Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life.

Nurses work in a wide variety of specialties where they may work independently or as part of a team to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate care. Nursing Science is a field of knowledge based on the contributions of nursing scientists through peer-reviewed scholarly journals and evidenced-based practice.

History of nursing[link]

Prior to the foundation of modern nursing, nuns and the military often provided nursing-like services.

The religious and military roots of modern nursing remain in evidence today in many countries, for example in the United Kingdom, senior female nurses are known as ''sisters''.

The Crimean War was a significant development in nursing history, when English nurse Florence Nightingale, laid the foundations of professional nursing with the principles summarised in the book ''Notes on Nursing''.

Other important nurses in the development of the profession include: Mary Seacole, who also worked as a nurse in the Crimea; Agnes Elizabeth Jones and Linda Richards, who established quality nursing schools in the USA and Japan, and Linda Richards who was officially America's first professionally trained nurse, graduating in 1873 from the ''New England Hospital for Women and Children'' in Boston.

New Zealand was the first country to regulate nurses nationally, with adoption of the Nurses Registration Act on the 12 September 1901. It was here in New Zealand that Ellen Dougherty became the first registered nurse. North Carolina was the first state in the United States to pass a nursing license law in 1903. In the 1990s nurses became able to prescribe medications, order diagnostic and pathology tests and refer patients to other health professionals as needed. Reference Potter & Perrys (2009)

Nurses in the United States Army actually started during the Revolutionary War when a general suggested to George Washington that the he needed female nurses "to attend the sick and obey the matron's orders. In July 1775, a plan was submitted to the Second Continental Congress that provided one nurse for every ten patients and provided that a matron be allotted to every hundred sick or wounded".

Nurses have experienced difficulty with the hierarchy in medicine that has resulted in an impression that nurses' primary purpose is to follow the direction of physicians. This tendency is certainly not observed in Nightingale's ''Notes on Nursing'', where the physicians are mentioned relatively infrequently, and often in critical tones—particularly relating to bedside manner.

In the early 1900s, the autonomous, nursing-controlled, Nightingale era schools came to an end – schools became controlled by hospitals, and formal "book learning" was discouraged. Hospitals and physicians saw women in nursing as a source of free or inexpensive labor. Exploitation was not uncommon by nurse’s employers, physicians and educational providers. Nursing practice was controlled by medicine.

The modern era has seen the development of nursing degrees and nursing has numerous journals to broaden the knowledge base of the profession. Nurses are often in key management roles within health services and hold research posts at universities.

World War I[link]

Before the late 19th century, and into the early 20th century, women doing nursing work were generally members of religious orders or were effectively domestic servants, with the same lowly social status, caring for the sick either in private homes or at charity hospitals serving the poor. Florence Nightingale's efforts to improve nursing standards in the mid-nineteenth century increased interest in occupational improvements that would benefit patients, with particular importance given to military settings. In 1860, Florence Nightingale's work resulted in Queen Victoria's order for a hospital to be built to train Army nurses and surgeons, the Royal Victoria Hospital. The hospital opened in 1863 in Netley and admitted and cared for military patients. Beginning in 1866, nurses were formally appointed to Military General Hospitals. The Army Nursing Service (ANS) oversaw the work of the nurses starting in 1881. These military nurses were sent overseas beginning with the First Boer War (often called Zulu War) from 1879 to 1881. They were also dispatched to serve during the Egyptian Campaign in 1882 and the Sudan War of 1883 to 1884. During the Sudan War members of the Army Nursing Service nursed in hospital ships on the Nile as well as the Citadel in Cairo. Almost 2000 nurses served during the second Boer War, the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 to 1902, alongside nurses who were part of the colonial armies of Australia, Canada and New Zealand. They served in tented field hospitals. 23 Army Nursing sisters from Britain lost their lives from disease outbreaks.

Sporadic progress was made on several continents, where medical pioneers established formal nursing schools. But even as late as the 1870s, "women working in North American urban hospitals typically were untrained, working class, and accorded lowly status by both the medical profession they supported and society at large". Nursing had the same status in Great Britain and continental Europe before World War I.

Hospital nursing schools in the United States and Canada took the lead in applying Nightingale's model to their training programmers:

By the beginning of World War I, military nursing still had only a small role for women in Britain; 10,500 nurses enrolled in Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) and the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service. These services dated to 1902 and 1918, and enjoyed royal sponsorship. There also were Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurses who had been enrolled by the Red Cross. The ranks that were created for the new nursing services were Matron-in-Chief, Principal Matron, Sister and Staff Nurses. Women joined steadily throughout the War. At the end of 1914, there were 2,223 regular and reserve members of the QAIMNS and when the war ended there were 10,404 trained nurses in the QAIMNS.

When Canadian nurses volunteered to serve during World War I, they were made commissioned officers by the Royal Canadian Army before being sent overseas, a move that would grant them some authority in the ranks, so that enlisted patients and orderlies would have to comply with their direction. Canada was the first country in the world to grant women this privilege. At the beginning of the War, nurses were not dispatched to the casualty clearing stations near the front lines, where they would be exposed to shell fire. They were initially assigned to hospitals a safe distance away from the front lines. As the war continued, however, nurses were assigned to casualty clearing stations. They were exposed to shelling, and caring for soldiers with "shell shock" and casualties suffering the effects of new weapons such as poisonous gas, as Katherine Wilson-Sammie recollects in ''Lights Out! A Canadian Nursing Sister’s Tale''. World War I was also the first war in which a clearly-marked hospital ship evacuating the wounded was targeted and sunk by an enemy submarine or torpedo boat, an act that had previously been considered unthinkable, but which happened repeatedly (see List of hospital ships sunk in World War I). Nurses were among the casualties.

Canadian women volunteering to serve overseas as nurses overwhelmed the army with applications. A total of 3,141 Canadian "nursing sisters" served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps and 2,504 of those served overseas in England, France and the Eastern Mediterranean at Gallipoli, Alexandria and Salonika. By the end of the First World War, 46 Canadian Nursing Sisters had died In addition to these nurses serving overseas with the military, others volunteered and paid their own way over with organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross, the Victorian Order of Nurses, and St. John Ambulance. The sacrifices made by these nurses during the War in fact gave a boost to the women's suffrage movement in many of the countries that fought in the war. The Canadian Army nursing sisters were among the first women in the world to win the right to vote in a federal election; the Military Voters Act of 1917 extended the vote to women in the service such as Nursing Sisters.

World War II[link]

United States[link]

As Campbell (1984) shows, the nursing profession was transformed by World War Two. The profession contained a basic tension between the tender loving care provided sick people, on the one hand, and the well-trained efficient specialists on the other was a historic tension in the nursing profession that was partially resolved by the war. The military wanted well-trained efficient specialists. All the services used enlisted men to handle the routine care of sick patients are wounded patients, and use their nurses as officers who were trained specialists. In military units, male doctors supervised female nurses, and both were officers, while the women in practice supervised large numbers of enlisted men. Although enlisted medic could become an officer, it was not easy, and none could become a nurse. Indeed there were no male nurses in the American military until years later. Army and Navy nursing was highly attractive and a larger proportion of nurses volunteered for service higher than any other occupation in American society. The nation responded by a dramatic increase in the numbers and functions of nurses, and a moderate modest increase in their pay scales, with the expansion powered by the training of 200,000 nurses aides by the Red Cross, and the creation of a temporary new government agency, the Cadet Nurse Corps, which enrolled 170,000 young women in speeded up training programs in the nation's 1200 nursing schools. About 5% five percent of the Cadet nurses, and Army nurses were black, but the Navy refused to accept black nurses until it was forced to admit a handful by the White House near the end of the war. The black Army nurses were used in all-black units, handle and to handle medical services for prisoners of war.

The public image of the nurses was highly favorable during the war, as the simplified by such Hollywood films as "Cry 'Havoc'" which made the selfless nurses heroes under enemy fire. Some nurses were captured by the Japanese, but in practice they were kept out of harm's way, with the great majority stationed on the home front. However, 77 were stationed in the jungles of the Pacific, where their uniform consisted of "khaki slacks, mud, shirts, mud, field shoes, mud, and fatigues." The 20,000 nurses in Europe were safely behind the lines. They had two missions one provide technical nursing services to military hospitals and second to train and the male Army medics and male pharmacy mates in the Navy. These men handled front line nursing care, and also staffed home front hospitals, where the nurses directly supervised them. The medical services were large operations, with over 600,000 soldiers, and ten enlisted men for every nurse. Nearly all the doctors were men, with women doctors allowed only to examine the WAC. Forward medical units, were emergency surgery was undertaken, was done without the benefit of nurses. Well behind the battlefield, the nurses worked in evacuation hospitals, primarily in the role of supervising the medics and the Navy’s pharmacy mates. The closer to the front, the more flexible and autonomous was the nurse’s’ role. The women wanted to be much closer to the front, but they had too weak a voice to counter the Pentagon’s highly protective attitude.

Down to 1942, the American Red Cross controlled access to the military. The Red Cross was controlled by civilian men, professional experts and social work and fundraising. The new leaders emerging from the war had learned command skills, maneuvering in complex bureaucracies, the taste of equal pay an officer status, and autonomy within military medical system. New technical skills validated their demands for an autonomy as they learned and employed in crisis situations the latest trauma and medical techniques and technologies. The military nurses returned home as the nation’s experts in blood transfusion and the application of new drugs like penicillin. When the nurses returned home they used the previously powerless American Nurses Association to take control of the nursing profession.

Britain[link]

During World War II, nurses belonged to Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS), as they had during World War I, and as they remain today. (Nurses belonging to the QAIMNS are informally called "QA"s.) Members of the Army Nursing Service served in every overseas British military campaign during World War II, as well as at military hospitals in Britain. At the beginning of World War II, nurses held officer status with equivalent rank, but were not commissioned officers. In 1941, emergency commissions and a rank structure were created, conforming with the structure used in the rest of the British Army. Nurses were given rank badges and were now able to be promoted to ranks from Lieutenant through to Brigadier. Nurses were exposed to all dangers during the War, and some were captured and became prisoners of war.

Germany[link]

Germany had a very large and well organized nursing service, with three main organizations, one for Catholics, one for Protestants, and the DRK (Red Cross). In 1934 the Nazis set up their own nursing unit, the Brown Nurses, absorbing one of the smaller groups, bringing it up to 40,000 members. It set up kindergartens, hoping to seize control of the minds of the younger Germans, in competition with the other nursing organizations. Civilian psychiatric nurses who were Nazi party members participated in the killings of invalids, although the process was shrouded in euphemisms and denials.

Military nursing was primarily handled by the DRK, which came under partial Nazi control. Front line medical services were provided by male medics and doctors. Red Cross nurses served widely within the military medical services, staffing the hospitals that perforce were close to the front lines and at risk of bombing attacks. Two dozen were awarded the highly prestigious Iron Cross for heroism under fire. They are among the 470,000 German women who served with the military.

Definition[link]

Although nursing practice varies both through its various specialties and countries, these nursing organizations offer the following definitions:

Nursing as a profession[link]

The authority for the practice of nursing is based upon a social contract that delineates professional rights and responsibilities as well as mechanisms for public accountability. In almost all countries, nursing practice is defined and governed by law, and entrance to the profession is regulated at the national or state level.

The aim of the nursing community worldwide is for its professionals to ensure quality care for all, while maintaining their credentials, code of ethics, standards, and competencies, and continuing their education. There are a number of educational paths to becoming a professional nurse, which vary greatly worldwide, but all involve extensive study of nursing theory and practice, and training in clinical skills.

Nurses care for individuals of all ages and cultural backgrounds who are healthy and ill in a holistic manner based on the individual's physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs. The profession combines physical science, social science, nursing theory, and technology in caring for those individuals.

In order to work in the nursing profession, all nurses hold one or more credentials depending on their scope of practice and education. A Licensed practical nurse (LPN) (also referred to as a Licensed vocational nurse, Registered practical nurse, Enrolled nurse, and State enrolled nurse) works independently or with a Registered nurse. The most significant differentiation between an LPN and RN is found in the requirements for entry to practice, which determines entitlement for their scope of practice, for example in Canada an RN requires a bachelors degree and a LPN requires a 2 year diploma. A Registered nurse (RN) provides scientific, psychological, and technological knowledge in the care of patients and families in many health care settings. Registered nurses may also earn additional credentials or degrees. In the USA, in addition to the LPN, Registered nurses can earn 2 different degrees that qualify a nurse for the title RN. The title RN ADN is awarded to the nurse who has completed a 2 year undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years. The title RN BSN is awarded to the nurse who has earned an American four year academic degree in the science and principles of nursing, granted by a tertiary education university or similarly accredited school. After completing either the LPN or either RN education programs in the USA, graduates are eligible to sit for the a licensing examination to become a nurse, the passing of which is required for the nursing license.

RN's may also pursue different roles as advanced practice registered nurses.

Nurses may follow their personal and professional interests by working with any group of people, in any setting, at any time. Some nurses follow the traditional role of working in a hospital setting.

Around the world, nurses have been traditionally female. Despite equal opportunity legislation nursing has continued to be a female dominated profession. For instance, in Canada and America the male-to-female ratio of nurses is approximately 1:19. This ratio is represented around the world. Notable exceptions include: Francophone Africa, which includes the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Guinea, Gabon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, and Togo, which all have more male than female nurses. In Europe, in countries such as Spain, Portugal, Czechoslovakia, and Italy, over 20% of nurses are male. Although nursing practice varies both through its various specialties and countries, these nursing organizations offer the following definitions:

Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings. Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. Advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health systems management, and education are also key nursing roles. — International Council of Nurses [25]

The use of clinical judgement in the provision of care to enable people to improve, maintain, or recover health, to cope with health problems, and to achieve the best possible quality of life, whatever their disease or disability, until death. —Royal College of Nursing UK [26]

Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities; prevention of illness and injury; alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human responses; and advocacy in health care for individuals, families, communities, and populations. —American Nurses Association[27]

The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge. —Virginia Avenel Henderson[28]

Nursing theory and process[link]

Nursing practice is the actual provision of nursing care. In providing care, nurses implement the nursing care plan using the nursing process. This is based around a specific nursing theory which is selected based on the care setting and population served. In providing nursing care, the nurse uses both nursing theory and best practice derived from nursing research.

In general terms, the nursing process is the method used to assess and diagnose needs, plan outcomes and interventions, implement interventions, and evaluate the outcomes of the care provided. Like other disciplines, the profession has developed different theories derived from sometimes diverse philosophical beliefs and paradigms or worldviews to help nurses direct their activities to accomplish specific goals.

Practice settings[link]

Nurses practice in a wide range of settings, from hospitals to visiting people in their homes and caring for them in schools to research in pharmaceutical companies. Nurses work in occupational health settings (also called industrial health settings), free-standing clinics and physician offices, nurse-led clinics, long-term care facilities and camps. They also work on cruise ships and in military service. Nurses act as advisers and consultants to the health care and insurance industries. Many nurses also work in the health advocacy and patient advocacy fields at companies such as Health Advocate, Inc. helping in a variety of clinical and administrative issues. Some are attorneys and others work with attorneys as legal nurse consultants, reviewing patient records to assure that adequate care was provided and testifying in court. Nurses can work on a temporary basis, which involves doing shifts without a contract in a variety of settings, sometimes known as ''per diem nursing'', ''agency nursing'' or ''travel nursing''. Nurses work as researchers in laboratories, universities, and research institutions. Nurses have also been delving into the world of informatics, acting as consultants to the creation of computerized charting programs and other software.

Work environment[link]

Internationally, there is a serious shortage of nurses. One reason for this shortage is due to the work environment in which nurses practice. In a recent review of the empirical human factors and ergonomic literature specific to nursing performance, nurses were found to work in generally poor environmental conditions. De Lucia, Otto, & Palmier (2009) concluded, "the profession of nursing as a whole is overloaded because there is a nursing shortage. Individual nurses are overloaded. They are overloaded by the number of patients they oversee. They are overloaded by the number of tasks they perform. They work under cognitive overload, engaging in multitasking and encountering frequent interruptions. They work under perceptual overload due to medical devices that do not meet perceptual requirements (Morrow et al., 2005), insufficient lighting, illegible handwriting, and poor labeling designs. They work under physical overload due to long work hours and patient handling demands which leads to a high incidence of MSDs. In short, the nursing work system often exceeds the limits and capabilities of human performance. HF/E research should be conducted to determine how these overloads can be reduced and how the limits and capabilities of performance can be accommodated. Ironically, the literature shows that there are studies to determine whether nurses can effectively perform tasks ordinarily performed by physicians. Results indicate that nurses can perform such tasks effectively. Nevertheless, already overloaded nurses should not be given more tasks to perform. When reducing the overload, it should be kept in mind that under loads also can be detrimental to performance (Mack worth, 1948). Both overloads and under loads are important to consider for improving performance."

First-level nurses[link]

First-level nurses make up the bulk of the registered nurses in the UK. They were previously known by titles such as RGN (registered general nurse), RSCN (registered sick children's nurse), RMN (registered mental nurse), RMHN (registered nurse (for the) mentally handicapped).

The titles used now are similar and with slight differences i.e. RNA (registered nurse adult), RNC (registered nurse child), RNMH (registered nurse mental health), RNLD (registered nurse learning disabilities).

Second-level nurse training is no longer provided, however they are still legally able to practice in the United Kingdom as a registered nurse. Many have now either retired or undertaken conversion courses to become first-level nurses. They are entitled to refer to themselves as Registered Nurses as their registration is on the Nursing & Midwifery Council register of nurses, although most refer to themselves as ENs or SENs.

They split into several major groups:

Nurse practitioners - These nurses obtain a minimum of a Bachelor's degree, and a desired masters or post grad. They often perform roles similar to those of physicians and physician assistants, they can prescribe medications as independent or supplementary prescribers, although are still legally regulated, unlike physician's assistants. Most NP's have referral and admission rights to hospital specialties. They commonly work in primary care (e.g. GP surgeries), A&E; departments, or pediatrics although they are increasingly being seen in other areas of practice. In the UK, the title "nurse practitioner" is legally protected.

Specialist community public health nurses - traditionally district nurses and health visitors, this group of research and publication activities.

Lecturer-practitioners (also called practice education facilitators) - these nurses work both in the NHS, and in universities. They typically work for 2–3 days per week in each setting. In university, they train pre-registration student nurses (see below), and often teach on specialist courses for post-registration nurses

Lecturers - these nurses are not employed by the NHS. Instead they work full time in universities, both teaching and performing research.

Managers[link]

Many nurses who have worked in clinical settings for a long time choose to leave clinical nursing and join the ranks of the NHS management. This used to be seen as a natural career progression for those who had reached ward management positions, however with the advent of specialist nursing roles (see above), this has become a less attractive option.

Nonetheless, many nurses fill positions in the senior management structure of NHS organizations, some even as board members. Others choose to stay a little closer to their clinical roots by becoming clinical nurse managers or ''modern matrons''.

Nurse education[link]

Pre-registration[link]

In order to become a registered nurse, and work as such in the NHS, one must complete a program recognized by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Currently, this involves completing a degree or diploma, available from a range of universities offering these courses, in the chosen branch specialty (see below), leading to both an academic award and professional registration as a 1st level registered nurse. Such a course is a 50/50 split of learning in university (i.e. through lectures, essays and examinations) and in practice (i.e. supervised patient care within a hospital or community setting).

These courses are three (occasionally four) years' long. The first year is known as the common foundation program (CFP), and teaches the basic knowledge and skills required of all nurses. The remainder of the program consists of training specific to the student's chosen branch of nursing. These are:

Adult nursing.

Child nursing.

Mental health nursing.

Learning disabilities nursing.

As of 2013, the Nursing and Midwifery Council will require all new nurses qualifying in England to hold a degree qualification.

Midwifery training is similar in length and structure, but is sufficiently different that it is not considered a branch of nursing. There are shortened (18 month) programmes to allow nurses already qualified in the adult branch to hold dual registration as a nurse and a midwife. Shortened courses lasting 2 years also exist for graduates of other disciplines to train as nurses. This is achieved by more intense study and a shortening of the common foundation program.

Student nurses currently receive a bursary from the government to support them during their nurse training. Diploma students in England receive a non-means-tested bursary of around £6000 per year (with additional allowances for mature students or those with dependent children), whereas degree students have their bursary means tested (and so often receive less). Degree students are, however, eligible for a proportion of the government's student loan, unlike diploma students. In Scotland, however, all student nurses regardless of which course they are undertaking, receive the same bursary in line with the English diploma amount. In Wales only the Degree level course is offered and all nursing students therefore receive a non-means-tested bursary.

Before Project 2000, nurse education was the responsibility of hospitals and was not based in universities; hence many nurses who qualified prior to these reforms do not hold an academic award.

Post-registration[link]

After the point of initial registration, there is an expectation that all qualified nurses will continue to update their skills and knowledge. The Nursing and Midwifery Council insists on a minimum of 35 hours of education every three years, as part of its post registration education and practice (PREP) requirements.

There are also opportunities for many nurses to gain additional clinical skills after qualification. Cannulation, venepuncture, intravenous drug therapy and male cauterization are the most common, although there are many others (such as advanced life support) which some nurses will undertake.

Many nurses who qualified with a diploma choose to upgrade their qualification to a degree by studying part time. Many nurses prefer this option to gaining a degree initially, as there is often an opportunity to study in a specialist field as a part of this upgrading. Financially, in England, it is also much more lucrative, as diploma students get the full bursary during their initial training, and employers often pay for the degree course as well as the nurse's salary.

In order to become specialist nurses (such as nurse consultants, nurse practitioners etc.) or nurse educators, some nurses undertake further training above bachelors degree level. Masters degrees exist in various healthcare related topics, and some nurses choose to study for PhDs or other higher academic awards. District nurses and health visitors are also considered specialist nurses, and in order to become such they must undertake specialist training (often in the form of a top up degree (see above) or post graduate diploma).

All newly qualifying district nurses and Health Visitors are trained to prescribe from the Nurse Prescribers' Formulary, a list of medications and dressings typically useful to those carrying out these roles. Many of these (and other) nurses will also undertake training in independent and supplementary prescribing, which allows them (as of May 1, 2006) to prescribe almost any drug in the British National Formulary. This has been the cause of a great deal of debate in both medical and nursing circles.

Canada[link]

History[link]

Canadian nursing dates all the way back to 1639 in Quebec with the Augustine nuns. These nuns were trying to open up a mission that cared for the spiritual and physical needs of patients. The establishment of this mission created the first nursing apprenticeship training in North America. In the nineteenth century there were some Catholic orders of nursing that were trying to spread their message across Canada. Most nurses were female and only had an occasional consultation with a physician. Towards the end of the nineteenth century hospital care and medical services had been improved and expanded. Much of this was due to Florence Nightingale who was training women in English Canada. In 1874 the first formal nursing training program was started at the General and Marine Hospital in St. Catharines in Ontario. Many programs popped up in hospitals across Canada after this one was established. Graduates and teachers from these programs began to fight for licensing legislation, nursing journals, university training for nurses, and for professional organizations for nurses.

The first instance of Canadian nurses and the military was in 1885 with the Northwest Rebellion. Some nurses came out to aid the wounded. In 1901 Canadian nurses were officially part of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps. Georgina Fane Pope and Margaret Clothilde Macdonald were the first nurses officially recognized as military nurses. Nursing continued to expand and develop. In the early twentieth century more nursing programs were developed for public health nursing and disease prevention. More changes occurred after World War II. The health care system expanded and medicare was introduced. Currently there are 260,000 nurses in Canada but they face the same difficulties as most countries. Nurses are becoming more scarce and the population is aging which requires more nursing care.

Education[link]

All Canadian nurses and prospective nurses are heavily encouraged by the Canadian Nurses Association to continue their education to receive a Baccalaureate degree. They believe that this is the best degree to work towards because it results in better patient outcomes. In addition to helping patients, nurses that have a Baccalaureate degree will be less likely to make small errors because they have a higher level of education. A Baccalaureate degree also gives a nurse a more critical opinion which gives he or she more of an edge in the field. This ultimately saves the hospital money because they deal with less problematic incidents. All Canadian provinces except for the Yukon and Quebec require that all nurses must have a Baccalaureate degree. The basic length of time that it takes to obtain a Baccalaureate degree is four years. However, Canada does have a condensed program that is two years long.

There are nineteen specialties that a nurse could choose from if he or she wanted to narrow down his or her field. According to the Canadian Nurses Association some of those specialties are Cardiovascular Nursing, Community Health Nursing, Critical Care Nursing, Emergency Nursing, Gerontology Nursing, Medical-Surgical Nursing, Neuroscience Nursing, Oncology Nursing, Orthopedic Nursing, Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing, and Rehabilitation Nursing. Each specialty requires its own test and competencies. Many tests are offered online through the Canadian Nurses Association.

Public opinion[link]

Canadian nurses hold a lot of responsibility in the medical field and are considered vital. According to the Canadian Nurses Association, "They expect RNs to develop and implement multi-faceted plans for managing chronic disease, treating complex health conditions and assisting them in the transition from the hospital to the community. Canadians also look to RNs for health education and for strategies to improve their health. RNs assess the appropriateness of new research and technology for patients and adjust care plans accordingly". It is rather uncommon to see nurses with this much independence. In most countries nurses appear to be considered lesser than a physician like in the United States or Japan.

Japan[link]

History[link]

Nursing was not an established part of Japan's healthcare system until 1899 with the Midwives Ordinance. From there the Registered Nurse Ordinance came into play in 1915. This established a legal substantiation to registered nurses all over Japan. A new law geared towards nurses was created during World War II. This law was titled the Public Health Nurse, Midwife and Nurse Law and it was established in 1948. It established educational requirements, standards and licensure. There has been a continued effort to improve nursing in Japan. In 1992 the Nursing Human Resource Law was passed. This law created the development of new university programs for nurses. Those programs were designed to raise the education level of the nurses so that they could be better suited for taking care of the public.

Types of nurses[link]

Japan only recognizes four types of nursing and they are Public Health Nursing, Midwifery, Registered Nursing and Assistant Nursing.

Public health nursing[link]

This type of nursing is designed to help the public and is also driven by the public's needs. The goals of public health nurses are to monitor the spread of disease, keep vigilant watch for environmental hazards, educate the community on how to care for and treat themselves, and train for community disasters.

Midwifery[link]

Nurses that are involved with midwifery are independent of any organization. A midwife takes care of a pregnant woman during labor and postpartum. They assist with things like breastfeeding and caring for the child.

Assistant nursing[link]

Individuals who are assistant nurses follow orders from a registered nurse. They report back to the licensed nurse about a patient's condition. Assistant nurses are always supervised by a licensed registered nurse.

Nursing education[link]

In 1952 Japan established the first nursing university in the country. An Associate Degree was the only level of certification for years. Soon people began to want nursing degrees at a higher level of education. Soon the Bachelors Degree in Nursing (BSN) was established. Currently Japan offers doctorate level degrees of nursing in a good number of its universities.

There are three ways that an individual could become a registered nurse in Japan. After obtaining a high school degree the person could go to a nursing university for four years and earn a Bachelor degree, go to a junior nursing college for three years or go to a nursing school for three years. Regardless of where the individual attends school they must take the national exam. Those who attended a nursing university have a bit of an advantage over those who went to a nursing school. They can take the national exam to be a registered nurse, public health nurse or midwife. In the cases of become a midwife or a public health nurse, the student must take a one year course in their desired field after attending a nursing university and passing the national exam to become a registered nurse. The nursing universities are the best route for someone who wants to become a nurse in Japan. They offer a wider range of general education classes and they also allow for a more rigid teaching style of nursing. These nursing universities train their students to be able to make critical and educated decisions when they are out in the field. Physicians are the ones who are teaching the potential nurses because there are not enough available nurses to teach students. This increases the dominance that physicians have over nurses.

Students that attend a nursing college or just a nursing school receive the same degree that one would who graduated from a nursing university, but they do not have the same educational background. The classes offered at nursing colleges and nursing schools are focused on more practical aspects of nursing. These institutions do not offer many general education classes, so students who attend these schools will solely be focusing on their nursing educations while they are in school. Students who attend a nursing college or school do have the opportunity to become a midwife or a public health nurse. They have to go through a training institute for their desired field after graduating from the nursing school or college. Japanese nurses never have to renew their licenses. Once they have passed their exam, they have their license for life.

Nursing in Japan today[link]

Like the United States, Japan is in need of more nurses. The driving force behind this need this is the fact that country is aging and needs more medical care for its people. The country needs a rapid increase of nurses however things do not seem to be turning around. Some of the reasons that there is a shortage are poor working conditions, an increase in the number of hospital beds, the low social status of nurses, and the cultural idea that married women quit their jobs for family responsibilities. On average, Japanese nurses will make around 280,000 yen a year, which is one of the higher paying jobs. however, physicians make twice the amount that nurses do in a year. Similar to other cultures, the Japanese people view nurses as subservient to physicians. They are considered lesser and oftentimes negative connotations are associated with nurses. According to the American Nurses Association article on Japan, "nursing work has been described using negative terminology such as "hard, dirty, dangerous, low salary, few holidays, minimal chance of marriage and family, and poor image".

Some nurses in Japan are trying to be advocates. They are promoting better nursing education as well as promoting the care of the elderly. There are some organizations that unite Japanese nurses like the Japanese Nursing Association (JNA). The JNA is not to be confused with a union, it is simply a professional organization for the nurses. Members of the JNA lobby politicians and produces publications about nursing. According to the American Nurses Association's article on Japan the JNA, "works toward the improvement in nursing practice through many activities including the development of a policy research group to influence policy development, a code of ethics for nurses, and standards of nursing practice". The JNA also provides certification for specialists in mental health, oncology and community health. JNA is the not the only nursing organization in Japan. There are other subgroups that are typically categorized by the nurses' specialty, like emergency nursing or disaster nursing. One of the older unions that relates to nursing is the Japanese Federation of Medical Workers Union which was created in 1957. It is a union that includes physicians as well as nurses. This organization was involved with the Nursing Human Resource Law.

United States[link]

The scope of practice of registered nurses is the extent to and limits of which an RN may practice. In the United States, these limits are determined by a set of laws known as the Nurse Practice Act of the state or territory in which an RN is licensed. Each state has its own laws, rules, and regulations governing nursing care. Usually the making of such rules and regulations is delegated to a state board of nursing, which performs day-to-day administration of these rules, qualifies candidates for licensure, licenses nurses and nursing assistants, and makes decisions on nursing issues. It should be noted that in some states the terms "nurse" or "nursing" may only be used in conjunction with the practice of a Registered Nurse (RN) or licensed practical or vocational nurse (LPN/LVN).

The scope of practice for a registered nurse is wider than for an LPN/LVN because of the level and content of education as well as what the Nurse Practice Act says about the respective roles of each.

In the hospital setting, registered nurses are often assigned a role in which they delegate tasks to LPNs and unlicensed assistive personnel.

RNs are not limited to employment as bedside nurses. Registered nurses are employed by physicians, attorneys, insurance companies, governmental agencies, community/public health agencies, private industry, school districts, ambulatory surgery centers, among others. Some registered nurses are independent consultants who work for themselves, while others work for large manufacturers or chemical companies. Research Nurses conduct or assist in the conduct of research or evaluation (outcome and process) in many areas such as biology, psychology, human development, and health care systems. The average salary for a staff RN in the United States in 2007 was over $60,000.

Educational and licensure requirements[link]

Diploma in Nursing[link]

The oldest method of nursing education is the hospital-based diploma program, which lasts approximately three years. Students take between 30 and 60 credit hours in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, nutrition, chemistry, and other subjects at a college or university, then move on to intensive nursing classes. Until 1996, most RNs in the US were initially educated in nursing by diploma programs. According to the Health Services Resources Administration's 2000 Survey of Nurses only six percent of nurses who graduated from nursing programs in the United States received their education at a Diploma School of Nursing.

Associate Degree in Nursing[link]

The most common initial nursing education is a two-year Associate Degree in Nursing (Associate of Applied Science in Nursing, Associate of Science in Nursing, Associate Degree in Nursing), a two-year college degree referred to as an ADN. Some four-year colleges and universities also offer the ADN. Associate degree nursing programs have many prerequisite and co-requisite courses which ultimately stretch out the degree-acquiring process to about 3 years or greater.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing [link]

The third method is to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), a four-year degree that also prepares nurses for graduate-level education. For the first two years in a BSN program, students usually obtain general education requirements and spend the remaining time in nursing courses. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees have many courses which stretches out the degree-acquiring process to over 4 years. Advocates for the ADN and diploma programs state that such programs have a on the job training approach to educating students, while the BSN is an academic degree that emphasizes research and nursing theory. However the BSN graduate has both more classroom and clinical hours of study in nursing than the ADN graduate. The BSN graduate is professionally degreed; and as such is called a professional nurse. However, some states require a specific amount of clinical experience that is the same for both BSN and ADN students. Nursing schools may or may not be accredited by either the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Graduate nursing opportunities[link]

Advanced education in nursing is done at the master's and doctoral levels. It prepares the graduate for specialization as an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) or for advanced roles in leadership, management, or education. Areas of advanced nursing practice include that of a nurse practitioner (NP), a certified nurse midwife (CNM), a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), or a clinical nurse specialist (CNS). Nurse practitioners work assessing, diagnosing and treating patients in fields as diverse as family practice, women's health care, emergency nursing, acute/critical care, psychiatry, geriatrics, or pediatrics, while a CNS usually works for a facility to improve patient care, do research, or as a staff educator. The clinical nurse leader (CNL) is an advanced generalist who focuses on the improvement of quality and safety outcomes for patients or patient populations from an administrative and staff management focus. Doctoral programs in nursing prepare the student for work in nursing education, health care administration, clinical research, or advanced clinical practice. Most programs confer the Ph.D in nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).

Licensure examination[link]

Completion of any one of these three educational routes allows a graduate nurse to take the NCLEX-RN, the test for licensure as a registered nurse, and is accepted by every state as an adequate indicator of minimum competency for a new graduate. However, controversy exists over the appropriate entry-level preparation of RNs. Some professional organizations believe the BSN should be the sole method of RN preparation and ADN graduates should be licensed as "technical nurses" to work under the supervision of BSN graduates. Others feel the on-the-job experiences of diploma and ADN graduates makes up for any deficiency in theoretical preparation. Regardless of this debate, it is highly unlikely that the BSN will become the standard for initial preparation any time soon, because of the nursing shortage, hospital lobbyist, and the lack of faculty to teach BSN students.

Earnings[link]

Median annual wages of registered nurses were $62,450 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $51,640 and $76,570. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $43,410, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $92,240. Median annual wages in the industries employing the largest numbers of registered nurses in May 2008 were:

Employment services $68,160; General medical and surgical hospitals $63,880; Offices of physicians $59,210; Home health care services $58,740; Nursing care facilities $57,060.

Many employers offer flexible work schedules, child care, educational benefits, and bonuses. About 21 percent of registered nurses are union members or covered by union contract.

Top 10 Highest Paying Nursing Specialties 1) Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist – $135,000 2) Nurse Researcher – $95,000 3) Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner – $95,000 4) Certified Nurse Midwife – $84,000 5) Pediatric Endocrinology Nurse – $81,000 6) Orthopedic Nurse – $81,000 7) Nurse Practitioner – $78,000 8) Clinical Nurse Specialist – $76,000 9) Gerontological Nurse Practitioner – $75,000 10) Neonatal Nurse – $74,000

The nursing shortage in the United States[link]

RNs are the largest group of health care workers in the United States, numbering over 2.6 million. It has been reported that the number of new graduates and foreign-trained nurses is insufficient to meet the demand for registered nurses; this is often referred to as the nursing shortage and is expected to increase for the foreseeable future. There are data to support the idea that the nursing shortage is a voluntary shortage. In other words, nurses are leaving nursing of their own volition. In 2006 it was estimated that approximately 1.8 million nurses chose not to work as a nurse.

Causes of the nursing shortage in the United States[link]

There has been a serious shortage of nurses for many years. A national survey prepared by the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals in 2001 found that one in five nurses plans to leave the profession within five years because of unsatisfactory working conditions, including low pay, severe under staffing, high stress, physical demands, mandatory overtime, and irregular hours. The shortage will also be exacerbated by the increasing numbers of baby-boomer aged nurses who are expected to retire, creating more open positions than there are graduates of nursing programs. The faster than average job growth in this field is also a result of improving medical technology that will allow for treatments of many more diseases and health conditions. Nurses will be strong in demand to work with the rapidly growing population of senior citizens in the United States. Approximately 60 percent of all nursing jobs are found in hospitals. However, because of administrative cost cutting, increased nurse's workload, and rapid growth of outpatient services, hospital nursing jobs will experience slower than average growth. Employment in home care and nursing homes is expected to grow rapidly. Though more people are living well into their 80s and 90s, many need the kind of long-term care available at a nursing home. Also, because of financial reasons, patients are being released from hospitals sooner and admitted into nursing homes. Many nursing homes have facilities and staff capable of caring for long-term rehabilitation patients, as well as those afflicted with Alzheimer's. Many nurses will also be needed to help staff the growing number of out-patient facilities, such as HMOs, group medical practices, and ambulatory surgery centers. Nursing specialties will be in great demand. There are, in addition, many part-time employment possibilities.

Continuing education[link]

With health care knowledge growing steadily, nurses can stay ahead of the curve through continuing education. Continuing education classes and programs enable nurses to provide the best possible care to patients, advance nursing careers, and keep up with Board of Nursing requirements. The American Nurses Association and the American Nursing Credentialing Center are devoted to ensuring nurses have access to quality continuing education offerings.Many States also regulate Continuing Nursing Education. Nursing licensing boards requiring Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) as a condition for licensure, either initial or renewal, accept courses provided by organizations that are accredited by other state licensing boards, by the American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC), or by organizations that have been designated as an approver of continuing nursing education by ANCC. There are some exceptions to this rule including the state of California, Florida and Kentucky. National Healthcare Institute has created a list to assist nurses in determining their CNE credit hours requirements. While this list is not all inclusive, it offers details on how to contact nursing licensing boards directly.

Nursing board certification[link]

Professional nursing organizations, through their certification boards, have voluntary certification exams to demonstrate clinical competency in their particular specialty. Completion of the prerequisite work experience allows an RN to register for an examination, and passage gives an RN permission to use a professional designation after their name. For example, passage of the American Association of Critical-care Nurses specialty exam allows a nurse to use the initials 'CCRN' after his or her name. Other organizations and societies have similar procedures.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center, the credentialing arm of the American Nurses Association, is the largest nursing credentialing organization and administers more than 30 specialty examinations.

Nursing specialties[link]

Nursing is the most diverse of all healthcare professions. Nurses practice in a wide range of settings but generally nursing is divided depending on the needs of the person being nursed.

The major populations are:

communities/public

family/individual across the lifespan

adult-gerontology

pediatrics

neonatal

women’s health/gender-related

psych/mental health

There are also specialist areas such as cardiac nursing, orthopedic nursing, palliative care, perioperative nursing, obstetrical nursing, and oncology nursing.

Picture gallery[link]

See also[link]

Registered nurse

Licensed practical nurse

Advanced practice registered nurse

Nightingale Pledge

Nursing care plan

Nursing theory

Health promotion

Family centered care

List of nursing specialties

*Nursing specialties category

List of nurses

Prominent nurses category

Nurse-client relationship

Nursing school

Traditional Nurse's Uniform

Modern Nurse's Uniform (Scrubs)

Transcultural nursing

Decision making

Nursing assistive personnel

References[link]

Further reading[link]

D'Antonio, Patricia. ''American Nursing: A History of Knowledge, Authority, and the Meaning of Work'' (2010), 272pp excerpt and text search

Donahue, M. Patricia. ''Nursing, The Finest Art: An Illustrated History'' (3rd ed. 2010), includes over 400 illustrations; 416pp; excerpt and text search

Judd, Deborah. ''A History of American Nursing: Trends and Eras'' (2009) 272pp excerpt and text search

Reverby, Susan M. ''Ordered to Care: The Dilemma of American Nursing, 1850-1945'' (1987) excerpt and text search

Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. ''Historical Encyclopedia of Nursing'' (2004), 354pp; from ancient times to the present

External links[link]

International Council of Nurses

UNCG Library Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project: Nurse

Category:Military supporting service occupations Category:Health sciences

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Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (sometimes spelt Strawinsky or Stravinskii; Russian: Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский, transliterated: Igorʹ Fëdorovič Stravinskij; ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, and later French and American composer, pianist and conductor. He is acknowledged by many as one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century.

Stravinsky's compositional career was notable for its stylistic diversity. He first achieved international fame with three ballets commissioned by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev and first performed in Paris by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes: ''The Firebird'' (1910), ''Petrushka'' (1911) and ''The Rite of Spring'' (1913). The ''Rite of Spring'', which provoked a riot during its premiere, transformed the way in which subsequent composers thought about rhythmic structure and was largely responsible for Stravinsky's enduring reputation as a musical revolutionary who pushed the boundaries of musical design. His so-called Russian phase was followed in the 1920s by a period in which he turned to neoclassical music. The works from this period tended to make use of traditional musical forms (concerto grosso, fugue and symphony). They frequently concealed a vein of intense emotion beneath a surface appearance of detachment or austerity and often paid tribute to the music of earlier masters, for example J.S. Bach and Tchaikovsky. In the 1950s, Stravinsky adopted serial procedures. His compositions of this period shared traits with examples of his earlier output: rhythmic energy, the construction of extended melodic ideas out of a few two- or three-note cells and clarity of form, of instrumentation and of utterance.

Life and career [link]

Early life in Russia [link]

Stravinsky was born on 17 June 1882 in the Russian resort town of Oranienbaum and was brought up in Saint Petersburg. His parents were Fyodor Stravinsky, a bass singer at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, and Anna Kholodovsky. He recalled his schooldays as being lonely, later saying that "I never came across anyone who had any real attraction for me". During his boyhood, Stravinsky began piano lessons, studied music theory and attempted some composition. In 1890, he was mesmerised by his first exposure to an orchestra, when he saw a performance of Tchaikovsky's ballet ''The Sleeping Beauty'' at the Mariinsky Theatre: by the age of fifteen, he had mastered Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto in G minor and finished a piano reduction of a string quartet by Glazunov, who considered the young Stravinsky to be unmusical and thought little of his composition skills.

Despite his enthusiasm for music, his parents expected him to become a lawyer. Stravinsky enrolled to study law at the University of Saint Petersburg in 1901, but he attended fewer than fifty class sessions during his four years of study. In the summer of 1902 Stravinsky stayed with the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and his family in the German city of Heidelberg, where Rimsky-Korsakov, arguably the leading Russian composer at that time, suggested to Stravinsky that he should not enter the Saint Petersburg Conservatoire, but instead study composing by taking private lessons, in large part because of his age. Stravinsksy's father died of cancer that year, by which time his son had already begun spending more time on his musical studies than on law. The university was closed for two months in the spring of 1905 in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday: Stravinsky was prevented from taking his final law examinations and later received a half-course diploma in April 1906. Thereafter, he concentrated on studying music. In 1905, he began to take twice-weekly private lessons from Rimsky-Korsakov, whom he came to regard as a second father.

In 1905 he was betrothed to his cousin Katerina (Catherine) Gabrielovna Nossenko, whom he had known since early childhood. In spite of the Orthodox Church's opposition to marriage between first cousins, the couple married on 23 January 1906: their first two children, Fyodor (Theodore) and Ludmilla, were born in 1907 and 1908.

In February 1909, two orchestral works, the and (''Fireworks'') were performed at a concert in Saint Petersburg, where they were heard by Sergei Diaghilev, who was at that time involved in planning to present Russian opera and ballet in Paris. Diaghilev was sufficiently impressed by ''Fireworks'' to commission Stravinsky to carry out some orchestrations and then to compose a full-length ballet score, ''The Firebird''.

Life in Switzerland [link]

Stravinsky travelled to Paris in 1910 to attend the final rehearsals and the premiere of ''The Firebird''. His family joined him before the end of the ballet season that year and they decided to remain in the West for a time, as his wife was expecting their third child. They moved to Switzerland, living in Clarens and then Lausanne where, in September 1910, their second son Siatoslav Soulima was born. A second daughter, Maria Milena, was born in 1913. While pregnant with Maria Milena, Catherine was found to have tuberculosis and she was placed in a Swiss sanatorium in Leysin for her confinement.

Over the next four years Stravinsky and his family lived in Russia during the summer months and spent each winter in Switzerland, which became a second home to them. During this period Stravinsky composed three further works for the Ballets Russes—''Petrushka'', a ballet in four scenes (1911), the two-part ballet ''The Rite of Spring'' (1913) and his 'ballet with song' in one act, ''Pulcinella'' (1920). He briefly travelled to Russia in July 1914 to collect research materials for his dance cantata ''Les noces'' before returning to Switzerland, just before the national borders closed following the outbreak of World War I. He was not to return to his homeland for nearly fifty years.

The family struggled financially during this period. Russia (and its successor the USSR) did not adhere to the Berne convention and this created problems for Stravinsky when collecting royalties for the performances of all his Ballet Russes compositions. Stravinsky blamed Diaghilev for his finanical troubles, whom he accused of failing to live up to the terms of a contract they had signed. He approached the Swiss philanthropist Werner Reinhart for financial assistance during the time he was writing ''Histoire du soldat'' (''The Soldier's Tale''). Reinhart sponsored and largely underwrote its first performance, which was conducted by Ernest Ansermet on 28 September 1918 at the Theatre Municipal de Lausanne. In gratitude, Stravinsky dedicated the work to Reinhart and gave him the original manuscript. Reinhart supported Stravinsky further when he funded a series of concerts of his chamber music in 1919: Included was a suite from ''Histoire du soldat'' arranged for violin, piano and clarinet, which was first performed on 8 November 1919, in Lausanne. In gratitude to his benefactor, Stravinsky also dedicated his ''Three Pieces for Clarinet'' (October–November 1918) to Reinhart, who was an excellent amateur clarinettist.

Life in France [link]

Stravinsky moved with his family to France in 1920, He formed a business and musical relationship with the French piano manufacturing company Pleyel. Pleyel essentially acted as his agent in collecting mechanical royalties for his works and provided him with a monthly income and a studio space at its headquarters in which he could work and entertain friends and business acquaintances. Under the terms of his contract with the company, Stravinsky agreed to arrange (and to some extent re-compose) many of his early works for the Pleyela, Pleyel's brand of player piano. He did so in a way that made full use of all of the piano's eighty-eight notes, without regard for human fingers or hands. The rolls were not recorded, but were instead marked up from a combination of manuscript fragments and handwritten notes by the French musician Jacques Larmanjat, the musical director of Pleyel's roll department. Among the compositions that were issued on the Pleyela piano rolls are ''The Rite of Spring'', ''Petrushka'', ''The Firebird'' and ''Song of the Nightingale''. During the 1920s, Stravinsky recorded Duo-Art rolls for the Aeolian Company in both London and New York, not all of which have survived.

Patronage was never far away. In the early 1920s, Leopold Stokowski gave Stravinsky regular support through a pseudonymous 'benefactor'. The composer was also able to attract commissions: most of his work from ''The Firebird'' onwards was written for specific occasions and was paid for generously.

Stravinsky met Vera de Bosset in Paris in February 1921, when she was married to the painter and stage designer Serge Sudeikin, and they began an affair which led to Vera leaving her husband. From then until his wife's death in 1939, Stravinsky led a double life, spending some of his time with his first family and the rest with Vera. Catherine bore her husband's infidelity "with a mixture of magnaminity, bitterness, and compassion", passively accepting it as inevitable and permanent.

After living near Paris for a short while, the Stravinsky family moved to the south of France, becoming French citizens in 1934 and returning to Paris that year, to live at the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Stravinsky later remembered this last European address as his unhappiest, as his wife's tuberculosis infected both himself and his eldest daughter Ludmila. Ludmila died in 1938 and Catherine, to whom he had been married for 33 years, died of tubercolosis a year later. Stravinsky himself spent five months in hospital, during which time his mother died.

During his later years in Paris, Stravinsky had developed professional relationships with key people in the United States: he was already working on his Symphony in C for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and he had agreed to deliver lectures at Harvard during 1939. A few months after World War II broke out in September 1939, Stravinsky moved to the United States. Vera followed him the following year and they were married in Bedford, Massachusetts on 9 March 1940.

Life in America [link]

Stravinsky settled in Los Angeles, living at 1260 North Wetherly Drive, West Hollywood. He spent more time living in Los Angeles than in any other city. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1945.

Stravinsky had adapted to life in France, but moving to America at the age of 58 was a very different prospect. For a while, he maintained a circle of contacts and emigré friends from Russia, but he eventually found that this did not sustain his intellectual and professional life. He was drawn to the growing cultural life of Los Angeles, especially during World War II, when so many writers, musicians, composers and conductors settled in the area: these included Otto Klemperer, Thomas Mann, Franz Werfel, George Balanchine and Arthur Rubinstein. He lived near to Arnold Schoenberg, though he did not have a close relationship with him. Bernard Holland notes that he was especially fond of British writers, who often visited him in Beverly Hills, "like W. H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Dylan Thomas. They shared the composer's taste for hard spirits - especially Aldous Huxley, with whom Stravinsky spoke in French". Stravinsky sometimes conducted concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the famous Hollywood Bowl and he conducted other orchestras throughout the United States. His plans to write an opera with W. H. Auden coincided with a meeting with the musicologist Robert Craft, who became Stravinsky's interpreter, chronicler, assistant conductor and factotum for countless musical and social tasks, living with him until his death.

Stravinsky's unconventional major seventh chord in his arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Banner" led to an incident with the Boston police on 15 January 1944, but he was only warned that the authorities could impose a $100 fine upon any "rearrangement of the national anthem in whole or in part". The incident soon established itself as a myth, in which Stravinsky was supposedly arrested for playing the music.

Stravinsky was on the lot of Paramount Pictures during the recording of the musical score to the 1956 film ''The Court Jester''. The red 'recording in progress' light was illuminated to prevent interruptions and Vic Schoen, the composer of the score, had started to conduct a cue, but at that moment he saw that the entire orchestra had turned to look at Stravinsky, who had just walked into the studio. Schoen said, "The entire room was astonished to see this short little man with a big chest walk in and listen to our session. I later talked with him after we were done recording. We went and got a cup of coffee together. After listening to my music Stravinsky told me, "You have broken all the rules". At the time I didn't understand his comment, because I had been self-taught. It took me years to figure out what he had meant".

Stravinsky's professional life encompassed most of the 20th century, including many of its modern classical music styles, and he influenced composers both during and after his lifetime. In 1959, he was awarded the Sonning Award, Denmark's highest musical honour. In 1962, he accepted an invitation to return to Leningrad for a series of concerts. During his stay in the USSR, he visited Moscow and met several leading Soviet composers, including Dmitri Shostakovich and Aram Khachaturian.

In 1969, Stravinsky moved to the Essex House in New York, where he lived until his death in 1971 at the age of 88. He was buried in Venice on the cemetery island of San Michele, close to the tomb of his long-time collaborator Diaghilev.

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in 1987 he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was inducted into the National Museum of Dance C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame in 2004.

Personality [link]

Stravinsky displayed an inexhaustible desire to explore and learn about art, literature and life, which manifested itself in several of his Paris collaborations. Not only was he the principal composer for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, but he also collaborated with Picasso (''Pulcinella'', 1920), Jean Cocteau (, 1927) and George Balanchine (, 1928). His taste in literature was wide and reflected his constant desire for new discoveries. The texts and literary sources for his work began with a period of interest in Russian folklore, which progressed to classical authors and the Latin liturgy and moved on to contemporary France (André Gide, in ''Persephone'') and eventually English literature, including Auden, T. S. Eliot and medieval English verse.

According to Robert Craft, Stravinsky remained a confirmed monarchist throughout his life and loathed the Bolsheviks from the very beginning. In 1930, he remarked, "I don't believe that anyone venerates Mussolini more than I... I know many exalted personages, and my artist's mind does not shrink from political and social issues. Well, after having seen so many events and so many more or less representative men, I have an overpowering urge to render homage to your Duce. He is the saviour of Italy and – let us hope – Europe". Later, after a private audience with Mussolini, he added, "Unless my ears deceive me, the voice of Rome is the voice of ''Il Duce''. I told him that I felt like a fascist myself... In spite of being extremely busy, Mussolini did me the great honour of conversing with me for three-quarters of an hour. We talked about music, art and politics". When the Nazis placed Stravinsky's works on the list of "Entartete Musik", he lodged a formal appeal to establish his Russian genealogy and declared, "I loathe all communism, Marxism, the execrable Soviet monster, and also all liberalism, democratism, atheism, etc.." Towards the end of his life, at Craft's behest, Stravinsky made a return visit to his native country and composed a cantata in Hebrew, travelling to Israel for its performance.

Stravinsky proved adept at playing the part of a 'man of the world', acquiring a keen instinct for business matters and appearing relaxed and comfortable in public. His successful career as a pianist and conductor took him to many of the world's major cities, including Paris, Venice, Berlin, London, Amsterdam and New York and he was known for his polite, courteous and helpful manner.

Stravinsky was reputed to have been a philanderer and was rumoured to have had affairs with high-profile partners such as Coco Chanel. He never referred to it himself, but Chanel spoke about their affair at length to her biographer Paul Morand in 1946 and their conversation was published thirty years later. The accuracy of Chanel's claims has been disputed by both Stravinsky's widow Vera and by his amanuensis Craft. The Chanel fashion house has stated that there was never proof that an affair between Coco and Igor Stravinsky ever existed. A fictionalization of the supposed affair formed the basis of the 2002 novel ''Coco and Igor'' and a 2009 film, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky. Despite these supposed liaisons, it is known that Stravinsky was a family man who devoted considerable amounts of his time and money to his children.

Faith [link]

Stravinsky was a devout member of the Russian Orthodox Church during most of his life, remarking at one time that, "Music praises God. Music is well or better able to praise him than the building of the church and all its decoration; it is the Church's greatest ornament".

Although Stravinsky was not outspoken about his faith, he was a deeply religious man throughout some periods of his life. As a child, he was brought up by his parents in the Russian Orthodox Church. Baptized at birth, he later rebelled against the Church and abandoned it by the time he was fourteen or fifteen. Throughout the rise of his career he was estranged from Christianity and it was not until he reached his early forties that he experienced a spiritual crisis. After befriending a Russian priest named Father Nicolas after his move to Nice in 1924, he reconnected with his faith. He rejoined the Russian Orthodox Church and afterwards remained a committed Christian. Robert Craft noted that Stravinsky prayed daily, before and after composing, and also prayed when facing difficulty. Towards the end of his life, he was no longer able to attend Russian Orthodox services.

In in his late seventies, Stravinsky said:

I cannot now evaluate the events that, at the end of those thirty years, made me discover the necessity of religious belief. I was not reasoned into my disposition. Though I admire the structured thought of theology (Anselm's proof in the ''Fides Quaerens Intellectum'', for instance) it is to religion no more than counterpoint exercises are to music. I do not believe in bridges of reason or, indeed, in any form of extrapolation in religious matters. ... I can say, however, that for some years before my actual "conversion," a mood of acceptance had been cultivated in me by a reading of the Gospels and by other religious literature. ...

Music [link]

Stravinsky's career as a composer may be divided roughly into three stylistic periods:

Russian period (from about 1908 to 1919) [link]

Stravinsky's first period (which excludes some of his early minor works) began with ''Feu d'artifice'' (''Fireworks'') and included the three ballets he composed for Diaghilev. These three works have several characteristics in common: they are scored for an extremely large orchestra; they use Russian folk themes and motifs; and they were influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov's imaginative scoring and instrumentation. They also exhibit considerable stylistic development, from ''The Firebird'', which emphasizes certain tendencies in Rimsky-Korsakov and features pandiatonicism in a conspicuous way in the third movement, to the use of polytonality in ''Petrushka'' and the intentionally brutal polyrhythms and dissonances of ''The Rite of Spring''.

The first of his ballets, ''The Firebird'', is noted for its imaginative orchestration. This is evident from the outset, as heard in the introduction, which exploits the double bass's low register. ''Petrushka'', the first of Stravinsky's ballets to draw on folk mythology, is also distinctively scored. In ''The Rite of Spring'', the composer attempts to depict the brutality of pagan Russia in his music, the inspiration of the violent motifs that recur throughout the work.

If Stravinsky's stated intention was "to send them all to hell", then he may have rated the 1913 premiere of ''The Rite of Spring'' as a success: it is a famous classical music riot and Stravinsky referred to it on several occasions in his autobiography as a "''scandale''". There were reports of fistfights among the audience and the need for a police presence during the second act. The real extent of the tumult is open to debate and the reports may be apocryphal.

Other pieces from the Russian period include: (''The Nightingale''); ''Renard'' (1916); ''Histoire du soldat'' (1918); and (''The Wedding'') (1923).

Neoclassical period (from about 1920 to 1954) [link]

The next phase of Stravinsky's compositional style extends from the opera ''Mavra'' (1921–22), which is regarded as the start of his neo-classical period, until 1952, when he turned to serialism. ''Pulcinella'' (1920) and the Octet for wind instruments (1923) are the first of his compositions to feature his re-examination of the classical music of Mozart, J. S. Bach and their contemporaries. Works such as (1927), (1928) and the ''Dumbarton Oaks'' Concerto (1937–38) continued his re-thinking of eighteenth-century musical styles.

Other works from this period include the three symphonies: the ''Symphonie des Psaumes'' (''Symphony of Psalms'', 1930), Symphony in C (1940) and the ''Symphony in Three Movements'' (1945). ''Apollon'', ''Persephone'' (1933) and ''Orpheus'' (1947) exemplify not only Stravinsky's return to the music of the Classical period, but also his exploration of themes from the ancient Classical world such as Greek mythology.

In 1951 he completed his last neo-classical work, the opera ''The Rake's Progress'', to a libretto by W. H. Auden that was based on the etchings of William Hogarth. It premiered in Venice that year and was produced around Europe the following year, before being staged in the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1953. It was staged by the Santa Fe Opera in a 1962 Stravinsky Festival, in honour of the composer's 80th birthday. The music is direct but quirky and borrows from classic tonal harmony, but also interjects surprising dissonances. It features Stravinsky's trademark off-rhythms and harks back to the operas and themes of Monteverdi, Gluck and Mozart. It was revived by the Metropolitan Opera in 1997.

Serial period (from 1954 to 1968)[link]

In the 1950s, Stravinsky began using serial compositional techniques such as dodecaphony, the twelve-tone technique originally devised by Arnold Schoenberg.

He first experimented with non-twelve-tone serial techniques in small-scale vocal and chamber works such as the ''Cantata'' (1952), the Septet (1953) and ''Three Songs from Shakespeare'' (1953). The first of his compositions to be fully based on such techniques was ''In Memoriam Dylan Thomas'' (1954). ''Agon'' (1954–57) was the first of his works to include a twelve-tone series and (1955) was the first piece to contain a movement entirely based on a tone row. Stravinsky later expanded his use of dodecaphony in works such as ''Threni'' (1958), ''A Sermon, a Narrative, and a Prayer'' (1961) and ''The Flood'' (1962), which are based on biblical texts.

''Agon'' is choreographed for twelve ballet dancers. It forms an important transition between Stravinsky's neo-classical period and his serial style. Parts of ''Agon'' are reminiscent of the 'white-note' tonality of his neo-classic period, while others (for example ''Bransle Gay'') display his re-interpretation of serial methods.

Innovation and influence [link]

Stravinsky is known as "one of music's truly epochal innovators". The most important aspect of Stravinsky's work, aside from his technical innovations (including in rhythm and harmony), is the 'changing face' of his compositional style while always 'retaining a distinctive, essential identity'. He himself was inspired by different cultures, languages and literatures. As a consequence, his influence on composers both during his lifetime and after his death was, and remains, considerable.

Stravinsky's use of motivic development (the use of musical figures that are repeated in different guises throughout a composition or section of a composition) included additive motivic development. This is where notes are subtracted or added to a motif without regard to the consequent changes in metre. A similar technique can be found as early as the sixteenth century, for example in the music of Cipriano de Rore, Orlandus Lassus, Carlo Gesualdo and Giovanni de Macque, music with which Stravinsky exhibited considerable familiarity.

''The Rite of Spring'' is notable for its relentless use of ostinati, for example in the eighth note ostinato on strings accented by eight horns in the section ''Augurs of Spring (Dances of the Young Girls)''. The work also contains passages where several ostinati clash against one another.

Stravinsky was noted for his distinctive use of rhythm, especially in ''The Rite of Spring''. According to the composer Philip Glass, "the idea of pushing the rhythms across the bar lines [...] led the way [...]. The rhythmic structure of music became much more fluid and in a certain way spontaneous". Glass mentions Stravinsky's "primitive, offbeat rhythmic drive". According to Andrew J. Browne, "Stravinsky is perhaps the only composer who has raised rhythm in itself to the dignity of art". Stravinsky's rhythm and vitality greatly influenced the composer Aaron Copland.

Stravinsky's first neo-classical works were the ballet ''Pulcinella'' of 1920 and the stripped-down and delicately scored Octet for Wind Instruments (1923). He may have been preceded in his use of neoclassical devices by composers such as Prokofiev and Erik Satie. By the late 1920s and 1930s, the use by composers of neoclassicism had become widespread.

Stravinsky composed pieces that elaborated on individual works by earlier composers, a tradition that goes back at least to the fifteenth century quodlibet and parody mass. An early example is his ''Pulcinella'' of 1920, where he used music then attributed to Giovanni Pergolesi. His source material was at times quoted directly and at other times reinvented. He developed this technique further in the ballet ''The Fairy's Kiss'' (1928), which was based on music by Tchaikovsky. Later examples of comparable musical transformations include Stravinsky's use of Schubert's ''Marche Militaire No. 1'' in his ''Circus Polka'' (1942) and "Happy Birthday to You" in ''Greeting Prelude'' (1955).

In ''The Rite of Spring'', Stravinsky stripped folk themes to their most basic melodic outlines, often contorting them beyond recognition using added notes, inversion and diminution.

Use of the orchestra [link]

As with many late romantic composers, Stravinsky often called for huge orchestral forces, especially in his early ballets. ''The Firebird'' proved him to be the equal of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and lit the "fuse under the instrumental make-up of the 19th century orchestra". In ''The Firebird'' he took the orchestra apart and analysed it. Aaron Copland characterized ''The Rite of Spring'' as the foremost orchestral achievement of the 20th century.

Stravinsky wrote for unique combinations of instruments in smaller ensembles, chosen for their precise tone colours. For example, ''Histoire du soldat'' is scored for clarinet, bassoon, cornet, trombone, violin, double bass and percussion, a strikingly unusual combination for 1918.

Stravinsky occasionally exploits the extreme ranges of instruments, most famously at the opening of ''The Rite of Spring'', where he uses the extreme upper reaches of the bassoon to simulate the symbolic 'awakening' of a spring morning.

Reception [link]

Stravinsky is acknowledged as one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century. He was named by ''Time'' magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the century. He became a naturalized French citizen in 1934 and a naturalized United States citizen in 1945. In addition to the recognition he received for his compositions, he achieved fame as a pianist and a conductor, often at the premieres of his works.

In 1923, Erik Satie wrote an article about Igor Stravinsky in ''Vanity Fair''. Satie had met Stravinsky for the first time in 1910. His attitude towards the Russian composer is marked by deference, as can also be seen from the letters he wrote to him in 1922, in preparation for the ''Vanity Fair'' article. With a touch of irony, he concluded in one of these letters, "I admire you: are you not the Great Stravinsky? I am but little Erik Satie". In the published article, Satie argued that measuring the 'greatness' of an artist by comparing him to other artists, as if speaking about some 'truth', is illusory and that every piece of music should be judged on its own merits and not by comparing it to the standards of other composers. That was exactly what Jean Cocteau did when he commented deprecatingly on Stravinsky in his 1918 book .

According to ''The Musical Times'' in 1923:

All the signs indicate a strong reaction against the nightmare of noise and eccentricity that was one of the legacies of the war.... What has become of the works that made up the program of the Stravinsky concert which created such a stir a few years ago? Practically the whole lot are already on the shelf, and they will remain there until a few jaded neurotics once more feel a desire to eat ashes and fill their belly with the east wind.

In 1935, the American composer Marc Blitzstein compared Stravinsky to Jacopo Peri and C.P.E. Bach, conceding that, "there is no denying the greatness of Stravinsky. It is just that he is not great enough". Blitzstein's Marxist position was that Stravinsky's wish to "divorce music from other streams of life", which is "symptomatic of an escape from reality", resulted in a "loss of stamina", naming specifically ''Apollo'', the ''Capriccio'', and ''Le Baiser de la fée''.

The composer Constant Lambert described pieces such as as containing "essentially cold-blooded abstraction". Lambert continued, "melodic fragments in are completely meaningless themselves. They are merely successions of notes that can conveniently be divided into groups of three, five, and seven and set against other mathematical groups" and he described the cadenza for solo drums as "musical purity...achieved by a species of musical castration". He compared Stravinsky's choice of "the drabbest and least significant phrases" to Gertrude Stein's: "Everyday they were gay there, they were regularly gay there everyday" ("Helen Furr and Georgine Skeene", 1922), "whose effect would be equally appreciated by someone with no knowledge of English whatsoever".

In his 1949 book ''Philosophy of Modern Music'', Theodor W. Adorno described Stravinsky as an acrobat and spoke of hebephrenic and psychotic traits in several of Stravinsky's works. Contrary to a common misconception, Adorno didn't think that the hebephrenic and psychotic imitations that the music was supposed to contain were its main fault, as he pointed out in a postscriptum that he added later to his book. Adorno's criticism of Stravinsky is more concerned with the 'transition to positivity' that he found in the his neoclassical works. Part of the composer's error, in Adorno's view, was his neo-classicism, but of greater importantance was his music's "pseudomorphism of painting", playing off (time-space) rather than (time-duration) of Henri Bergson. According to Adorno, "one trick characterizes all of Stravinsky's formal endeavors: the effort of his music to portray time as in a circus tableau and to present time complexes as though they were spatial. This trick, however, soon exhausts itself". Adorno maintained that the "rhythmic procedures closely resemble the schema of catatonic conditions. In certain schizophrenics, the process by which the motor apparatus becomes independent leads to infinite repetition of gestures or words, following the decay of the ego".

Stravinsky's reputation in Russia and the USSR rose and fell. Performances of his music were banned from around 1933 until 1962, the year Nikita Khrushchev invited him to the USSR for an official state visit. In 1972, an official proclamation by the Soviet Minister of Culture, Ekaterina Furtseva, ordered Soviet musicians to "study and admire" Stravinsky's music and she made hostility toward it a potential offence.

According to the British novellist Gabriel Josipovici, ''The Rake's Progress'' is perhaps the only one of Stravinsky's works that "gives a justification in terms of human psychology, and of the realities of our world, for that obsessional need to repeat and return".

While Stravinsky's music has been criticized for its range of styles, scholars had "gradually begun to perceive unifying elements in Stravinsky's music" by the 1980s. Earlier writers, such as Aaron Copland, Elliott Carter, Boris de Schloezer and Virgil Thomson, writing in ''Modern Music'' (a quarterly review published between 1925 and 1946), could find only a common " 'seriousness' of 'tone' or of 'purpose', 'the exact correlation between the goal and the means', or a dry 'ant-like neatness' ".

From the mid-1960s onwards Stravinsky's music influenced the work of musicians such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass.

He was honoured in 1982 by the United States Postal Service with a 2¢ Great Americans series postage stamp.

Awards[link]

1959: Léonie Sonning Music Prize

Grammy Awards

1962: Best Classical Composition by Contemporary Composer (''The Flood'')

1962: Best Classical Performance – Orchestra (''The Firebird'', Igor Stravinsky conducting Columbia Symphony Orchestra)

1962: Best Classical Performance – Instrumental Soloist (with orchestra) (Violin Concerto in D, Isaac Stern; Igor Stravinsky conducting Columbia Symphony Orchestra)

*1987: Lifetime Achievement (posthumous)

Recordings and publications [link]

Igor Stravinsky found recordings a practical and useful tool in preserving his thoughts on the interpretation of his music. As a conductor of his own music, he recorded primarily for Columbia Records, beginning in 1928 with a performance of the original suite from ''The Firebird'' and concluding in 1967 with the 1945 suite from the same ballet. In the late 1940s he made several recordings for RCA Victor at the Republic Studios in Los Angeles. Although most of his recordings were made with studio musicians, he also worked with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the CBC Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bavarian Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra.

During his lifetime, Stravinsky appeared on several telecasts, including the 1962 world premiere of ''The Flood'' on CBS television. Although he made an appearance, the actual performance was conducted by Robert Craft. Numerous films and videos of the composer have been preserved.

Stravinsky published a number of books throughout his career, almost always with the aid of a (sometimes uncredited) collaborator. In his 1936 autobiography, ''Chronicles of My Life'', which was written with the help of Walter Nouvel, Stravinsky included his well-known statement that "music is, by its very nature, essentially powerless to express anything at all". With Alexis Roland-Manuel and Pierre Souvtchinsky, he wrote his 1939–40 Harvard University Charles Eliot Norton Lectures, which were delivered in French and first collected under the title in 1942 and then translated in 1947 as ''Poetics of Music''. In 1959, several interviews between the composer and Robert Craft were published as ''Conversations with Igor Stravinsky'', which was followed by a further five volumes over the following decade.

References [link]

Bibliography [link]

Adorno, Theodor. 1973. ''Philosophy of Modern Music''. Translated by Anne G. Mitchell and Wesley V. Blomster. New York: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-0138-4 Original German edition, as . Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1949.

Adorno, Theodor W. 2006. ''Philosophy of New Music'', translated, edited, and with an introduction by Robert Hullot-Kentor. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-3666-4.

Anonymous. 1940. "Musical Count". ''Time Magazine'' (Monday, 11 March).

Anonymous. 1944. "Stravinsky Liable to Fine". ''The New York Times'' (16 January) (Accessed 22 June 2010).

Anonymous. 1962. "Life Guide: Salutes to Stravinsky on His 80th; A Funny Faulkner, Farm Tours", ''Life Magazine'' (8 June): 17.

Berry, David Carson. 2006. "Stravinsky, Igor." ''Europe 1789 to 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of Industry and Empire'', editors-in-chief John Merriman and Jay Winter, 4:2261–63. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons.

Berry, David Carson. 2008. "The Roles of Invariance and Analogy in the Linear Design of Stravinsky's 'Musick to Heare.'" ''Gamut'' 1/1.

Blitzstein, Marc. 1935. "The Phenomenon of Stravinsky". ''The Musical Quarterly'' 21, no. 3 (July): 330–47. Reprinted 1991, ''The Musical Quarterly'' 75, no. 4 (Winter): 51–69.

Browne, Andrew J. 1930. "Aspects of Stravinsky's Work". ''Music & Letters'' 11, no. 4 (October): 360–66. Online link accessed 19 November 2007 (subscription access).

Cocteau, Jean. 1918. ''Le Coq et l'arlequin: notes de la musique''. Paris: Éditions de la Sirène. Reprinted 1979, with a preface by Georges Auric. Paris: Stock. ISBN 2-234-01081-0 English edition, as ''Cock and Harlequin: Notes Concerning Music'', translated by Rollo H. Myers, London: Egoist Press, 1921.

Cohen, Allen. 2004. ''Howard Hanson in Theory and Practice''. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-313-32135-3.

Cooper, John Xiros (editor). 2000. ''T. S. Elliot's Orchestra: Critical Essays on Poetry and Music''. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8153-2577-0.

Copland, Aaron. 1952. ''Music and Imagination''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

Copeland, Robert M. 1982. "The Christian Message of Igor Stravinsky". ''The Musical Quarterly'' 68, no. 4 (October): 563–79.

Craft, Robert. 1982. "Assisting Stravinsky: On a Misunderstood Collaboration". ''The Atlantic Monthly'' 250, no. 6 (December): 64–74.

Craft, Robert. 1992. ''Stravinsky: Glimpses of a Life''. London: Lime Tree; New York: St Martins Press. ISBN 0-413-45461-4 (Lime Tree); ISBN 0-312-08896-5 (St.Martins).

Craft, Robert. 1994. ''Stravinsky: Chronicle of a Friendship'', revised and expanded edition. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 0-8265-1258-5.

Davis, Mary. 2006. "Chanel, Stravinsky, and Musical Chic". ''Fashion Theory'' 10, no. 4 (December): 431–60.

Dubal, David. 2001. ''The Essential Canon of Classical Music''. New York: North Point Press.

Eksteins, Modris. 1989. ''Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Modern Era''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-395-49856-2. Reprinted 1990, New York: Anchor Books ISBN 0-385-41202-9; reprinted 2000, Boston: Mariner Books ISBN 0-395-93758-2.

Glass, Philip. 1998. "The Classical Musician Igor Stravinsky" ''Time'' (Monday, 8 June).

Greene, David Mason. 1985. ''Biographical Encyclopaedia of Composers''. New York: Doubleday. Griffiths, Paul, Igor Stravinsky, Robert Craft, and Gabriel Josipovici. 1982. ''Igor Stravinsky: the Rake's Progress''. Cambridge Opera Handbooks. Cambridge. London, New York, New Rochelle, Melbourne, and Sydney: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23746-7 (cloth); ISBN 0-521-28199-7 (pbk).

Hazlewood, Charles. 2003. "Stravinsky—''The Firebird Suite''". On ''Discovering Music''. BBC Radio 3 (20 December). Archived at Discovering Music: Listening Library, Programmes.

Holland, Bernard. 2001. "Stravinsky, a Rare Bird Amid the Palms: A Composer in California, at Ease if Not at Home", ''The New York Times'' (11 March).

Joseph, Charles M.. 2001. ''Stravinsky Inside Out''. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-07537-3.

Karlinsky, Simon. 1985. "Searching for Stravinskii's Essence". ''Russian Review'' 44, no. 3 (July): 281–87.

Lambert, Constant. 1936. ''Music Ho! A Study of Music in Decline''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

Lawson, Rex. 1986. ''Stravinsky and the Pianola'', in ''Confronting Stravinsky'', edited by Jann Pasler. Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-05403-2.

Lehrer, Jonah. 2007. ''Igor Stravinsky and the Source of Music'', in his ''Proust Was a Neuroscientist''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 0-618-62010-9.

Morand, Paul. 1976. ''L'Allure de Chanel''. Paris: Hermann. Nouv. éd. du texte original, Paris: Hermann, 1996. ISBN 2-7056-6316-9. Reprinted, [Paris]: Gallimard, 2009; ISBN 978-2-07-039655-9 English as ''The Allure of Chanel'', translated by Euan Cameron. London: Pushkin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-901285-98-7 (pbk). Special illustrated ed. London: Pushkin, 2009. ISBN 978-1-906548-10-0 (pbk.).

Oliver, Michael. 1995. ''Igor Stravinsky''. London: Phaidon Press. ISBN 0-7148-3158-1.

Page, Tim. 2006. "Classical Music: Great Composers, a Less-Than-Great Poser and an Operatic Impresario". ''Washington Post'' (Sunday, 30 July): BW13.

Palmer, Tony. 1982. ''Stravinsky: Once at a Border...''. (TV documentary film). [UK]: Isolde Films. Issued on DVD, [N.p.]: Kultur Video, 2008.

Pasler, Jann. 1983. "Stravinsky and His Craft: Trends in Stravinsky Criticism and Research". ''The Musical Times'' 124, no. 1688 ("Russian Music", October): 605–609.

Robinson, Lisa. 2004. "Opera Double Bill Offers Insight into Stravinsky's Evolution". ''The Juilliard Journal Online'' 19, no. 7 (April). (No longer accessible as of March 2008.)

Sachs, Harvey. 1987. ''Music in Fascist Italy''. New York: W. W. Norton.

Satie, Erik. 1923. "Igor Stravinsky: A Tribute to the Great Russian Composer by an Eminent French Confrère". ''Vanity Fair'' (February): 39 & 88.

Siegmeister, Elie (ed.). 1943. ''The Music Lover's Handbook''. New York: William Morrow and Company.

Simeone, Lisa, with Robert Craft and Philip Glass. 1999. "Igor Stravinsky" ''NPR's Performance Today: Milestones of the Millennium'' (16 April). Washington, DC: National Public Radio. Archive (edited) at NPR Online.

Simon, Scott. 2007. The Primitive Pulse of Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring'. With an interview with Marin Alsop recorded on Friday 23 March 2007. NPR Weekend Edition. (Saturday 24 March). Washington, DC: National Public Radio.

Slim, H. Colin. 2006. "Stravinsky's Four Star-Spangled Banners and His 1941 Christmas Card". ''The Musical Quarterly'' 89, nos. 2 and 3 ([northern] Summer–Fall): 321–447.

Slonimsky, Nicolas. 1953. ''Lexicon of Musical Invective: Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven's Time''. New York: Coleman-Ross. Second edition, New York: Coleman-Ross, 1965, reprinted Washington Paperbacks WP-52, Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1969, reprinted again Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1974 ISBN 0-295-78579-9, and New York: Norton, 2000 ISBN 0-393-32009-X (pbk).

Straus, Joseph N. 2001. ''Stravinsky's Late Music''. Cambridge Studies in Music Theory and Analysis 16. Cambridge, New York, Port Melbourne, Madrid, and Cape Town: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-80220-2 (cloth) ISBN 0-521-60288-2 (pbk)

Stravinsky, Igor. 1947. ''Poetics of Music in the Form of Six Lessons''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. OCLC 155726113.

Stravinsky, Igor. 1962. ''An Autobiography''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-00161-X; . Originally published in French as ''Chroniques de ma vie'', 2 vols. (Paris: Denoël et Steele, 1935), subsequently translated (anonymously) as ''Chronicle of My Life''. London: Gollancz, 1936. . This edition reprinted as ''Igor Stravinsky An Autobiography'', with a preface by Eric Walter White (London: Calder and Boyars, 1975) ISBN 0-7145-1063-7 (cloth); ISBN 0-7145-1082-3 (pbk.). Reprinted again as ''An Autobiography (1903–1934)'' (London: Boyars, 1990) ISBN 0-7145-1063-7 (cased); ISBN 0-7145-1082-3 (pbk). Also published as ''Igor Stravinsky An Autobiography'' (New York: M. & J. Steuer, 1958).

Stravinsky, Igor, and Robert Craft. 1959. ''Conversations with Igor Stravinsky''. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. OCLC 896750 Reprinted Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980. ISBN 0-520-04040-6

Stravinsky, Igor, and Robert Craft. 1960. ''Memories and Commentaries''. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. Reprinted 1981, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-04402-9 Reprinted 2002, London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-21242-5.

Stravinsky, Igor, and Robert Craft. 1962. ''Expositions and Developments''. London: Faber & Faber. Reprinted, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1981. ISBN 0-520-04403-7.

Stravinsky, Igor, and Robert Craft. 1966. ''Themes and Episodes''. New York: A. A. Knopf.

Stravinsky, Igor, and Robert Craft. 1969. ''Retrospectives and Conclusions''. New York: A. A. Knopf.

Strawinsky, Théodore, and Denise Strawinsky. 2004. ''Catherine and Igor Stravinsky: A Family Chronicle 1906–1940''. New York: Schirmer Trade Books; London: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-8256-7290-2.

Taruskin, Richard, reply by Robert Craft. 1989. "'Jews and Geniuses': An Exchange". ''New York Review of Books'' (15 June).

Taruskin, Richard. 1996. ''Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions: A Biography of the Works Through Mavra''. Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-07099-2.

Thom, Paul. 2007. ''The Musician as Interpreter''. Studies of the Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium 4. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-03198-0.

Volta, Ornella. 1989. ''Satie Seen through His Letters''. London: Boyars. ISBN 0-7145-2980-X.

Wallace, Helen. 2007. ''Boosey & Hawkes, The Publishing Story''. London: Boosey & Hawkes. ISBN 978-0-85162-514-0.

Walsh, Stephen. 2000. ''Stravinsky. A Creative Spring: Russia and France 1882–1934''. London: Jonathan Cape.

Walsh, Stephen. 2001. "Stravinsky, Igor." ''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: MacMillan Publishers.

Walsh, Stephen. 2006. ''Stravinsky: The Second Exile: France and America, 1934–1971''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40752-9 (cloth); London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-06078-3 (cloth); Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-25615-6 (pbk).

Walsh, Stephen. 2007. "The Composer, the Antiquarian and the Go-between: Stravinsky and the Rosenthals". ''The Musical Times'' 148, no. 1898 (Spring): 19–34.

Wenborn, Neil. 1985. ''Stravinsky''. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-7651-1.

White, Eric Walter. 1979. ''Stravinsky: The Composer and His Works'', second edition. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03983-1 (cloth) ISBN 0-520-03985-8 (pbk).

Zappa, Frank, and Peter Occhiogrosso. 1989. ''The Real Frank Zappa Book''. New York: Poseidon Press. ISBN 0-671-63870-X (reprinted twice in 1990, New York: Fireside Books, ISBN 0-671-70572-5 and New York: Picador Books ISBN 0-330-31625-7).

Further reading[link]

Cross, Jonathan. 1999. ''The Stravinsky Legacy''. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-56365-9.

Joseph, Charles M. 2001. ''Stravinsky Inside Out''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-07537-5.

Joseph, Charles M. 2002. ''Stravinsky and Balanchine, A Journey of Invention''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-08712-8.

Kohl, Jerome. 1979–80. "Exposition in Stravinsky's Orchestral Variations". ''Perspectives of New Music'' 18, nos. 1 and 2 (Fall-Winter/Spring Summer): 391–405. (subscription access).

Kundera, Milan 1995. ''Testaments Betrayed: An Essay in Nine Parts'', translated by Linda Asher. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-017145-6.

Kuster, Andrew T. 2005. ''Stravinsky's Topology''. D.M.A. dissertation, University of Colorado at Boulder. Morrisville, NC: Lulu.com. ISBN 1-4116-6458-2.

McFarland, Mark. 2011. "Igor Stravinsky." In ''Oxford Bibliographies Online: Music'', edited by Bruce Gustavson. New York: Oxford University Press.

van den Toorn, Pieter C. 1987. Stravinsky and the Rite of Spring

External links [link]

Igor Stravinsky @ Boosey & Hawkes

The Stravinsky Foundation website

NY Times obituary by Donal Henahan, 7 April 1971 (subscription required to view article)

'Compositions for the Pianola - Igor Stravinsky', at the Pianola Institute website

A Riotous Premiere, an interactive website about ''The Rite of Spring'' from the ''Keeping Score'' series by the San Francisco Symphony

Stravinsky A to Z, a BBC Radio 3 reference page containing links to information about Stravinsky

An audio recording made by William Malloch of Stravinsky rehearsing his ''Symphonies of Wind Instruments in Memory of Debussy'' (a 1947 recording, first broadcast in 1961)

An archive recording of a radio program by William Malloch that includes a discussion of how attitudes toward Stravinsky’s music changed through the years. Included are excepts from the ''The Firebird'', ''Petrouchka'' and ''The Rite of Spring'' recorded from the 1930s to the 1950s by a variety of conductors, including the composer himself.

Excerpts from sound archives of Stravinsky's works from the Contemporary Music Portal

Jews and Geniuses On Stravinsky being a Jew or not and about his antisemitism. See also another response and the original media review by Robert Craft.

Category:1882 births Category:1971 deaths Category:People from Saint Petersburg Category:20th-century classical composers Category:Ballets Russes composers Category:Burials at Isola di San Michele Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Harvard University people Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society Category:National Museum of Dance Hall of Fame inductees Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:Neoclassical composers Category:Opera composers Category:Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists Category:Russian composers Category:Russian Orthodox Christians Category:Russian anti-communists Category:Russian monarchists Category:Russian people of Polish descent Category:Soviet emigrants to the United States Category:Composers for piano

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