Day Three: Composer spotlight on…Nadia Boulanger
When writing a blog such as this one, it is all too easy to become self-indulgent, showcasing only the music which I know and love best. Indeed, it is rather a miracle that we are on day three and yet, one would have had to have listened to at least six minutes or so of the Shostakovich before they heard a solo horn! But with Schumann, Shostakovich and Bach now under our belts on this musical journey, I have decided to curate a mini-series within the series; a string of “spotlights” on composers and artists that perhaps we all know but seldom, if ever, turn to out of choice. One of the driving forces behind starting this musical journey was the absence, in our “lockdown state”, of the structure that the experience of a live concert gives us. For me personally, discovering new works or composers was always one of the most enjoyable aspects of the concert experience. As I mentioned in my first post, we are overwhelmed with the media at our fingertips and for this series to have meaning, I have to take on the role of curator, guide our listening journey not just day by day but over the entire month. My sincere hope is that the music and topics I raise casts new light on music perhaps you didn’t know, inspires critical thinking and, above all, provides to some extent, a humble replacement to the structure of a well thought out concert programme, albeit over a month not an evening!
Few pedagogues can boast a crop of students so incredibly varied and successful as Nadia Boulanger. Born in 1887 in Paris, she counts Daniel Barenboim, Elliot Carter, Aaron Copland, John Eliot Gardiner, Philip Glass, Quincy Jones, Dinu Lipatti, Darius Milhaud and Astor Piazzolla among her notable list of students of composers and performers.
Across her huge career, Nadia Boulanger taught all over the world, ranging from the Royal Academy of Music in London to the Juilliard School in New York and from her own apartment in Paris, where she remained based for her entire life. A very ambitious person, she was also the first woman to conduct orchestras such as the BBC Symphony, the Halle and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Despite her significant and perhaps unparalleled success at teaching, Boulanger was also a fine composer, despite “giving it up” in favour of the former in the 1920’s. Given her fame as a pedagogue, today I will shift the focus briefly to her compositions and suggest one of her most energetic and witty pieces. Originally written for the organ in 1911 (aged only fourteen years old!), the composer made her own version for cello and piano in 1914 and it is this version that is most commonly played today. It would seem that her assessment of the music she wrote as “useless” would be another example of a self-depreciating, unfairly self-critical artist.
Today’s recommended listening is: Nadia Boulanger 3 pieces for cello and piano: No. 3. Vite et nerveusement rythme.
The finale of her three pieces for cello and piano is a frantic and exciting affair. She uses the piano in a very bold, supportive role which allows the virtuosity of the cello to shine through. The four-note, descending cascade played by the piano at the very beginning becomes a motif that is expanded to create much of the material for the rest of the short piece. The music of the first section contrasts a flourishing melody, rising and falling like waves of sound with a punchy, chordal accompaniment, the two instruments exchanging in a heated dialogue.
The brief middle section of this movement explores the lyrical capabilities of the cello’s timbre with long, expressive melodic writing and there is also a brief section where the music changes its metre from 2/4 to 5/8, the music moving in conjunct quavers, almost reminiscent of Gregorian chant. Right at the end of the piece, there is a reprise of the opening sequences that leads to a rather brilliant and vigorous ending!
For those interested, the other two pieces can be seen (and heard) below:
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