Returning to Russia just before the outbreak of the war, he set about on
a work involving the unification of all the arts entitled "Mysterium."
On April 7th, 1915, he was taken ill with blood-poisoning. On April 14th
he was dead.
His principal orchestral works are: "Le Poeme divine," Opus 43; "Le
Poeme de l'Extase," Opus 54; and "Prometheus," Opus 60. It is not easy
to say which of his many compositions for the pianoforte are the most
important. Sonata No. 7, Opus 64; Sonata No. 8, Opus 66; Sonata No. 9,
Opus 68; and Sonata No. 10, Opus 70; are perhaps the most magistral.
STRAWINSKY
Igor Fedorovitch Strawinsky was born at Oranienbaum near Petrograd, June
5th, 1882. His father was a bass singer attached to the court. Igor was
destined for a legal career. But in 1902 he met Rimsky-Korsakoff in
Heidelberg, and abandoned all idea of studying the law. He studied with
Rimsky till 1906. His "Scherzo fantastique," inspired by Maeterlinck's
_Life of the Bee_, which was produced in 1908, attracted the attention
of Sergei Diaghilew to the young composer, and secured him a commission
to write a ballet for Diaghilew's organization. The immediate result was
"L'Oiseau de feu," which was composed and produced in 1910. "Petruschka"
was written in 1911, the composer residing in Rome at the time.
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