Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) was one of the twentieth century’s most admired and influential composers, conductors, and music theorists. His ballets and symphonies, including The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring, cemented his central place in the evolution of musical modernism. Vijay Iyer is an award-winning composer, pianist, and music scholar. The recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, he has been named Jazz Artist of the Year four times by the DownBeat International Critics’ Poll. He is Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University, where he directs a doctoral program in Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry. George Seferis (1900–1971) was a Nobel Prize–winning Greek poet, essayist, and diplomat. One of the most influential Greek authors of his generation, he received honorary doctorates from Cambridge, Oxford, and Princeton, and was made an honorary foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. From 1957 to 1962, he served as Greek Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
