Editing The Rite of Spring (section)

== Background ==
[[Igor Stravinsky]] was the son of [[Fyodor Stravinsky]], the principal [[bass (voice type)|bass]] singer at the [[Mariinsky Theatre|Imperial Opera]], Saint Petersburg, and Anna, née Kholodovskaya, a competent amateur singer and pianist from an old-established Russian family. Fyodor's association with many of the leading figures in Russian music, including [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov|Rimsky-Korsakov]], [[Alexander Borodin|Borodin]] and [[Modest Mussorgsky|Mussorgsky]], meant that Igor grew up in an intensely musical home.<ref>Walsh 2012, §&nbsp;1: Background and early years, 1882–1905</ref> In 1901 Stravinsky began to study law at [[Saint Petersburg State University|Saint Petersburg University]] while taking private lessons in harmony and [[counterpoint]]. Stravinsky worked under the guidance of Rimsky-Korsakov, having impressed him with some of his early compositional efforts. By the time of his mentor's death in 1908, Stravinsky had produced several works, among them a [[Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor (Stravinsky)|Piano Sonata in F{{music|sharp}} minor]] (1903–04), a [[Symphony in E-flat (Stravinsky)|Symphony in E{{music|flat}} major]] (1907), which he catalogued as "Opus 1", and a short orchestral piece, ''[[Feu d'artifice]]'' ("Fireworks", composed in 1908).<ref>Walsh 2012, §&nbsp;2: Towards ''The Firebird'', 1902–09</ref><ref>Walsh 2012, §&nbsp;11: Posthumous reputation and legacy: Works</ref>

[[File:Igor Stravinsky as drawn by Pablo Picasso 31 Dec 1920 - Gallica.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Stravinsky, sketched by [[Pablo Picasso|Picasso]], 1920]]
In 1909 ''Feu d'artifice'' was performed at a concert in Saint Petersburg. Among those in the audience was the impresario [[Sergei Diaghilev]], who at that time was planning to introduce Russian music and art to western audiences.<ref name= Hartog52>White 1961, pp. 52–53</ref> Like Stravinsky, Diaghilev had initially studied law, but had gravitated via journalism into the theatrical world.<ref>{{cite book|chapter= Diaghilev, Serge|url-access = subscription | publisher=OUP Oxford|url= https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199578108.001.0001/acref-9780199578108-e-2603 |title= The Oxford Dictionary of Music Online edition|year= 2012| isbn=978-0-19-957810-8 | last1=Kennedy | first1= Michael | last2= Kennedy | first2=Joyce }}</ref> In 1907 he began his theatrical career by presenting five concerts in Paris; in the following year he introduced Mussorgsky's opera ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]''. In 1909, still in Paris, he launched the [[Ballets Russes]], initially with Borodin's [[Polovtsian Dances]] from ''[[Prince Igor]]'' and Rimsky-Korsakov's ''[[Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Scheherazade]]''. To present these works Diaghilev recruited the choreographer [[Michel Fokine]], the designer [[Léon Bakst]] and the dancer [[Vaslav Nijinsky]]. Diaghilev's intention, however, was to produce new works in a distinctively 20th-century style, and he was looking for fresh compositional talent.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Griffiths|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Griffiths (writer)|title=Diaghilev (Dyagilev), Sergey Pavlovich|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.08450 |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000008450|encyclopedia=[[Grove Music Online]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2001|isbn=978-1-56159-263-0|access-date=24 April 2021}}</ref> Having heard ''Feu d'artifice'' he approached Stravinsky, initially with a request for help in orchestrating music by [[Frédéric Chopin|Chopin]] to create new arrangements for the ballet ''[[Les Sylphides]]''. Stravinsky worked on the opening [[Nocturnes, Op. 32 (Chopin) |Nocturne in A-flat major]] and the closing [[Grande valse brillante in E-flat major (Chopin)|Grande valse brillante]]; his reward was a much bigger commission, to write the music for a new ballet, ''[[The Firebird]]'' (''L'oiseau de feu'') for the 1910 season.<ref name=Hartog52 />

Stravinsky worked through the winter of 1909–10, in close association with Fokine who was choreographing ''The Firebird''. During this period Stravinsky made the acquaintance of Nijinsky who, although not dancing in the ballet, was a keen observer of its development. Stravinsky was uncomplimentary when recording his first impressions of the dancer, observing that he seemed immature and gauche for his age (he was 21). On the other hand, Stravinsky found Diaghilev an inspiration, "the very essence of a great personality".<ref>Stravinsky 1962, pp. 24–28</ref> ''The Firebird'' was premiered on 25 June 1910, with [[Tamara Karsavina]] in the main role, and was a great public success.<ref>Walsh 2012, §&nbsp;3: The early Diaghilev ballets, 1910–14</ref> This ensured that the Diaghilev–Stravinsky collaboration would continue, in the first instance with ''[[Petrushka (ballet)|Petrushka]]'' (1911) and then ''The Rite of Spring''.<ref name=Hartog52 />