On June 17, 2017 we are marking the 135th anniversary of the birth of Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer and conductor.
He was born in Oranienbaum, in the family of the Mariinsky Theater leading singer Fedor Ignatievich Stravinsky and pianist Anna Kirillovna Kholodovskaya. The hospitable atmosphere in the house of Stravinsky in St. Petersburg always attracted artists, musicians and writers. Igor grew up in a creative artistic environment.
His mother was his first music teacher. It was home schooling, not aimed at the serious musical career building. Stravinsky was fascinated by jurisprudence and in 1900 enrolled at the law faculty of St. Petersburg University.

 He returned to serious music lessons later, when he was acquainted with Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. During the same period, Stravinsky stroke up a friendship with the members of the artistic group “Mir Iskusstva” (The World of Art) Sergei Diaghilev. Undoubtedly, these two meetings determined the future of Stravinsky to a large extend. Rimsky-Korsakov, as a teacher, played an important role in the formation of the young composer, and cooperation with Diaghilev brought him success and world fame.

To commemorate the jubilee of the composer, we present you a record of three musical acts from “Pulcinella” ballet performed by a symphony orchestra directed by Igor Stravinsky himself.

 "Pulcinella" is one of the most interesting works in the musical culture of the first half of the 20th century, created by great artists innovators. The idea belonged to Sergei Diaghilev, who after the triumph of the Russian theme was carried away by Italian classics. 
The musical part was written by Igor Stravinsky, who reinterpreted and created a new arrangement of music fragments by Italian composers of the XVIIIth century - Giovanni Pergolesi, Domenico Gallo, Alessandro Parisotti and Ernesto Köhler. The famous Russian choreographer and dancer Leonid Myasin performed choreography. The scenery for the ballet premiere held in Paris in May 1920, was created according to the sketches of Pablo Picasso.