Nadia Boulanger: ICON The American Decca Recordings
Nadia Boulanger was born on 16 September, 1887, in Paris and died on 22 October, 1979 in Paris. she was a teacher, pianist, organist, choirmaster, conductor and a French composer. She is the older sister of the composer Lili Boulanger.
Nadia Boulanger was for more than 70 years one of the most influential composers of the 20th century, counting among her 1200 students several generations of composers, such as Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Michel Legrand, Quincy Jones and Philip Glass. Her musical activity is closely linked to that of the American Conservatory of Fontainebleau, which she directed from 1949 until the end of her life.
This is an album of remastered 1950 recordings. In many cases, these historic recordings have been put on CD for the first time and include chansons and madrigals by the likes of Josquin, Lassus and Le Jeune, and Janéquin. There are pioneering records of excerpts from music-dramas by Charpentier and Rameau, and a return to Brahms's domestic vocal music.
For anyone interested in learning more about the fascinating like of Nadia Boulanger, we strongly recommend Léonie Rosenstiel's full biography, Nadia Boulanger: A Life in Music, published by Norton, Illustrated edition (January 23, 2013).
The CD (five discs) and the biography are available on Amazon or through your preferred music and bookseller.