{"id":206,"date":"2020-03-03T02:54:18","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T08:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/?p=206"},"modified":"2020-03-03T02:54:18","modified_gmt":"2020-03-03T08:54:18","slug":"could-koussevitzky-have-been-a-bad-conductor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/2020\/03\/03\/could-koussevitzky-have-been-a-bad-conductor\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Koussevitzky have been a bad conductor??!!?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Serge Koussevitzky was one of the most important conductors and patrons during the first half of the 20th century. Unfortunately, information on him (especially during his time living in Paris) is limited. Most of the writing I have been able to find on him only addresses him briefly, and really is focused on another figure he was connected with. There is also a fair bit of easily accessible archival information, but it is mostly concert programs. However, one exciting source I found was the article “On Conductors, Composers, and Music Directors: Serge Koussevitzky in Retrospect”1 <\/sup><\/a>by conductor, scholar and educator Leon Botstein. Written in The Musical Quarterly by its editor, this piece concerns a collection of letters between Koussevitzky and Stravinsky that are published as part of another project in the same journal. According to the article, Stravinsky is \u201crather repellent and two-faced\u201d towards Koussevitzky through their correspondence, while Koussevitzky is generally quite cordial. Botstein tries to reconcile Stravinsky\u2019s often negative attitudes toward Koussevitzky (and the validity of some of these attitudes) with Koussevitzky\u2019s enormous and positive legacy and lineage of influence. In this way, the argument of the article is very credible and honest because of how multifaceted it is.
\nIt is questionable, though, how quick to defend Koussevitzky Botstein is. Why not let the letters speak for themselves? As the editor of the journal, I would imagine that Botstein has an audience he wants to keep happy by not defaming legendary musicians, even indirectly. Botstein may also have personal interest in keeping the journal\u2019s stance on Koussevitzky positive. Botsein<\/a> studied at Tanglewood, which was founded by Koussevitzky. He also likely identifies with Koussevitzky, since both were extreme \u2018go-getters,\u2019 young talents, and founders of internationally successful summer festivals.
\nRegardless of the biases contained in this article, it provides a useful analysis of Koussevitzky\u2019s various attributes, how they affected how he was observed by others, and how they helped him achieve the extreme success that he did. For example, the article addresses claims that Koussevitzky was a \u201cbad conductor\u201d with \u201cno baton technique,\u201d and contrasts them with his \u201cuncanny sense of color and sound\u201d and his place as the \u201cgreatest patron of new music of the twentieth century.\u201d This exploration will give me a much more detailed context with which to explore concert programs and other primary sources, as well as entries in reference texts like Grove. \n\n