Conductor,Pianist,Composer. Son of a leading bass singer at the Imperial Opera in St.Petersburg, he grew up in a cultural environment visiting local opera and ballet.At aged 9 he started piano lessons and after abandoning his law studies he fully committed himself to music, which involved recieving private lessons from N.Rimsky – Korsakov.

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In 1909 Serge Diaghilev was impressed by the St. Petersburg performances of his "Scherzo Fantastique" (1907 - 08) and "Fireworks" (1908) and commissioned him to write music for "The Firebird" based on a Russian fairytale. This began a series of collaborations with Diaghilev over the next decade and took him to Paris where he became an important contemporary composer.