Igor Stravinsky was born into a musical family. His father was a leading bass singer at the Imperial Opera in St. Petersburg.

Young Stravinsky started formal piano instruction and showed early musical talent. He also began attending opera performances with his father.

Stravinsky enrolled to study law at St. Petersburg University. He continued his musical studies privately while fulfilling family expectations.

Stravinsky became a private student of the great composer Rimsky-Korsakov. This mentorship shaped his early compositional style profoundly.

Stravinsky married his cousin Catherine Nossenko despite family objections. They would have four children together over the following years.

The impresario Sergei Diaghilev heard Stravinsky's orchestral works. He commissioned the young composer to write for the Ballets Russes.

Stravinsky's ballet The Firebird premiered to great acclaim in Paris. This success established him as a major new voice in modern music.

The ballet Petrushka premiered with Vaslav Nijinsky dancing the lead role. Stravinsky's innovative orchestration astonished Paris audiences.

The premiere of The Rite of Spring provoked one of history's most famous musical scandals. The revolutionary work redefined modern music forever.

The outbreak of World War I prevented Stravinsky from returning to Russia. He settled in Switzerland and would never live in Russia again.

Stravinsky relocated to France and became a French citizen in 1934. Paris remained his home base for the next two decades.

Stravinsky's Violin Concerto premiered with violinist Samuel Dushkin. This work exemplified his neoclassical compositional period.

Fleeing the approaching war, Stravinsky moved to America. He became a U.S. citizen in 1945 and lived in Hollywood for three decades.

After Catherine's death, Stravinsky married Vera de Bosset, his longtime companion. She became his devoted partner for the rest of his life.

Stravinsky's only full-length opera The Rake's Progress premiered in Venice. This neoclassical masterpiece concluded one creative period and opened another.

Igor Stravinsky died in New York and was buried in Venice near Diaghilev. He left a legacy as one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century.