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Serge Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky

Serge Koussevitzky (born July 26, 1874 – died June 4, 1951) was a famous Russian-born conductor, composer, and double-bassist. He is best known for leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra for many years, from 1924 to 1949.

Biography of Serge Koussevitzky

Early Life and Musical Training

Serge Koussevitzky was born in 1874 in Vyshny Volochyok, Russia. His family were professional musicians. His parents taught him to play the violin, cello, piano, and trumpet.

When he was 14, Serge received a scholarship. He went to the Musico-Dramatic Institute in Moscow. There, he studied the double bass and music theory. He was very good at the double bass.

At age 20, in 1894, he joined the Bolshoi Theatre orchestra. By 1901, he became the main double bassist. He performed his first solo concert in Moscow in 1905. Later, he gained praise for a concert in Berlin in 1903.

In 1905, Koussevitzky married Natalie Ushkova. Her father was a very rich tea merchant. Serge then left the Bolshoi orchestra. He and Natalie moved to Berlin. There, Serge studied conducting with Arthur Nikisch.

Becoming a Conductor and Publisher

In Berlin, Serge Koussevitzky kept performing double bass concerts. After two years of practicing conducting, he hired the Berlin Philharmonic. He made his first professional conducting appearance in 1908. At this concert, he performed Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. Rachmaninoff himself played the piano.

The next year, Serge and Natalie went back to Russia. He started his own orchestra in Moscow. He also began a music publishing business called Éditions Russes de Musique. He bought the music catalogs of many great composers. These included Rachmaninoff, Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky, and Nikolai Medtner.

From 1909 to 1920, he continued to perform as a soloist in Europe. In Russia, he and his orchestra toured along the Volga River. They traveled by riverboat in 1910, 1912, and 1914. Their concerts often featured many new musical pieces.

After the 1917 Russian Revolution, he became the conductor of the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Petrograd. In 1920, he left Russia for Berlin and Paris. In Paris, he created the Concerts Koussevitzky. These concerts showcased new works by Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and Maurice Ravel.

Leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra

In 1924, Serge Koussevitzky moved to the United States. He became the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). This began a very successful time for the orchestra, lasting until 1949. During these 25 years, he made the BSO one of America's top orchestras.

He also helped create the famous summer concerts and music programs at Tanglewood. Today, the main concert hall there is named after him. In the early 1940s, he discovered a young singer named Alfred Cocozza. This singer later became famous as Mario Lanza. Koussevitzky gave him a scholarship to study at Tanglewood.

He made many recordings with the Boston Symphony. Most of these recordings were highly praised. Some of his students and people he mentored became famous conductors themselves. These included Leonard Bernstein, Eleazar de Carvalho, Samuel Adler, and Sarah Caldwell. Leonard Bernstein always wore cufflinks given to him by Koussevitzky.


Personal Life

Serge Koussevitzky's second wife, Natalie, passed away in 1942. To honor her, he started the Koussevitzky Music Foundations. In 1947, he married Olga Naumova. She was Natalie's niece and had been their secretary for 18 years. Olga was known for being quiet and kind. She was good friends with Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland.

Serge Koussevitzky died in Boston in 1951. He was buried next to his wife Natalie in Lenox.

Champion of New Music

Koussevitzky strongly supported modern music. He asked many famous composers to write new pieces. In Paris in the early 1920s, he often included new music in his concerts. He made sure these performances were well-prepared and high quality.

Some famous new pieces he premiered included Honegger's Pacific 231 and George Gershwin's Second Rhapsody.

For the Boston Symphony Orchestra's 50th anniversary, he asked several composers for new works. These included Copland's Ode and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 4. He also commissioned Paul Hindemith's Concert Music for Strings and Brass and Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms.

In 1922, Koussevitzky asked Maurice Ravel to arrange Modest Mussorgsky's piano suite, Pictures at an Exhibition, for orchestra. This orchestral version was first performed on October 19, 1922. It quickly became very famous. Koussevitzky held the rights to this version for many years.

In 1940, Koussevitzky asked Randall Thompson to write a new piece for Tanglewood. Thompson created his unaccompanied Alleluia. This piece, which repeats the word "Alleluia" many times, became his most popular work.

Legacy and Impact

KoussevitzkyFoundation
The Koussevitzky Music Foundations logo.

In 1915, the composer Claude Debussy dedicated a part of his music, En blanc et noir, to Koussevitzky.

As a strong supporter of new music, Koussevitzky started the Koussevitzky Music Foundations in 1942. The main goal of these foundations was to help composers. They did this by paying for new musical pieces to be written and performed.

Many important works were created with the foundations' help. These include Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes, Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, and Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3. Other works include Henri Dutilleux's string quartet Ainsi la nuit and Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie.

After Koussevitzky died in 1951, his wife Olga gave his special double bass to musician Gary Karr. This instrument was thought to have been made in 1611. It is now called the Karr-Koussevitzky double bass.

In 1956, American composer Howard Hanson, a friend of Koussevitzky, wrote a piece called Elegy for Serge Koussevitzky.

The Tanglewood Music Center gives out the Koussevitzky Prize to outstanding student conductors. This award has been given since 1954. Past winners include Seiji Ozawa (1960) and Michael Tilson Thomas (1969).

The Musicians Club of New York also gives out the Serge and Olga Koussevitzky Young Artist Awards. These awards are given each year to young musicians in different categories like voice, strings, piano, and woodwind/brass.

Notable Recordings

Serge Koussevitzky recorded music mostly for Victor/ RCA Victor with the Boston Symphony. One special recording was of Maurice Ravel's Boléro in 1929. He also recorded Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and a suite from Stravinsky's Petrushka in 1927.

Some of his later recordings included music by Prokofiev. He recorded parts of Romeo and Juliet in 1945. He also recorded Prokofiev's First Symphony in 1947 and Fifth Symphony in 1945.

His very last recordings were made in 1950. These included Sibelius's Second Symphony and Grieg's "The Last Spring." Both of these have been re-released on CD. Some of his performances at Tanglewood were also filmed in the 1940s.


Important First Performances

In Concert

On Record

Images for kids

  • Sergei Koussevitsky

    Serge Koussevitsky

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Serguéi Kusevitski para niños

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