Amongst composers who operated in the first half of the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky has few peers. The Russian-born student of Rimsky-Korsakov was born in 1882 and rose to fame through three extraordinary pieces for Ballets Russes -- 1910's The Firebird , 1911's Patrushka , and 1913's The Rite of Spring .
The thundering bass drum of The Rite , which literally incited a riot at its opening, marked a lasting sea change for Western music: its supreme dissonance broke down ...
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