:
Violin Concerto by Igor Stravinsky (49) is performed for the first time, in Berlin under the baton of the composer.
October 28, 1932:
Duo Concertant for violin and piano by Igor Stravinsky (50) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Berlin Radio. The violin part is played by Samuel Dushkin, while the composer performs at the keyboard.
January 30, 1933:
Igor Stravinsky (50) is in Wiesbaden and discusses a May concert with Hans Rosbaud of Frankfurt Radio.
February 19, 1933:
Hans Rosbaud of Frankfurt Radio writes to Igor Stravinsky (50) to withdraw his invitation for a concert in May. “...I must tell you, with most bitter regrets, that for the present it is totally impossible to invite you to a concert at Frankfurt Radio...Let us hope for better times.”
March 29, 1933:
Willy Strecker of B. Schotts Söhne writes to Igor Stravinsky (50) telling him that his name is on a list of Jewish composers collected by the Kultur Kampfbund.
April 14, 1933:
Igor Stravinsky (50) sends to Willy Strecker of B. Schotts Söhne a statement to be used should the need arise. It explains his genealogy and his political views, which are strongly anti-communist.
April 18, 1933:
Willy Strecker of B. Schotts Söhne writes to Igor Stravinsky (50) telling him that the Nazis’ influence on music is really quite positive. He shouldn’t worry about it.
April 30, 1934:
Perséphone, a melodrama by Igor Stravinsky (51) to words of Gide, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra conducted by the composer. The poet, upset at the setting of his words, does not attend.
May 18, 1934:
Three settings for chorus of Slavonic prayers by Igor Stravinsky (51) are performed for the first time, in Paris: Our Father, Blessed Slavonic Virgin, and Symbol of Faith.
June 4, 1934:
Igor Stravinsky (51) is officially granted French citizenship. The decree will be dated 10 June.
September 11, 1934:
Igor Stravinsky (52) and Alban Berg (49) meet for the first time, at a concert in Venice.
November 4, 1934:
Divertimento for orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (52), arranged from Le baiser de la fée, is performed for the first time, in Paris conducted by the composer.
December 27, 1934:
Igor Stravinsky (52) embarks from France for his second tour of the United States, ten years to the day after leaving on his first American tour.
April 13, 1935:
After a concert tour of over three months, Igor Stravinsky (52) boards the Île de France in New York making for France.
April 19, 1935:
Igor Stravinsky (52) arrives in Le Havre from America.
June 18, 1935:
Igor Stravinsky (53) visits his wife Katya in the sanitorium of Sancellemoz in Plateau d’Assy, to celebrate his birthday. He brings along their daughter Lyudmilla (Mika) who, upon arrival, is diagnosed with possible tuberculosis and admitted.
November 21, 1935:
Concerto for two pianos by Igor Stravinsky (53) is performed for the first time, in the Salle Gaveau, Paris. The solo parts are performed by the composer and his son, Svyatoslav Soulima-Stravinsky.
January 25, 1936:
Florent Schmitt (65) is elected to the French Institute to fill the chair vacated by the death of Paul Dukas (†0). Igor Stravinsky (53) receives no more than five out of 32 votes on any of the five ballots.
November 4, 1936:
Igor Stravinsky’s (53) L’histoire du soldat is performed in Berlin by the Jüdischer Kulturbund, to an all Jewish audience, with official permission.
April 15, 1937:
Paul Hindemith (41) performs Der Schwanendreher with the New York Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall, less satisfactorily than in Boston. Nadia Boulanger (49) gives a reception afterward which is attended by Igor Stravinsky (54).
April 27, 1937:
Jeu de cartes, a ballet in three deals by Igor Stravinsky (54) to a scenario by Malayev and the composer, is performed for the first time, at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York conducted by the composer. The audience is appreciative, the critics range from lukewarm to hostile.
May 5, 1937:
Igor Stravinsky (54) and Nadia Boulanger (49) are fellow passengers on the SS Paris sailing from New York to France. Boulanger brings to him the offer of a commission from a mutual acquaintance, Mildred Bliss, to celebrate her 30th wedding anniversary and to be performed at the Blisses’ mansion in Georgetown, Dumbarton Oaks.
July 27, 1937:
A Paris court finds in favor of Igor Stravinsky (55) in his case against Warner Brothers alleging damages when they used his music in their film The Firebird without his consent. Stravinsky is awarded one franc.
December 30, 1937:
The earthly remains of Maurice Ravel are interred in Cimitière de Levallois-Perret, Haute-de-Seine, beside those of his parents. Among those attending are Igor Stravinsky (55), Arthur Honegger (45), Darius Milhaud (45), Francis Poulenc (38), and Benjamin Britten (24).
May 8, 1938:
Igor Stravinsky’s (55) Concerto “Dumbarton Oaks” for chamber orchestra, is performed for the first time, privately at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. conducted by Nadia Boulanger (50). The composer was slated to conduct but he is ill in Paris and asked Boulanger, in the United States already, if she would do the honors. See 8 June 1938.
May 24, 1938:
As part of the Reichsmusiktage which began two days ago, an exhibition of degenerate music opens in Düsseldorf. Among the composers enshrined as “cultural bolsheviks” are Arnold Schoenberg (63), Igor Stravinsky (55), Alban Berg (†2), Paul Hindemith (42), Kurt Weill (38), and Ernst Krenek (37).
June 8, 1938:
Igor Stravinsky’s (55) Concerto “Dumbarton Oaks” for chamber orchestra is performed publicly for the first time, in Salle Gaveau, Paris conducted by the composer. See 8 May 1938.
June 19, 1938:
The Senate of the Prussian Academy of Arts votes to protest to Minister of Education Bernhard Rust about the inclusion of Igor Stravinsky (56) in the exhibition of “degenerate music” last month.
July 22, 1938:
The German Foreign Office replies to Ambassador André François-Poncet about a complaint from France that one of its citizens, Igor Stravinsky (56) was included in an exhibition of “degenerate music” in May. The Germans say that “the exhibition was not directed against individual artists, but only against certain artistic directions.”
September 24, 1938:
Petit Ramusianum harmonique for solo voice or unison chorus by Igor Stravinsky (56) to words of Cingria is performed for the first time, privately in Paris.
November 30, 1938:
In Turin with his son Soulima, Igor Stravinsky (56) receives a telegram informing him of the death of his daughter Mika from tuberculosis in Paris.
March 2, 1939:
Igor Stravinsky’s (56) wife Yekaterina dies of tuberculosis in Paris.
March 28, 1939:
Harvard Prof. Edward Forbes writes to Igor Stravinsky (56) in Paris, informing him that he has been selected as this year’s holder of the Charles Eliot Norton Chair of Poetry.
April 11, 1939:
Igor Stravinsky (56) accepts the Charles Eliot Norton Chair of Poetry at Harvard University.
April 19, 1939:
The King of the Stars, a cantata for chorus and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (56) to words of Balmont, is performed for the first time, in Brussels 27 years after it was composed.
June 7, 1939:
Igor Stravinsky's (56) mother dies in Paris at the age of 85. In a little over five months, Stravinsky has seen the deaths of his daughter, his wife, and his mother.
September 2, 1939:
Igor Stravinsky (57) is discharged from Sancellemoz sanitarium near Paris where he has been treated for tuberculosis.
September 5, 1939:
World War II: Fearful of German bombs, Igor Stravinsky (57) and Vera de Bosset move from Paris to the home of Nadia Boulanger (51) in Gargenville.
United States President Franklin Roosevelt implements the Neutrality Act of 1937, including an arms embargo on all belligerents in the European war.
September 25, 1939:
Igor Stravinsky (57) and Vera de Bosset flee the war in Europe by boarding the Manhattan in Bordeaux, heading for New York.
September 30, 1939:
Igor Stravinsky (57) and Vera de Bosset arrive in New York from France aboard the Manhattan.
October 10, 1939:
After a bout with the flu in New York, Igor Stravinsky (57) travels to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he will deliver the Norton Lectures at Harvard University.
October 18, 1939:
Igor Stravinsky (57) delivers the first of his Norton Lectures in the New Lecture Hall (Lowell Hall) at Harvard University.
March 8, 1940:
Igor Stravinsky (57) performs in a concert of his own music in Sanders Theatre of Harvard University. The program notes are written by Irving Fine (25).
March 9, 1940:
Igor Stravinsky (57) marries his second wife, Vera de Bosset, at the home of Harvard professor Dr. Taracuzio in Bedford, Massachusetts. It is her fourth marriage. She has been an actress, painter, costume and fashion designer, and a business owner.
April 10, 1940:
Igor Stravinsky (57) delivers the sixth and last of his Norton Lectures in the New Lecture Hall (Lowell Hall) of Harvard University.
October 12, 1940:
Igor Stravinsky (58) views a screening of Fantasia at the Disney Studios in Los Angeles. He is not entirely unhappy.
October 28, 1940:
Igor Stravinsky (58) signs a contract with Walt Disney to use The Firebird, Renard, and Fireworks in future Disney films, in return for $1,500. Disney will never use the music.
November 7, 1940:
Symphony in C by Igor Stravinsky (58), commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, is performed for the first time, in Orchestra Hall, Chicago under the baton of the composer.
October 14, 1941:
Igor Stravinsky’s (59) arrangement of The Star-Spangled Banner, for orchestra and chorus ad lib, is performed for the first time, in Embassy Auditorium, Los Angeles.
February 8, 1942:
Danses concertantes for chamber orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (59) is performed for the first time, in the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles, conducted by the composer.
April 9, 1942:
Circus Polka by Igor Stravinsky (59), in its original scoring for wind band and percussion, is performed for the first time, at the Barnum and Bailey Circus, Madison Square Garden, New York. The ballet is danced by 50 elephants in pink tutus. See 13 January 1944.
April 25, 1942:
As required by law, Igor Stravinsky (59) registers for war work in Los Angeles. He will eventually be given the duty of stocking a chicken coop and growing a kitchen garden.
July 19, 1942:
Arturo Toscanini, by the composer's wish, conducts the American premiere of the Symphony no.7 “Leningrad” by Dmitry Shostakovich (35) over the airwaves of the NBC radio network, originating in Studio 8-H of Radio City, New York. Hired as an extra horn player for the concert is Gunther Schuller (16). Among the radio listeners is Igor Stravinsky (60). See 1 June 1942.
January 8, 1943:
On tour in Los Angeles with the Ballet Theatre orchestra, french honr player Gunther Schuller (17) requests and receives the autograph of Igor Stravinsky (60) on his copy of Le Sacre du Printemps.
January 26, 1943:
Igor Stravinsky (60) Darius Milhaud (50) and their wives attend a performance of a ballet to Arnold Schoenberg’s (68) Verklärte Nacht called Pillar of Fire conducted by the composer in San Francisco. The two are impressed but do not make any attempt to see Schoenberg afterwards.
October 8, 1943:
Igor Stravinsky’s (61) orchestral work Ode, elegiac chant in three parts is performed for the first time, in Boston and broadcast across the United States. It is a fiasco, owing to the rush occasioned by the decision by Serge Koussevitsky to program it only two weeks ago. In the panic to prepare the music, several glaring errors are made by both the composer and the copyists.
January 13, 1944:
The orchestral arrangement of Circus Polka by Igor Stravinsky (61) is performed for the first time, in Sanders Theatre at Harvard University. On the same program is the premiere of the composer’s Four Norwegian Moods for orchestra. Both works are conducted by the composer.
January 15, 1944:
The day after Igor Stravinsky (61) conducted a concert in Boston which included his arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner, he is informed in his dressing room by a police official of a Massachusetts law forbidding tampering with national property. The police patriotically remove the offending music from the stands and confiscate it.
August 2, 1944:
Sonata for two pianos by Igor Stravinsky (62) is performed for the first time, in the Edgewood College of the Dominican Sisters, Madison, Wisconsin. Nadia Boulanger (56) and Richard Johnson are the pianists.
September 5, 1944:
Igor Stravinsky’s (62) Scherzo à la Russe for jazz ensemble is performed for the first time, over the NBC Blue Network originating in New York.
November 24, 1944:
The Seven Lively Arts, a musical revue with music partly by Igor Stravinsky (62) (Scènes de ballet), partly by William Schuman (34) (Circus Overture), and partly by Cole Porter, opens in the Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia. See 7 December and 17 December 1944.
December 7, 1944:
The Seven Lively Arts, a musical revue with music partly by Igor Stravinsky (62) (Scènes de ballet), partly by William Schuman (34) (Circus Overture), and partly by Cole Porter, opens on Broadway. See 24 November 1944.
January 26, 1945:
Elegy for viola or violin by Igor Stravinsky (62) is performed for the first time, in the Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, Washington.
February 27, 1945:
A concert by the Société privée de musique de chambre in Paris, presenting new American works by Igor Stravinsky (62) for the first time in France, is loudly protested by students in the audience, including Pierre Boulez (19).
April 7, 1945:
Following the disruption of a work by Igor Stravinsky (62) on 15 March, Le Figaro publishes a defense of the composer written by Francis Poulenc (46). He calls the whistlers “little pugs in the public gardens who cock their legs against the plinths of the statues.” (Poulenc, Nichols, Southon, 31)
October 24, 1945:
The second revision of Igor Stravinsky’s (63) Suite from “The Firebird” is performed for the first time, in New York.
November 18, 1945:
The biblical cycle Genesis, organized by Nathaniel Shillkret, is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles. The constituent parts and their composers are: 1. Prelude-Arnold Schoenberg (71) 2. Creation-Shillkret 3. Adam and Eve-Alexandre Tansman 4. Cain and Abel-Darius Milhaud (53) 5. Noah’s Ark-Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco 6. The Covenant-Ernst Toch 7. The Tower of Babel-Igor Stravinsky (63).
December 28, 1945:
Igor Stravinsky (63) and his wife become American citizens in Los Angeles. Their sponsor, Edward G. Robinson, is actually an illegal immigrant.
January 24, 1946:
Igor Stravinsky’s (63) Symphony in Three Movements is performed for the first time, in New York conducted by the composer.
March 22, 1946:
Scherzo a la Russe by Igor Stravinsky (63) is performed for the first time in an orchestral version, in San Francisco, conducted by the composer.
March 25, 1946:
Ebony Concerto for clarinet and jazz band by Igor Stravinsky (63) is performed for the first time, by Woody Herman and his band, in Carnegie Hall, New York.
January 27, 1947:
Concerto in D for string orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (64) is performed for the first time, in Basel.
February 26, 1947:
Irving Fine (32) conducts the first performance of the Kyrie and Gloria from Igor Stravinsky’s (64) Mass for chorus and double wind quintet. The instrumental parts are played on two pianos. Also premiered is Tell This Blood for chorus by Lukas Foss (24). See 27 October 1948.
May 2, 1947:
While travelling from New York to Los Angeles, Igor Stravinsky (64) stops off in Chicago and views a show at the Art Institute. It features numerous prints by William Hogarth, including a series known collectively as “The Rake’s Progress.”
November 15, 1947:
WH Auden arrives in Hollywood and is granted the use of the sofa in the North Wetherly Drive home of Igor Stravinsky (65). Here he will pen the libretto to The Rake’s Progress.
December 13, 1947:
The Los Angeles Times publishes an article identifying Igor Stravinsky (65) as the most important sponsor of a concert to benefit Hanns Eisler (49), presently being accused of concealing membership in the Communist Party.
December 14, 1947:
A letter written by Igor Stravinsky (65) two days ago is published by the Los Angeles Times. He tells the paper that he lent his name to the Eisler (49) concert for purely musical reasons and it was not a political statement.
March 31, 1948:
WH Auden hands over to Igor Stravinsky (65) the completed libretto to The Rake’s Progress in Washington, DC. At the same time, Stravinsky meets Robert Craft, the man who will champion his music for the rest of his life.
April 28, 1948:
Orpheus, a ballet by Igor Stravinsky (65), is performed for the first time, at the City Center, New York conducted by the composer.
July 7, 1948:
A number of Los Angeles celebrities, including Igor Stravinsky (66) and Arnold Schoenberg (73), attend a dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel for Alma Mahler Gropius Werfel. The two composers manage to avoid each other.
July 29, 1948:
Igor Stravinsky (66) files suit in Los Angeles against Leeds Music Corp. alleging they used his name as the composer of Summer Moon, a song based on a theme in Firebird. He further alleges that the addition of common lyrics damaged his standing as a serious composer. See 9 March 1949.
October 27, 1948:
Igor Stravinsky’s (66) Mass for chorus and double wind quintet is performed for the first time, at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
February 3, 1949:
In the New York apartment of violinist Alexander Schneider, Igor Stravinsky (66) plays and sings through the first act of The Rake’s Progress for WH Auden, George Balanchine, Robert Craft, and Nicolas Nabokov.
March 9, 1949:
Igor Stravinsky’s (66) case against Leeds Music Corp. is dismissed. The court rules that the composer entered into a valid contract in full knowledge his music would be used for popular song. See 29 July 1948.
February 18, 1950:
Igor Stravinsky (67), his wife and Robert Craft arrive in New York, having driven for twelve days and over 6,000 km from Los Angeles by way of Key West.
November 24, 1950:
In the midst of a coast-to-coast United States tour, Benjamin Britten (37) and Peter Pears meet Igor Stravinsky (68) in his Hollywood home.
February 28, 1951:
Igor Stravinsky (68) is awarded the Gold Medal for Music by the National Institute and American Academy of Arts and Letters.
July 14, 1951:
In his Los Angeles home, Igor Stravinsky (69) learns of the death of Arnold Schoenberg last night. Mrs. Stravinsky will recall that he suffered an "attack of nerves and even real tears." He sends the first telegram of condolence to Mrs. Schoenberg that she will receive. (Craft, 2013, 16)
August 11, 1951:
Aboard the SS Constitution near the Azores, on his way to Italy for The Rake’s Progress, Igor Stravinsky (68) contracts pneumonia. He will survive, but rehearsals for the opera will be postponed.
September 11, 1951:
The Rake’s Progress, an opera by Igor Stravinsky (69) to words of Auden and Kallman, is performed for the first time, at Teatro La Fenice, Venice conducted by the composer.
November 21, 1951:
Igor Stravinsky (69) boards a plane in Rome for his first transatlantic flight. With several stops, he will arrive in New York 30 hours later.
February 24, 1952:
Igor Stravinsky (69) witnesses a performance of Suite for seven instruments op.29 of Arnold Schoenberg (†0) and the Quartet for clarinet, tenor saxophone, violin, and piano op.22 of Anton Webern (†6). This is seen as a point of transition into serial technique.
March 8, 1952:
While traveling in southern California with Robert Craft and others, Igor Stravinsky (69) describes his current crisis and claims he can compose no longer. “I could not continue in the same strain, could not compose a sequel to The Rake, as I would have had to do.” He tells of the power of Schoenberg’s (†0) music and that he wants to learn more.
May 4, 1952:
Structures Ia for two pianos by Pierre Boulez (27) is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris, by the composer and Olivier Messiaen (43). The hall is full, the audience uneasy. Some violence occurs. Igor Stravinsky (69) is present and is not impressed. See 13 November 1953.
June 14, 1952:
An English version of Kurt Weill’s (†2) Die Dreigroschenoper by Marc Blitzstein (47) is performed at the new Adolph Ullman Amphitheatre at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Also on the program is Symphonie pour un homme seul by Pierre Schaeffer (41) and Pierre Henry (24), and Les Noces by Igor Stravinsky (69). See 10 March 1954.
November 11, 1952:
Two works by Igor Stravinsky (70) are performed for the first time, in Los Angeles: Concertino for Twelve Instruments, a transcription of his Concertino for string quartet, and Cantata for soprano, tenor, female chorus, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, and cello, to anonymous words, conducted by the composer.
May 22, 1953:
Ill in his Boston hotel room, Igor Stravinsky (70) is visited by Dylan Thomas, there to talk about opera librettos.
June 14, 1953:
The Feltrinelli International Music Prize of Rome’s Academy of Lynxes is awarded to Igor Stravinsky (70).
July 23, 1953:
Igor Stravinsky (71) undergoes surgery for the removal of his prostate at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. It is successful.
October 18, 1953:
Two works by Igor Stravinsky (71) are performed for the first time, in Los Angeles: Preludium for jazz band and Tango for 19 instruments.
November 9, 1953:
Dylan Thomas dies at the age of 39 in St. Vincent's Hospital, New York, following a six-day coma. The immediate cause of death is listed as pneumonia, but his consistent and heavy alcohol intake are contributing factors. An hour later, the news is learned in Los Angeles by Igor Stravinsky (71) who has been talking with Thomas for a long time about an opera libretto. Stravinsky weeps.
January 23, 1954:
Septet for clarinet, bassoon, horn, piano, violin, viola, and cello by Igor Stravinsky (71) is performed for the first time, at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC, conducted by the composer.
March 8, 1954:
Three Songs from William Shakespeare for mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, and viola by Igor Stravinsky (71) is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
April 14, 1954:
An Air from Act 3 of Rapunzel, a chamber opera by Lou Harrison (36) to words of Morris, is performed for the first time, in Rome as part of a composition competition. This will win a 20th Century Masterpiece Award, conferred on Harrison by Igor Stravinsky (71). See 14 May 1959.
May 27, 1954:
Igor Stravinsky (71) conducts a concert in Royal Festival Hall, London and receives the medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society. He also receives a baton said to have belonged to Franz Joseph Haydn (†144).
September 20, 1954:
In memoriam Dylan Thomas for tenor, string quartet, and four trombones by Igor Stravinsky (72) to words of the poet, is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
October 11, 1954:
A revised version of Igor Stravinsky’s (72) Four Russian Peasant Songs for chorus and four horns, to words of Sakharov, is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
February 21, 1955:
Four Russian Songs for soprano, flute, harp, and guitar by Igor Stravinsky (72) are performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
April 4, 1955:
Igor Stravinsky’s (72) Greeting Prelude for orchestra, composed to celebrate the 80th birthday of Pierre Monteux, is performed for the first time, in Boston.
January 4, 1956:
Igor Stravinsky (73) is awarded the Sibelius Medal in a ceremony at the Finnish consulate in New York City.
May 27, 1956:
Choral Variations on Von Himmel hoch da komm ich Her by Igor Stravinsky (73) is performed for the first time, in Ojai, California.
August 10, 1956:
Igor Stravinsky (74) is granted an audience with Giuseppe Cardinal Roncalli, archbishop of Venice, who gives permission for the performance of Canticum Sacrum in the Cathedral of San Marco, for which it was composed.
September 13, 1956:
Canticum sacrum for tenor, baritone, chorus, and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (74), to words from the Bible, is performed for the first time, in the Cathedral San Marco, Venice the composer conducting.
October 2, 1956:
While conducting his Symphony in C in Berlin, Igor Stravinsky (74) suffers a basilar stenosis near the end of the first movement. In great pain, he finishes the performance, although he will not remember it. In the dressing room afterwards, he is unable to write his name and has partial speech loss. Eventually, the composer will make a complete recovery.
June 17, 1957:
Agon, a ballet by Igor Stravinsky, is performed for the first time, in a concert setting in Los Angeles on the composer’s 75th birthday. Elliott Carter (48) is in the audience. See 1 December 1957.
December 1, 1957:
Igor Stravinsky’s (75) ballet Agon is staged for the first time, in City Center, New York. The music, and the choreography by George Balanchine, are a stupendous success. See 17 June 1957.
September 23, 1958:
Threni for soprano, alto, two tenors, two basses, chorus, and orchestra, a cantata by Igor Stravinsky (76) to words from the Bible, is performed for the first time, at the Sala dell’Albergo of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice, conducted by the composer. It is the first music of Stravinsky based entirely on a twelve-tone row. The audience is polite.
May 25, 1959:
Igor Stravinsky (76) is awarded the first Léonie Sonning Music Prize in Copenhagen.
October 17, 1959:
Igor Stravinsky’s (77) Epitaphium für das Grabmal des Prinzen Max Egon zu Fürstenberg, for flute, clarinet, and harp, is performed for the first time, in Donaueschingen, conducted by Pierre Boulez (34). Also premiered is Boulez’ Tombeau for soprano and orchestra.
October 22, 1959:
Igor Stravinsky (77) suffers what might be a second stroke, in Bologna. In the evening he conducts half of an orchestral program
December 20, 1959:
In a memorable evening in New York, Igor Stravinsky (77) conducts a performance of his Les Noces. The four pianists are Roger Sessions (62), Aaron Copland (59), Samuel Barber (49) and Lukas Foss (37). Premiered this evening is Stravinsky’s (76) Double Canon for string quartet.
January 10, 1960:
Movements for piano and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (77) is performed for the first time, at Town Hall, New York, under the baton of the composer. On the same program is the premiere of Stravinsky’s Tres sacrae cantiones, an arrangement for chorus of three sacred works by Carlo Gesualdo (†346).
September 24, 1960:
A performance by John Cage (48), Merce Cunningham, Earle Brown (33), and others at the Teatro La Fenice during the Venice Biennale causes a near riot. One audience member, Igor Stravinsky (78), does not feel it reaches to the level of his own scandale.
September 27, 1960:
Monumentum pro Gesualdo di Venosa ad CD anum, arrangements for orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (78) of three madrigals by Carlo Gesualdo (†347), is performed for the first time, in Venice the composer conducting.
October 15, 1960:
As water rises to 50 cm in the lobby of his Venice hotel, Igor Stravinsky (78) is evacuated in the arms of a porter.
January 16, 1962:
Igor Stravinsky (79) receives the United States State Department Medal in Washington.
January 18, 1962:
Igor Stravinsky (79) and his wife are guests of President and Mrs. Kennedy at the White House along with a small group of artists, including Leonard Bernstein (43).
February 19, 1962:
The Dove Descending Breaks the Air, an anthem for chorus by Igor Stravinsky (79) to words of Eliot, is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
February 23, 1962:
Igor Stravinsky’s (79) cantata A Sermon, a Narrative, and a Prayer to words of Dekker and the Bible, is performed for the first time, in Basel. It is very successful and the audience requires the entire work to be encored.
March 26, 1962:
The first four of the Eight Instrumental Miniatures by Igor Stravinsky (79) are performed for the first time, in Los Angeles. See 29 April 1962.
April 29, 1962:
The last four of the Eight Orchestral Miniatures by Igor Stravinsky (79) are performed for the first time, in Toronto, the composer conducting. See 26 March 1962.
June 14, 1962:
The Flood, a musical play by Igor Stravinsky (79) to words of Craft after the York and Chester Mystery Plays and the Bible, is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the commissioner of the work, the CBS television network. See 30 April 1963.
June 24, 1962:
The editor of the New York Herald Tribune publishes a telegram he recently received from Igor Stravinsky (80). “The only blight on my eightieth birthday is the realization my age will probably keep me from celebrating the funeral of your senile music columnist.”
September 21, 1962:
Igor Stravinsky (80), his wife, and Robert Craft land at Sheremetievo Airport, Moscow. It is the composer’s first visit to his homeland in 48 years.
September 26, 1962:
Igor Stravinsky (80) makes his first appearance in his homeland since the revolution as he conducts a concert of his own music in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. The audience is filled with many musicians, including Dmitri Shostakovich (56) and Aram Khachaturian (59).
October 1, 1962:
At an evening reception given by the Soviet Minister of Culture, Igor Stravinsky (80) meets with leading Soviet composers including Dmitri Shostakovich (56) and Aram Khachaturian (59). According to Robert Craft, this is “the most extraordinary event of the trip.”
October 4, 1962:
Igor Stravinsky (80) and his companions fly from Moscow to Leningrad, his native city.
October 5, 1962:
Igor Stravinsky (80) visits Lomonosov and tries to find the house where he was born. Unknown to him and his hosts, the building was destroyed 30 years ago.
October 8, 1962:
Before conducting a concert of his music in the Great Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic, Igor Stravinsky (80) tells his audience, “69 years ago I sat with my mother in that corner at a concert conducted by Napravnik to mourn the death of Tchaikovsky. Now I am conducting in the same hall. It is a great occasion for me.”
October 9, 1962:
Igor Stravinsky (80) and his companions depart Leningrad by train for Moscow.
October 10, 1962:
At a dinner at the Metropole in Moscow, Igor Stravinsky (80) is seated near Dmitri Shostakovich (56). The two speak amiably, but not in great depth.
October 11, 1962:
Nikita Khrushchev receives Igor Stravinsky (80) and his party at the Kremlin for 40 minutes. A few hours later they board a plane for Paris.
April 30, 1963:
The Flood, a musical play by Igor Stravinsky (80) to words of Craft, after the York and Chester Mystery Plays and Genesis, is staged for the first time, in the Hamburg Staatsoper. See 14 June 1962.
June 18, 1963:
The 50th anniversary of Le Sacre du printemps by Igor Stravinsky (81) is celebrated in a gala concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris, its original venue. The concert, which also includes Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments and Zvezdoliki, establishes Pierre Boulez (38) as a formidable conductor.
August 18, 1963:
At a concert of sacred music in the Cathedral of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Igor Stravinsky (81) is invested with the insignia of the Order of St. Sylvester. Last October, Pope John XXIII conferred on him the honor of Knight Commander of St. Sylvester with star.
March 22, 1964:
An arrangement of the music of Jean Sibelius (†6) by Igor Stravinsky (81) called Canzonetta, done in gratitude for his winning the Wihuri-Sibelius Prize in 1963, is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the Finnish Broadcasting Company.
April 6, 1964:
Elegy for JFK for baritone and three clarinets by Igor Stravinsky (81) to words of Auden is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
April 19, 1964:
Fanfare for a New Theatre for two trumpets by Igor Stravinsky (81) is performed for the first time, at a private gala for the New York State Theatre, Lincoln Center, New York.
April 24, 1964:
Fanfare for a New Theatre for two trumpets by Igor Stravinsky (81) is performed publicly for the first time, at the second night of the New York State Theatre, Lincoln Center, featuring the New York City Ballet. See 19 April 1964.
August 23, 1964:
Abraham and Isaac, a sacred ballad for baritone and chamber orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (82) to words from the Bible, is performed for the first time, in Jerusalem. The work was commissioned by the State of Israel to celebrate the composer’s 80th birthday.
April 17, 1965:
Two works in honor of departed artists by Igor Stravinsky (82) are performed for the first time, in Chicago: Introitus to the text of the Latin requiem, prompted by the death of TS Eliot, and Variations for Orchestra dedicated to Aldous Huxley.
June 12, 1965:
Pope Paul VI confers a papal decoration on Igor Stravinsky (82) in Rome.
December 16, 1965:
Canon on a Russian Popular Tune for orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (83) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the CBC, originating in Toronto.
May 17, 1966:
Igor Stravinsky (83) conducts for the last time, a performance of the Pulcinella suite in Toronto.
June 1, 1966:
Igor Stravinsky (83) is presented with the Order of Santiago in Lisbon.
July 15, 1966:
In a production of Igor Stravinsky’s (84) L’histoire du soldat at Lincoln Center, New York, conducted by Lukas Foss (43), Elliott Carter (57) plays the soldier, John Cage (53) plays the Devil, and Aaron Copland (65) is the narrator. Stravinsky, who is in the audience, tells Cage: “You are the only sensible composer I know--You don’t write any notes.”
July 18, 1966:
Igor Stravinsky (84), Elliott Carter (57), and their wives are at dinner in La Côte Basque in New York. The two composers are engaged in intent conversation when an admirer walks over to the table and places pen and paper next to Stravinsky for his autograph. Without looking up, Stravinsky signs the paper and returns to his discussion. The admirer returns to his table with his fiancée, Mia Farrow. Tomorrow, the admirer, Frank Sinatra, will marry Ms. Farrow in Las Vegas.
October 8, 1966:
Requiem Canticles for alto, bass, chorus, and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (84) to words of the Latin requiem, is performed for the first time, at Princeton University.
October 31, 1966:
The Owl and the Pussycat for voice and piano by Igor Stravinsky (84) to words of Lear, is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
May 17, 1967:
Igor Stravinsky (84) conducts for the last time, in a CBC broadcast in Toronto.
July 15, 1967:
Canon ad Honorem Igor Stravinsky for chorus by Peter Maxwell Davies (32) to words from the Book of Ezekiel is performed for the first time, in Cheltenham Town Hall. It was composed to celebrate the 85th birthday of Igor Stravinsky.
October 20, 1967:
A petition in support of Isang Yun (50), signed by 160 composers, musicians, and scholars, appears in Die Zeit. Among the signers are Igor Stravinsky (85) and Elliott Carter (58).
January 14, 1968:
15 prominent writers and artists send a message to the Soviet Union protesting the sentences of 12 January. Among the signers are Igor Stravinsky (85), Yehudi Menhuin, Cecil Day Lewis, Julian Huxley, Henry Moore, and Bertrand Russell.
April 27, 1969:
Igor Stravinsky (86) attends an Homage to Stravinsky concert at SUNY Stony Brook. It is the last public function he attends.
May 3, 1969:
Igor Stravinsky (86) undergoes an operation at New York Hospital to remove a blood clot in his knee.
June 18, 1969:
Igor Stravinsky (87) is released from New York Hospital having fully recovered from three operations to correct problems arising from a blood clot on his knee.
September 15, 1969:
Igor Stravinsky (87) leaves Los Angeles and moves permanently to the Essex House, New York.
April 6, 1970:
Igor Stravinsky (87) is admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York because of congestion in his lower left lung.
March 18, 1971:
Igor Stravinsky (88) is admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital, New York with water on the lungs.
March 29, 1971:
Igor Stravinsky (88) is released from hospital and, along with his wife Vera, moves into a new apartment in New York.
April 6, 1971:
05:20 Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky dies in his sleep at his Fifth Avenue apartment in New York, New York, USA of heart failure, aged 88 years, nine months, and 20 days.
April 9, 1971:
Good Friday. A funeral service is held in memory of Igor Stravinsky in the chapel of Campbell’s Funeral Home on Madison Avenue in New York.
April 15, 1971:
After a performance of Alessandro Scarlatti’s (†245) Missa pro defunctis and Stravinsky’s Requiem Canticles, an oration by the Mayor of Venice and a Greek Orthodox ceremony featuring organ works by Andrea Gabrieli (†384), the earthly remains of Igor Stravinsky are interred on the island of San Michele in Venice, a few steps from those of Sergey Diaghilev.
January 23, 1972:
Canon for 3: in memoriam Igor Stravinsky (†0) for three equal instruments by Elliott Carter (63) is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York.
January 31, 1972:
Canzona for twelve instruments by Charles Wuorinen (33) is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, New York, the composer conducting. The work is dedicated to the memory of Igor Stravinsky (†0).
March 29, 1972:
Dirige (Antiphonae) in memory: Igor Stravinsky (†0) for chorus by Kenneth Gaburo (45) is performed for the first time, at the University of Pittsburgh.
April 6, 1972:
On the first anniversary of the death of Igor Stravinsky, two works in his honor are performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Radio 3 England: Threnody I (originally Threnody Igor Stravinsky: In memoriam) for flute and string trio by Aaron Copland (71), and Canon in memoriam Igor Stravinsky (recorded 20 March 1972) for flute, clarinet, harp, and string quartet by Peter Maxwell Davies (37). See 17 June 1972.
June 17, 1972:
New works by British composers in honor of Igor Stravinsky (†1) are performed for the first time, in St. John’s Smith Square, London on the 90th anniversary of Stravinsky’s birth: In memoriam Magistri for flute, clarinet, and string quartet by Michael Tippett (67), the first live performance of Canon in memoriam Igor Stravinsky for flute, clarinet, harp, and string quartet by Peter Maxwell Davies (37), and Tombeau in memoriam Igor Stravinsky for flute, clarinet, harp, and string quartet by Harrison Birtwistle (36). See 6 April 1972.
June 1, 1975:
A Reliquary for Igor Stravinsky (†4) for orchestra by Charles Wuorinen (36) is performed for the first time, in Ojai, California.
October 30, 1979:
Lied ohne Namen for two bassoons by Igor Stravinsky (†8) is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 61 years after it was composed.
December 28, 1979:
Dedication to Igor Stravinsky (†8), Sergey Prokofiev (†26) and Dmitri Shostakovich (†4) for piano six-hands by Alfred Schnittke (45) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
September 30, 1981:
Reprising his 1966 performance, Aaron Copland (80) appears as the Narrator in a production of Igor Stravinsky’s (†10) L’histoire du soldat at the Whitney Museum. Roger Sessions (84) plays the part of the soldier and appearing as the Devil is Virgil Thomson (84).
June 23, 1983:
The archives of Igor Stravinsky (†12) are sold to the Paul Sacher Foundation of Basel for $5,250,000.
October 9, 1983:
Krzysztof Penderecki (49) receives the Sibelius Prize in Helsinki from the Wihuri Foundation.
July 25, 2006:
A performance of Igor Stravinsky’s (†25) L’Histoire du Soldat takes place at Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts. The part of the soldier is taken by Elliott Carter (97), the devil is Milton Babbitt (90), and the narrator is read by John Harbison (67).