Koussevitzky and American Composers

Upon his arrival in America in 1924, Koussevitzky lost no time seeking to promote his new homeland's composers. His first season as BSO conductor included works by Aaron Copland and Edward Burlingame Hill. In 1930-1931, he included American composers among the BSO’s very first commissions to celebrate its 50th anniversary season, and in October 1939, he conducted a two-day festival featuring works by American composers. All of this was because he firmly believed that America should have “confidence in our own artists.” His tireless promotion of Copland, Bernstein, Barber, Harris, Schuman, and Piston led these composers to organize an honorary banquet in 1944 on the occasion of Koussevitzky’s 20th anniversary with the BSO. Three of these composers (Copland, Schuman, and Piston) would receive 13 world premieres in total under Koussevitzky’s baton.  

Koussevitzky first met Aaron Copland (1900–1990) in Paris where the latter was studying with Nadia Boulanger. Koussevitzky later conducted Copland’s Symphony for Organ and Orchestra in Boston just a month after it premiered in New York. The conductor also invited Copland to be the head of the composition department during the first season of the Berkshire Music Center in 1940; he would remain on the faculty for the next 25 years, including serving as chairman of the faculty beginning in 1957. It was after his duties that first summer in 1940 that he wrote Quiet City. Though the BSO did not premiere the work, Koussevitzky nevertheless programmed it the following spring (April 1941) and conducted it 8 times with the BSO. As of 2024, the BSO has never commercially released Quiet City as an audio album, but did perform the work in an episode of PBS’s Great Performances television series in 2021. 

Koussevitzky premiered several works by William Schuman (1910-1992) including his American Festival Overture, which was composed for the BSO’s American Composers Festival in 1939. Another premiere, Schuman’s Symphony No. 3 (1941), was dedicated to Serge Koussevitzky. His Prayer in Time of War was composed at the close of 1942 and originally entitled Prayer – 1943. The second half of 1942 marked a turning point in World War II as Germany started to lose ground in the battle of Stalingrad and retreat from the Soviet front, and Schuman noted that his title reflected his feeling. As of 2024, the BSO has only commercially recorded a single work by Schuman: the Violin Concerto, featuring conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and violinist Paul Zukofsky. 

Koussevitzky once asked Walter Piston (1894-1976) why he only composed chamber music and not music for orchestra, and the composer responded that no one would play it. Koussevitzky said, “I will play it!” Piston ended up writing 8 symphonies and a ballet, among other orchestral works. Piston’s Symphony No. 3 was commissioned by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation and was premiered by Koussevitzky and the BSO in January 1948. This private recording features a reprise of the work that occurred nearly a year later in December. As of 2024, the BSO has never commercially recorded Piston’s Symphony No. 3. 

For further information on Koussevitzky’s activities in promoting American composers, please watch the video Serge Koussevitzky: Champion of American Music, created as part of the Koussevitzky 150 celebrations.