Nadia Boulanger: Mademoiselle Page #3

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Johannes Brahms, Sapphische Ode.

Kathleen Ferrier, contralto.

We gathered every Wednesday.

Those Wednesdays

were quite something !

Her flat was crammed with pictures,

souvenirs, musical scores, furniture,

organs, pianos, several pianos.

In spite of this,

she managed to squeeze in

a good fifty people.

We would sit on each others' laps,

while studying

a specific musical problem.

At first, those attending

were only pupils.

Later on,

Nadia Boulanger's reputation

spread to other circles.

The Princess de Polignac,

who had commissioned

Ravel's

Pavane pour une Infante dfunte,

and Falla's Master Peter's Puppet

Show, and many other pieces,

asked me to write a Cantata.

Through me,

she became acquainted

with somebody

I was constantly referring to,

Nadia Boulanger,

whom I brought one day

to her mansion.

Thus, the whole Polignac family,

Prince Pierre de Monaco,

Marie-Blanche de Polignac, who was

herself a distinguished musician,

played the piano exquisitely,

had a lovely voice

and a vast musical culture,

discovered Nadia Boulanger.

They began visiting her,

bringing their friends to her place.

So that Nadia's Wednesdays

acquired a different status

and became a sort of place

of pilgrimage

where artists like Stravinsky,

Paul Valry

and Louise de Vilmorin

would gather frequently.

I was witness to that evolution

which gradually made of Nadia

Boulanger some kind of a legend.

Right after the end of World War II,

I visited Paris for the 1 st time.

I had naturally heard

about Nadia,

mainly through Copland

who was my teacher

and whom I adored.

He had of course studied with her

when he was in his twenties.

I was eager to meet Mademoiselle

in Paris,

and indeed I saw her

for the 1 st time

at one of Marie-Blanche de Polignac's

''soires'',

attended by such people as Poulenc,

Franois Valry...

many other important people.

It was very impressive

for the young chap that I then was.

And there was also Nadia

who sang duos with Marie-Blanche.

The mixture of their two voices

was incredible,

one very low,

the other reined and high pitched.

Nadia and I became friends for ever

on the spot.

I said:
''Aaron Copland'',

and she said:
''Walter Piston''

who was my teacher at Harvard,

and that was that.

I played

and she loved it.

She sang

and I loved it.

That was thirty years ago.

Since Fisk is leaving in a few days,

I'd like him to play some

of the Davidsbndler.

Thirty years later,

the Polignac Salon no longer is,

but the possible

Bernsteins of tomorrow

are still seeking

the advice of Mademoiselle.

Would you please play

the melody alone, nothing else.

Hold it! I will only tell you

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