How did Igor Stravinsky’s musical style change after his early Russian period?

Following his early Russian period, Igor Stravinsky’s musical style underwent several significant transformations as he moved away from the post-Romantic extravagances of works like The Rite of Spring.1

• Transition to Restraint: By 1914, Stravinsky began exploring a more austere, restrained style, incorporating Russian folk idioms alongside Western popular influences like ragtime, as seen in The Soldier’s Tale.1
• Neoclassicism: After World War I, he abandoned his early Russian features for a Neoclassical idiom. This period, spanning roughly 30 years, utilized historical models—such as Baroque or 18th-century styles—as starting points for his own unorthodox, personal treatment.1
• Serialism: Following World War II, Stravinsky entered a final phase of serial composition. Influenced by the 12-tone techniques of composers like Anton von Webern, he adapted these methods into his own intensely personal manner, resulting in works of increased density and economy.1

Despite these stylistic shifts, Stravinsky maintained a consistent, empirical approach to sonority and rhythm throughout his life, ensuring that his fundamental principles of construction remained present in his later serial works just as they were in his early masterpieces.2