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"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.""--

A biography of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, published in collaboration with the Bard Music Festival. One of the most popular classical composers of all time, Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) has often been dismissed by critics as a conservative, nostalgic holdover of the nineteenth century and a composer fundamentally hostile to musical modernism. The original essays collected here show how he was more responsive to aspects of contemporary musical life than is often thought, and how his deeply felt sense of Russianness coexisted with an appreciation of American and European culture. In particular, the essays document his involvement with intellectual and artistic circles in prerevolutionary Moscow and how the form of modernity they promoted shaped his early output. This volume represents one of the first serious explorations of Rachmaninoff's successful career as a composer, pianist, and conductor, first in late Imperial Russia, and then after emigration in both the United States and interwar Europe. Shedding light on some unfamiliar works, especially his three operas and his many songs, the book also includes a substantial number of new documents illustrating Rachmaninoff's celebrity status in America.

A biography of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, published in collaboration with the Bard Music Festival. One of the most popular classical composers of all time, Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) has often been dismissed by critics as a conservative, nostalgic holdover of the nineteenth century and a composer fundamentally hostile to musical modernism. The original essays collected here show how he was more responsive to aspects of contemporary musical life than is often thought, and how his deeply felt sense of Russianness coexisted with an appreciation of American and European culture. In particular, the essays document his involvement with intellectual and artistic circles in prerevolutionary Moscow and how the form of modernity they promoted shaped his early output. This volume represents one of the first serious explorations of Rachmaninoff's successful career as a composer, pianist, and conductor, first in late Imperial Russia, and then after emigration in both the United States and interwar Europe. Shedding light on some unfamiliar works, especially his three operas and his many songs, the book also includes a substantial number of new documents illustrating Rachmaninoff's celebrity status in America.