What are the qualities that you think make a really great teacher? For me, I’d have to consider not only the impact that they may have had on MY education, but also the impact that they’ve had on their overall field of expertise. It’s an idea that’s played a big role in identifying who many consider classical music’s greatest teacher. Hi, I’m Loki Karuna, and today I’d like to feature a woman whose name you may not know, but whose influence as a teacher has definitely touched you in some way – she’s the late great Nadia Boulanger.
Nadia Boulanger was born in Paris way back in 1887 to musical parents. If you can believe it, she actually didn’t care much for music at first, but eventually changed her tune, later becoming a noted composer in her own right. Among her more notable works is this one from 1918 called D’un matin de printemps, or On a Spring Morning.
As Nadia’s career as a composer continued to bloom, so did her work as a teacher of up and coming composers, with her students including Philip Glass, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and even Quincy Jones! Nadia Boulanger’s music, itself, is definitely of note, but her catalogue, coupled with her overall impact on the field makes her without a doubt one of history’s most Noteworthy.
Noteworthy is a production of WDAV classical public radio.