Igor Stravinsky
When the Russian Revolution broke out in February 1917 Stravinsky thought this would be good, but when the Bolshevik Revolution followed it became obvious that he would never be able to go back to Russia. He wrote L’histoire du soldat (The Soldier’s Tale). It was performed in Lausanne with Ernest Ansermet conducting. There would have been more performances but many people had influenza. When the war ended Stravinsky decided to move to France. He wrote a ballet called Pulcinella which was based on music by the 18th century composer Pergolesi. It was performed at the Paris Opéra on 15 May 1920. For some years Igor became interested in the music of the late 18th century, and the style of his work after 1920 is often described as neoclassical.