Nadia Boulanger and Her World (The Bard Music Festival)

Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) was arguably one of the most iconic figures in twentieth-century music, and certainly among the most prominent musicians of her time. For many composers-- especially Americans from Aaron Copland to Philip Glass--studying with Boulanger in Paris or Fontainebleau was a formative moment in a creative career. Composer, performer, conductor, impresario, and charismatic and inspirational teacher, Boulanger engaged in a vast array of activities in a variety of media, from private composition lessons and lecture-recitals to radio broadcasts, recordings, and public performances. But how to define and account for Boulanger's impact on the music world is still unclear. Nadia Boulanger and Her World takes us from a time in the late nineteenth century, when many careers in music were almost entirely closed to women, to the moment in the late twentieth century when those careers were becoming a reality. Contributors consider Boulanger's work in the worlds of composition, musical analysis, and pedagogy and explore the geographies of transatlantic and international exchange and disruption within which her career unfolded. Ultimately, this volume takes its title as a topic for exploration--asking what worlds Boulanger belonged to, and in what sense we can consider any of them to be "hers." Contents Preface: The Only Woman in the Picture Acknowledgments Permissions and Credits The Strange Fate of Boulanger and Pugno’s La ville morte | Alexandra Laeerich, translated by Charlotte Mandell Serious Ambitions: Nadia Boulanger and the Composition of La ville morte | Jeanice Brooks and Kimberly Francis From the Trenches: Extracts from the Final Issue of the Paris Conservatory Gazette | Edited by Nadia and Lili Boulanger, Selected, Introduced, and Annotated by Annegret Fauser, Translated by Anna Lehmann From Technique to Musique: The Institutional Pedagogy of Nadia Boulanger | Marie Duchene-Thegarid, Translated by Miranda Stewart Nadia Boulanger’s 1935 Carte du Tendre | Introduced by Marie Duchene-Thegarid, Introduction Translated by Anna Lehmann 36 rue Ballu: A Multifaceted Place | Cedric Segond-Genovesi, Translated by Anna Lehmann “What an Arrival!”: Nadia Boulanger’s New World (1925) | Nadia Boulanger, Translated and Annotated by Jeanice Brooks, Afterword by Gayle Murchison Modern French Music: Translating Fauré in America, 1925–1945 | Jeanice Brooks For Nadia Boulanger: Five Poems by May Sarton | May Sarton, Introduced by Jeanice Brooks Friend and Force: Nadia Boulanger’s Presence in Polish Musical Culture | Adrea F. Bohlman and J. Mackenzie Pierce “What Awaits Them Now?”: A Letter to Paris | Zygmunt Mycielski, Translated and Annotated by J. Mackenzie Pierce A Letter from Professor Nadia Boulanger | Translated by J. Mackenzie Pierce The Beethoven Lectures for the Longy School | Introduced by Cedric Segond-Genovesi, Translated by Miranda Stewart Boulanger and Atonality: A Reconsideration | Kimberly Francis Why Music? Aesthetics, Religion, and the Ruptures of Modernity in the Life and Work of Nadia Boulanger | Leon Botstein Index Notes on the Contributors "Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) was arguably one of the most iconic figures in twentieth-century music, and certainly the most prominent woman musician of her time. Her reputation was such that for any composer, but especially American composers--from Aaron Copland to Philip Glass--a pilgrimage to Paris to study with her was obligatory. But how to define and account for Boulanger's impact on the music world is still unclear. Composer, performer, conductor, impresario, as well as a teacher of great personal charisma and inspirational effect, Boulanger engaged in a vast array of activities in a variety of media, from composition to performance, from private lessons and lecture-recitals to radio broadcasts, conducting, and recording. Her life takes us from a time in the late nineteenth century when it was hardly conceivable for a woman to make a career in music to the moment in the late twentieth century when those careers were imaginable, thanks in great part to the example of Boulanger and others of her generation. Ultimately, this volume takes its title as a topic for exploration-looking at the geography of transatlantic and international exchange and disruption within which her career unfolded and asking what worlds Boulanger belonged to, and in what sense we can consider any of them to be "hers.""-- Provided by publisher "Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) was arguably one of the most iconic figures in twentieth-century music, and certainly the most prominent woman musician of her time. Her reputation was such that for any composer, but especially American composers--from Aaron Copland to Philip Glass--a pilgrimage to Paris to study with her was obligatory. But how to define and account for Boulanger's impact on the music world is still unclear. Composer, performer, conductor, impresario, as well as a teacher of great personal charisma and inspirational effect, Boulanger engaged in a vast array of activities in a variety of media, from composition to performance, from private lessons and lecture-recitals to radio broadcasts, conducting, and recording. Her life takes us from a time in the late nineteenth century when it was hardly conceivable for a woman to make a career in music to the moment in the late twentieth century when those careers were imaginable, thanks in great part to the example of Boulanger and others of her generation. Ultimately, this volume takes its title as a topic for exploration-looking at the geography of transatlantic and international exchange and disruption within which her career unfolded and asking what worlds Boulanger belonged to, and in what sense we can consider any of them to be "hers.""-- Publisher description The strange fate of Boulanger and Pugno's La ville morte /Alexandra Laederich --Serious ambitions : Nadia Boulanger and the composition of La ville morte /Jeanice Brooks, Kimberly Francis --From the trenches : extracts from the final issue of the Paris Conservatory Gazette /translated by Anna Lehman --From technique to musique : the institutional pedagogy of Nadia Boulanger /Marie Duchêne-Thégarid --Nadia Boulanger's 1935 Carte du tendre --36 rue Ballu : a multifaceted place /Cédric Segond-Genovesi --"What an arrival!" : Nadia Boulanger's New world (1925) --Modern French music : translating Fauré in America, 1925-1945 /Jeanice Brooks --For Nadia Boulanger : five poems by May Sarton --Friend and force : Nadia Boulanger's presence in Polish musical culture /Andrea F. Bohlman, J. Mackenzie Pierce --"What awaits them now?" : a letter to Paris /Zygmunt Mycielski --A letter from Professor Nadia Boulanger /translated by J. Mackenzie Pierce --The Beethoven lectures for the Longy School /translated by Miranda Stewart --Boulanger and atonality : a reconsideration /Kimberly Francis --Why music? Aesthetics, religion, and the ruptures of modernity in the life and work of Nadia Boulanger /Leon Botstein