The Musical Work of Nadia Boulanger: Performing Past and Future between the Wars (Musical Performance and Reception)

Nadia Boulanger - composer, critic, impresario and the most famous composition teacher of the twentieth century - was also a performer of international repute. Her concerts and recordings with her vocal ensemble introduced audiences on both sides of the Atlantic to unfamiliar historical works and new compositions. This book considers how gender shaped the possibilities that marked Boulanger's performing career, tracing her meteoric rise as a conductor in the 1930s to origins in the classroom and the salon. Brooks investigates Boulanger's promotion of structurally motivated performance styles, showing how her ideas on performance of historical repertory and new music relate to her teaching of music analysis and music history. The book explores the way in which Boulanger's musical practice relied upon her understanding of the historically transcendent masterwork, in which musical form and meaning are ideally joined, and show how her ideas relate to broader currents in French aesthetics and culture. Cover Contents Figures Tables Music examples Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction The works that stand for the time “Vous avez les oeuvres qui répondent pour le temps” Part I The work in performance Chapter 1 Nadia Boulanger between the wars Vers la vie nouvelle The path to the podium Chapter 2 Nadia Boulanger’s musical work The architectural masterwork: Boulanger and the turn to form Listening to the temple: singing architecture and living form Sacred mysteries Chapter 3 Performing the work Making music with Nadia Boulanger Performing France? Singing architecture and sounding form Sounding the future, performing the past Part II The work in history Chapter 4 The problem of concerts Que de trouvailles! Boulanger’s repertoire between the wars Audacious juxtapositions Chapter 5 New links between them More useful for education and pleasure The second road: encounters with history Hearing history Chapter 6 Tomb or treasure The past lights the present, the present the past Galleries in the musical museum Chapter 7 The art of assembling art Collecting past and future at Dumbarton Oaks The work in performance and treasuring art Conclusion Bibliography Archival and manuscript sources Caversham, UK, BBC written archives center (GB-CABBC) London, British library (GB-LBL) Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de france (F-PN) Département de la Musique (Louvois) Bibliothèque François-Mitterand (Tolbiac) Département des Arts du Spectacle (Richelieu) Paris, centre nadia et lili boulanger (CNLB Lyon, conservation national supérieur de musique et danse (F-LYC) Cambridge, pusey library, harvard university archive (HUA) Washington, dc, library of congress (US-WC) Basel, paul sacher stiftung, bibliothek (CH-BPS) Writings of nadia boulanger Le monde musical Le spectateur Other publications Published transcriptions of lectures by nadia boulanger Other sources Discography Recordings by nadia boulanger Other recordings Index Nadia Boulanger--composer, Critic, Impresario, And The Most Famous Composition Teacher Of The Twentieth Century--was Also A Performer Of International Repute. Her Concerts And Recordings With Her Vocal Ensemble Introduced Audiences On Both Sides Of The Atlantic To Unfamiliar Historical Works And New Compositions. This Book Considers How Gender Shaped The Possibilities That Marked Boulanger's Performing Career, Tracing Her Meteoric Rise As A Conductor In The 1930s To Origins In The Classroom And The Salon. Brooks Investigates Boulanger's Promotion Of Structurally Motivated Performance Styles, Showing How Her Ideas On Performance Of Historical Repertory And New Music Relate To Her Teaching Of Music Analysis And Music History. The Book Explores The Way In Which Boulanger's Musical Practice Relied Upon Her Understanding Of The Historically Transcendent Masterwork, In Which Musical Form And Meaning Are Ideally Joined, And Show How Her Ideas Relate To Broader Currents In French Aesthetics And Culture [publisher Description] Nadia Boulanger Between The Wars -- Nadia Boulanger's Musical Work -- Performing The Work -- The Problem Of Concerts -- New Links Between Them -- Tomb Or Treasure -- The Art Of Assembling Art. Jeanice Brooks. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 261-279) And Index. Nadia Boulanger - composer, critic, impresario and the most famous composition teacher of the twentieth century - was also a performer of international repute. This book is the first to investigate Boulanger's performing career, tracing her influence on musical performance in Europe and America in the years before 1945. A fresh look at the career of Nadia Boulanger, among the most influential musical figures of the entire twentieth century.