Igor Stravinsky was one of the most influential composers in the 20th century. Living in times of war, Stravinsky spent half of his life in exile and hence gained rich life experience, which served as inspirations for his music creations. With a rigorous attitude and a spirit of experimentation, Stravinsky continued to achieve innovations and breakthroughs in creative techniques while displaying his diverse and unique music styles.

The Duo Concertante, my thesis topic, is one of Stravinsky’s creations in the neoclassical period. It can be seen that Stravinsky adopted the music form and style before the Romantic Period as well as integrated traditional music materials (using Bach’s music in the second, fourth and fifth movements as creation materials) and modern composition techniques for recreation. In addition, it is noteworthy that this piece was Stravinsky’s only original work in his music for violin and piano, while others were adaptations, which makes it particularly unique.

In this thesis, I will introduce Stravinsky's middle years and the background of his Duo Concertante creation. Then I will discuss the style of Neoclassicism, further explore how to present the beauty of music by analyzing the structure of Neoclassical music, and finally propose personal opinions and choices on performance interpretation.