This program introduces the life and work of Russian-born composer Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky and provides an overview of Stravinsky's childhood in the surrounding political turmoil in Russia. The Stravinsky family experiences many struggles as a Russian Orthodox family living in Switzerland during WWI. However, Stravinsky's personal struggle comes from his love of music while his parents pressure him to pursue law. Not until Stravinsky's father died did he fully shift his concentration from law to music. He traveled to the Western world to see the premiere of his first ballet, The Firebird, in 1910, and settled in Switzerland with his family shortly thereafter.