Igor Stravinsky is thought by many people to be the most important composer of the twentieth century. His ballets The Firebird, Petruschka and The Rite of Spring revolutionized the way composers think about rhythm and harmony.

 

Before Stravinsky, most classical composers used relatively simple rhythms, and relied on melody and harmony to make their music sound fresh and new. Stravinsky used rhythms, some of which are similar to rhythms that you can hear in African music, that had never been used in European music before.

 

Like Schoenberg, Stravinsky wanted to find new ways to use harmony. Rather than throw away the tonal system that most music uses, like Schoenberg did with his twelve-tone music, Stravinsky came up with the idea of having different instruments in his orchestra play in different keys at the same time, making startling new dissonances that were unlike anything anyone had heard before.

 

His ballet The Rite of Spring, which was about cavemen living in ancient Russia, was so shocking that at its premier in 1910 it caused an actual riot, with member of the audience ripping the seats out of the theater and throwing things on to the stage!