Klarinet Archive - Posting 000708.txt from 1997/12

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: selling out or surviving?
Date: Sat, 13 Dec 1997 18:22:30 -0500

On Sat, 13 Dec 1997, Edinger/Gilman wrote:

> story of a gifted American (I think) composer who was a student of Nadia
> Boulanger, the legendary Paris teacher of the likes of Aaron Copland
> (her first student, I believe) and many other great musicians.

Just for clarification, Copland was her first *American* student,
as opposed to her first student ever. The latter distinction probably
goes to her sister Lili, the person who made her realize that she was
not possessed of such prodigious talent as a composer, and should
decide rather to concentrate on teaching others to bring out the
best of their own compositional potential. She had an amazing knack
for knowing what "worked". I don't know who the mystery American
composer was who elicited Boulanger's comment regarding commercialism,
but I wouldn't be surprised if it were Glass. I don't think Roy
Harrison ever reached the heights of Gershwin. Did Cowell or Cage
ever actually study with her?

Neil