Serge Koussevitzky

Sergei Aleksandrovich Koussevitzky (July 26, 1874 – June 4, 1951), better known as Serge, was a Russian-born conductor, best known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.

Related Topics:
July 26 - 1874 - June 4 - 1951 - Conductor - Music director - Boston Symphony Orchestra - 1924 - 1949

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Koussevitzky studied music in Moscow. He was initially a virtuoso double bass player (he wrote a concerto for the instrument in 1902), with his conducting debut coming in 1908 in Berlin. The following year he founded his own orchestra. He left the Soviet Union in 1920 and stayed in Paris before moving to the United States in 1924 (he became a U.S. citizen in 1941).

Related Topics:
Moscow - Double bass - Concerto - 1902 - 1908 - Berlin - 1920 - 1924 - 1941

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He was appointed conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1924. Over the next twenty-five years, he continued building the ensemble's reputation as a leading American orchestra, and developing its summer concert and educational programs at Tanglewood. With the Boston Symphony he made numerous recordings, many available today on compact disc; most of his recordings have been well-regarded by critics. His students and proteges included Leonard Bernstein.

Related Topics:
Leading American orchestra - Tanglewood - Leonard Bernstein

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Koussevitzky was a great champion of modern music, commissioning a number of works from prominent composers, including Igor Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms (commissioned to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Boston Symphony). In 1942 he founded the Koussevitzky Foundation to commission and perform new works — among the results were Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes, Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3, and Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie.

Related Topics:
Igor Stravinsky - Symphony of Psalms - 1942 - Benjamin Britten - Opera - Peter Grimes - Béla Bartók - Concerto for Orchestra - Aaron Copland - Symphony No. 3 - Olivier Messiaen - Turangalîla-Symphonie

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Koussevitzky's widow gave his Amati double bass to Gary Karr, a well-known contemporary double bass soloist.

Related Topics:
Amati - Gary Karr

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