Seeds Of Brilliance
The Young Nadia Boulanger
I’ve always been fascinated by the way in which seeds of influence or inspiration which are planted early on in the life of an artistically significant figure often shape and inform the person who will later impact others, and the musical world in general. Music history is, of course, filled with such stories.
As I have often sought inspiration in the methods, thought processes, and stories of great teachers for my own work, the monumental work of Nadia Boulanger as pedagogue, performer, conductor, composer, and thinker has been a constant touchstone. Her imprint on the evolution of 20th century American music is without peer. In the words of American composer and critic (and early Boulanger pupil) Virgil Thomson:
“At one point every American town had two things: a five and dime and a Boulanger pupil.”
What were some of the early influences that shaped Madame Nadia’s’ approach towards teaching and leading an artistic life? In a nutshell, it’s all about family.
Please enjoy this lecture and performance of Boulanger’s Three Pieces for Cello and Piano, originally composed for organ in 1914 and later transcribed by the composer for this pairing. I’m joined by cellist Veronica Kolegas.
Cellist Veronica Kolegas
Juliette Nadia Boulanger was born in 1887 in the Montmartre district of Paris. Her father, Ernest Boulanger, in many ways paved the way for Nadia’s training and interests, having won the Prix de Rome in 1835 with his opera Le Diable a l’Ecole (The Devil at School) and later became a successful choral composer, director, and noted voice teacher. M. Boulanger solidified his place in the Paris music scene with his opera Les Sabots de la Marquise (The Marquise’s Clogs) and began teaching at the Paris Conservatoire in 1872. He befriended notable musical and literary figures of the time such as Jules Verne, Charles Gounod, Jules Massenet, Camille Saint-Saens, and Gabriel Faure. The Boulanger home was a gathering place for Paris musical and literary circles.
Nadia’s mother, ‘Princess’ Raissa Myschetsky Shuvalov (purportedly descended from Russian nobility) brought a very different set of influences into the Boulanger family. Mdme. Boulanger was considerably younger than Ernest, having been a voice student of his at the Paris Conservatoire. Her parenting style was exacting and often overbearing. Being short on praise for Nadia — nothing ever being satisfactory — she constantly pushed young Nadia to excel both musically and academically. Perhaps this early dynamic of intense perfectionism later translated into Nadia’s exacting attention to detail as a teacher?
Nadia and Lili Boulanger
As a small child, Nadia inexplicably suffered screaming tantrums whenever she heard music, which made life in the musically-rich Boulanger household difficult at times. One day, when out on a walk with her mother at age six, Nadia was startled by a fire alarm. For some unknown reason, the incident sparked Nadia’s interest in music. During that same year, Nadia’s younger sister Lili was born. Lili’s appearance in the Boulanger family and never-ending health concerns would define much of Nadia’s life moving forward. Immediately after Lili’s birth, Ernest charged Nadia with the well being and care of her younger sister. In Nadia’s words,
“I walked into my mother’s room a carefree child and left it an adult.”
Nadia worked single-mindedly on Solfege exercises and piano study, in preparation for the national conservatory’s entrance exams. Since she could not audition for acceptance into the conservatory until age nine, Nadia began auditing various conservatory classes at age seven and was coached by several conservatory teachers. Even as a young child, Nadia was often moody, temperamental, and strong-willed (much like her mother). But Nadia was also generous to a fault and would later make any sacrifice for her sister, the war effort during WWI, and her friends.
in 1896 Nadia entered the Paris Conservatoire at age nine studying organ with Louis Vierne, and soon became a Solfege prodigy. Her quick advancement was due in great part to her demanding work ethic — overseen by her mother — and by age thirteen Nadia excelled in Piano Accompaniment class which encompassed sight-reading, figured bass accompaniment, improvising an accompaniment to a given melody, transposition, and orchestral score reading from sight. She won various prizes in some of the Conservatoire’s most advanced competitions at a young age.
Nadia began studying composition at the Conservatoire with Gabriel Faure and soon became a trusted protege, often substituting as organist for Faure at the Madeleine Church in Paris. She was also introduced to other notable young musicians in Faure’s studio, such as Alfred Cortot and Georges Enesco. A decades-long estrangement later occurred with Faure when Nadia switched to the composition studio of Charles-Marie Widor. When given the choice between maintaining existing professional relationships (from a politically correct point of view) or taking advantage of opportunities which might lead to her artistic growth, Nadia always seemed to choose the latter, regardless of the social consequences.
On the 30th of July 1904, Nadia won the first prizes in organ, piano accompaniment, and fugal composition, graduating from the Paris Conservatoire at the age of sixteen. The previous year the following article appeared in the Paris newspaper Gil Blas on the 7th of July 1903 (prior to Nadia’s final year at the Conservatoire):
“In the great, empty, paved courtyard of the Conservatoire, the results of the harmony competition were being awaited yesterday. Suddenly a window opened and the one who appeared called the name of the first prize winner, Mlle Nadia Boulanger, student of M. Chapuis (Auguste Chapuis, harmony teacher). From a group of women in mournings a black form broke itself away, She was small and had long hair down her back; a figure could hardly be discerned. The silhouette had the awkwardness of a very young girl, she was simple, without any pretensions of a precocious prodigy. She held out her hand — a bit timid — with a brusqueness suddenly more confident. Her eyeglasses did not hide her brown eyes, with their intelligent look. One felt the excited beating of a little artist’s heart and of both headstrong and logical thought. She seemed to be happy, but without making noise about it: a charming and truly attractive discretion. She is fifteen and carried off her first prize unanimously.”
Nadia Boulanger had grown into a strong-willed and forward-thinking individual and went her own way, despite the seeming restrictions on her path, whether they be social or artistic. The seeds had been sown.
—Rick Ferguson