Exploring Stravinsky

What is the course about?

This ten‑session course offers a rich and accessible introduction to the life, works, and legacy of Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), a composer whose musical innovations helped shape the sound world of the 20th century. Through guided listening, historical context, and class discussion, we will explore Stravinsky’s dramatic stylistic evolution-from his early Russian‑inspired ballets for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, through his austere and tightly constructed neoclassical period, to the adventurous serial and late works.

We will also examine the cultural, political, and artistic environments in which Stravinsky worked, his collaborations with leading choreographers and artists, and the enduring influence of his rhythmic, harmonic, and structural innovations on modern music.

There is a break week on 3 June 2027

What will we cover?

• Stravinsky’s world: Russia, Modernism, and the Ballets Russes
• Stravinsky’s early life, education, and mentors.
• The Ballets Russes: Diaghilev, collaboration, and the birth of a modernist icon
• The Firebird: Lyrical Fantasy and Russian Fairytale
• Petrushka: Character, Colour, and Innovation
• The Rite of Spring: Rhythm, Ritual, and Revolution
• Exile, experiment, and change: from Switzerland to Paris
• The Neoclassical Turn: order, clarity, and reinvention including Pulcinella
• Oedipus Rex: ritual theatre and monumental style
• Collaboration with choreographers including Balanchine
• The evolution of Stravinsky’s theatrical imagination from ballet to opera‑oratorio
• Late Stravinsky: serialism, spirituality, and new sound worlds

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

• Understand Stravinsky’s life, artistic development, and the cultural contexts that shaped his music
• Identify key stylistic features across his Russian, neoclassical, and serial periods
• Recognise his contributions to ballet, opera, orchestral writing, and modernist musical language
• Discuss Stravinsky’s lasting influence on 20th‑ and 21st‑century music, performance practice, and modern cultural thought

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

The course is suitable for learners at various levels and does not require the ability to read music. A general interest in modern music, Russian history and culture, or opera, ballet and orchestral music will be helpful. Listeners already familiar with this composer’s best‑known works may appreciate deeper analysis offered in the sessions.

Complete beginners to classical music are welcome, though basic familiarity with classical music will enhance your experience.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

- Sessions will comprise combinations of lecture, discussion, quizzes, guided listening, video and score study.

- Course materials (handouts, scores, links to online videos) will be shared via Google Classroom.

- You will be encouraged to do further reading and listening outside class.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

You may also wish to purchase some of the music books or recordings discussed in class, links to these materials will be available online in Google classroom after each session.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

To find out more about music history classes please visit Music history: your guide to our programme, which lists our full programme of classes ordered by term, and by day of the week. You may then click on each title to read the full course outline.