When Stravinsky wrote his first symphony, not surprisingly, he was under the spell of Tchaikovsky; the greatest composer in history of mankind. Years earlier, Rachmaninov was under the same spell when he composed his “Youth Symphony”. Of course, Stravinsky developed his own style and became the leading composer of the 20th century but even 30 years later, he paid homage to his youth idol through composing “Le baiser de la fée”.
Since no one has yet mentioned it, I will: Stravinsky was studying with Rimsky Korsakov during the time when he wrote the First Symphony, and certainly R.K. was guiding Stravinsky during the writing of the piece. It is said that Stravinsky considered R.K. a “second father” as Stravinsky’s father had died in 1902. As for Tchaikovsky’s influence, Stravinsky paid special tribute to him some years later when he wrote the ballet “The Fairy’s Kiss.” The selections from this work include an outstanding recording by Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony.