Nadia Boulanger was NOT a composer of any consequence.
Boulanger's influence, at bottom, was restricted to teaching her gifted students a certain approach to composition as a craft, and clarifying for them how to apply it to their own peculiar musical bents.
Will there ever emerge a truly great female composer?
Highly doubtful.
If musical gift could be quantified, then the sum total of the musical gifts of all the composers that were Boulanger's students -- not so much as one of whom would qualify as a genius in the sense that word is applied to immortals such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Wagner -- that sum would not equal one tenth the musical gift possessed by Wagner, and the influence on music of the total output of that entire group would not equal one tenth Wagner's influence.
Posted by: Mark | Aug 19, 2012 3:46:02 PM
What an ugly comment about a teacher of legendary dedication. Ugly too, about women in music. Bad show, Mark!
"I couldn't tear myself
away from 3 Quarks Daily, to the point of neglecting my work. Congratulations on
this superb site."—Steven
Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University.
"I have placed 3 Quarks Daily at the head of my list of web bookmarks."—Richard
Dawkins, Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University.
"Just wanted you to know I’m one of many who reads and enjoys 3 Quarks....almost daily."—David Byrne, musician, former lead-singer of the Talking Heads, artist, intellectual.
Comments
Nadia Boulanger was NOT a composer of any consequence.
Boulanger's influence, at bottom, was restricted to teaching her gifted students a certain approach to composition as a craft, and clarifying for them how to apply it to their own peculiar musical bents.
Will there ever emerge a truly great female composer?
Highly doubtful.
If musical gift could be quantified, then the sum total of the musical gifts of all the composers that were Boulanger's students -- not so much as one of whom would qualify as a genius in the sense that word is applied to immortals such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Wagner -- that sum would not equal one tenth the musical gift possessed by Wagner, and the influence on music of the total output of that entire group would not equal one tenth Wagner's influence.
Posted by: Mark | Aug 19, 2012 3:46:02 PM
What an ugly comment about a teacher of legendary dedication. Ugly too, about women in music. Bad show, Mark!
Posted by: Elatia Harris | Aug 19, 2012 11:40:22 PM
Loved this documentary for so many reasons!
(By the way, Mark, Nadia makes some instructive comments about her own compositional abilities towards the end of the video.)
Posted by: Bryon | Aug 20, 2012 1:25:14 PM
Post a comment