Nadia Boulanger: Mademoiselle Page #2

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Quite! But then,

you simply cannot define it.

It is!

In an interview,

he was asked

to explain his technique.

He tried to stammer out something

but ended up saying:

''My nose is. My technique is.''

This Symphony is composed

to Gods glory

and dedicated

to the Boston Symphony

on the occasion

of their 50th anniversary.

I believe it is quite impossible...

Well, I can distinguish music

that is well made

and music that isn't.

Yet, what distinguishes

well-made music and a masterpiece,

that I cannot tell.

What you're saying is

that you know how to appreciate

good or bad construction in a work.

Yet, faced with a masterpiece,

you feel quite certain?

Absolutely!

But you think there is no objective

criterion to define a masterpiece?

I don't know;

I won't say it doesn't exist,

but I don't know what it is.

How can you be certain then?

It all comes down to faith.

As I accept God,

I accept beauty, I accept emotion.

I also accept masterpieces.

There are conditions without which

masterpieces cannot be achieved,

but what defines a masterpiece

cannot be pinned down.

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

that this is a D,

that it is in B minor.

I will tell you nothing more.

Here is the tempo.

Would you sing, please.

Sorry?

You don't know what you are doing.

Oh, Lord, forgive them !

What you are singing is beautiful

but I can hear nothing.

Only a heartrending kind of groan!

What happens...?

What does the present rhythm

with its hesitant character,

d, c, d, c,

followed by f, e, d, c, b, b?

Once more please.

All right...

But what happened?

These were eight bars.

What contributes to the

understanding of a musical phrase?

What contributes in music

to the understanding of the form?

We talk here about the music

of the past centuries.

Today, we are facing

a fascinating time

in which everything is questioned.

Some among you will find

an answer to these questions

with a new language,

which is not to be discussed,

approved or rejected.

Which simply exists.

Some will find a way

to make themselves understood.

Some make themselves understood,

while others try

to make themselves understood.

Some others don't have much to say

and try to say something.

That has always been the case.

In earlier times, the style

was so set that it yielded music

which was as useless

as it was intelligible.

Whereas in times of research,

when language is handled

by incompetent people,

the result is nothing,

pure vagueness within uncertainty!

So, when you compose,

I prefer you to be mistaken,

if you must,

but to remain natural and free,

rather than wishing

to appear other

than what you really are.

lf you carry out researches

in terms of sonority

or means of expression...

In order to...

I remember a day

when Stravinsky was dining here.

He took his neighbour at the table

by the lapels, violently!

His neighbour, crushed, said to him:

''But Mr. Stravinsky, I don't know

why we are talking like this,

''I agree with you.''

And Stravinsky exclaimed furiously:

''Yes, but not for the right reasons,

so you are wrong !''

So, one can have good

or bad reasons for searching.

lf you search to hide

your inadequacy, you are wrong.

But if you want to say what you are,

you owe it to yourselves.

That's why it's essential

for a teacher first of all

to let his pupil

play or write

as he wishes,

and then to be ruthless

on questions of discipline.

So for the period of time

we are considering,

which goes from Bach to Ravel,

for example,

what allows us to understand?

Harmony ?

Harmony?

The connection between

the tonic and the dominant?

That is to say?

The cycle of fifths.

Yes, and what else?

The cycle of fifths

is nothing but successions:

I go from here to there,

and how do I get there?

How do I shape a phrase?

What allows me to...?

- Repetitions.

- Yes, repetitions, but...

- Expression?

- Expression is a result.

It's a word everyone knows

- Tonality?

- Tonality, yes.

What is its foundation by the way?

I was about to say the word,

it's awful.

One shouldn't anticipate.

Sing once again.

So, what have you been doing?

Cadences which characterize.

Cadences, of course cadences.

In other words, punctuation.

During the few bars

you have been singing,

what have you done?

From 1 to 5 and from 5 to 1 .

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