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Women of Music History, Part III - Nadia Boulanger

© Brad Foust

When the most important composers of the 20th century are discussed, most of the names presented will probably be those of men, but no discussion would be complete without the mention of one extremely important teacher, composer and conductor, Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979).

Born into a musical family in France, Nadia was destined to be a great force in music. She began her studies with her father, Ernest, who taught at the Paris Conservatory, and when it came time for her to undertake formal training (at age 10!), the Conservatory was a natural choice. There, she studied the organ with Guilmant and composition with Faure. Her compositional skills were recognized in 1907, when she won second place in the prestigious Prix de Rome composition competition (another amazing fact is that Nadia's sister, Lili, was the first woman to win this award, and she accomplished the feat in 1913 at the age of 19!).

Although she was a great composer, Nadia's true gifts would be proven to lie in her teaching and conducting. It is said that she gave up composing for teaching and conducting because she felt her compositions were 'useless.' This would not be the case with her teaching. In 1909, she began teaching privately at the Paris Conservatory, and would continue there until 1924. At the same time, she also taught at the Ecole Normale de Musique and, starting in 1921, at the American Conservatory, a school which she would later direct. In 1918, her sister, Lili, died from Chron's disease, and this event seemed to signal the end of her compositional career.

Her teaching at the American Conservatory is of particular importance, for there she trained some of the most important names in American music, most notably Aaron Copland. Copland began his studies with her in 1921 and continued until 1924. Her influence allowed Copland to gain a reputation as a daring neoclassicist. Copland had such admiration for her that he asked her to perform on the organ at the premiere of his 'Symphony for Organ and Orchestra' in 1925. She also taught many other notable American composers, such as Roy Harris, David Diamond and Elliot Carter.

Nadia also had a string of firsts as a conductor, being the first woman to conduct orchestras in New York, Paris, London, Boston and Philadelphia, and she did all this before WW II. At the onset of the war, she moved to the United States and taught at Wellesley and Radcliffe colleges in Massachusetts. In 1946, she returned to Paris, and became director of the American Conservatory shortly thereafter. She lived and taught in Paris privately for the remaining years of her life, and died there in 1979 at the age of 92.

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