Editing Igor Stravinsky (section)

=== Neoclassical period, 1920–1951 ===
The ballet ''[[Pulcinella (ballet)|Pulcinella]]'' was commissioned by Diaghilev in 1919 after he proposed the idea of a ballet based on music by 18th-century Italian composers like [[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi]]; by imposing a work based on the harmonic and rhythmic systems of [[Late Baroque (music)|late-Baroque era]] composers, Stravinsky marked the start of his turn towards 18th-century music.{{sfn|Boucourechliev|1987|p=139}}{{sfn|V. Stravinsky|Craft|1978|p=183}}{{sfn|White|Noble|1980|p=251}} Although the musicologist Jeremy Noble considered Stravinsky's neoclassical period to have begun in 1920 with his ''[[Symphonies of Wind Instruments]]'',{{sfn|White|Noble|1980|p=253}} Bartók argued that the period "really starts with his Octet for Wind Instruments, followed by his [[Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments (Stravinsky)|Concerto for Piano]]".{{sfn|V. Stravinsky|Craft|1978|p=218}} During this period, Stravinsky used techniques and themes from the [[Classical period (music)|classical period of music]].{{sfn|V. Stravinsky|Craft|1978|p=218}}[[File:Ballets_Russes_Apollon_1928.jpg|alt=Five dancers posing in front of a forested backdrop|left|thumb|Dancers in the Ballets Russes's {{Lang|fr|[[Apollon musagète]]}}]]
[[Greek mythology]] was a common theme in Stravinsky's neoclassical works. His first Greek mythology-based work was the ballet {{Lang|fr|[[Apollon musagète]]}} (1927), choosing the leader of the [[Muses]] and the god of art [[Apollo]] as the subjects.{{sfn|White|1979|p=92}} Stravinsky would use themes from Greek mythology in future works like ''[[Oedipus rex (opera)|Oedipus rex]]'' (1927), ''[[Perséphone (Stravinsky)|Persephone]]'' (1935), and ''[[Orpheus (ballet)|Orpheus]]'' (1947).{{sfn|Cross|2013|p=13}} [[Richard Taruskin]] wrote that ''Oedipus rex'' was "the product of Stravinsky's neo-classical manner at its most extreme," and that musical techniques "thought outdated" were juxtaposed against contemporary ideas.{{sfn|Taruskin|1992a|pp=651–652}} In addition, Stravinsky turned towards older musical structures and modernized them.{{sfn|Szabo|2011|pp=19–22}}{{sfn|Szabo|2011|p=39}} His [[Octet (Stravinsky)|Octet]] (1923) uses the [[sonata form]], modernizing it by disregarding the standard ordering of themes and traditional tonal relationships for different sections.{{sfn|Szabo|2011|pp=19–22}} Baroque [[counterpoint]] was used throughout the choral ''[[Symphony of Psalms]]'' (1930).{{sfn|Szabo|2011|p=23}} In the [[jazz]]-influenced ''[[Ebony Concerto (Stravinsky)|Ebony Concerto]]'' (1945), Stravinsky fused [[big band]] orchestration with Baroque forms and harmonies.{{Sfn|Mellers|1967|p=31}}

Stravinsky's neoclassical period ended in 1951 with the opera ''[[The Rake's Progress]]''.{{sfn|Szabo|2011|p=1}}{{sfn|White|Noble|1980|p=256}} Taruskin described the opera as "the hub and essence of 'neo-classicism'". He pointed out how the opera contains numerous references to Greek mythology and other operas like Mozart's ''[[Don Giovanni]]'' and Bizet's ''[[Carmen]]'', but still "embod[ies] the distinctive structure of a fairy tale". Stravinsky was inspired by the [[List of operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|operas of Mozart]] in composing the music, particularly {{Lang|it|[[Così fan tutte]]}},{{Efn|Stravinsky and Auden attended a performance of {{lang|it|Così fan tutte}} while they wrote the libretto, and the composer later cited Mozart's opera as an influence on ''The Rake's Progress''.{{sfn|Stravinsky|Craft|1960|p=158}}}} but other scholars also point out influence from [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]], [[Christoph Willibald Gluck|Gluck]], [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]], [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]], [[Carl Maria von Weber|Weber]], [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]], [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]], and [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]].{{sfn|Taruskin|1992b|pp=1222–1223}}{{sfn|White|Noble|1980|p=257}} ''The Rake's Progress'' has become an important work in [[List of prominent operas|opera repertoire]], being "[more performed] than any other opera written after the death of [[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]]", according to Taruskin.{{sfn|Taruskin|1992b|p=1220}}