Nadia Boulanger and the Stravinskys

Reveals for the first time the full extent of the Boulanger-Stravinsky correspondence and allows us to set aside the errors and erroneous interpretations that [Robert] Craft introduced when he published forty of the letters in 1982. An indispensable complement to [Francis's] deeply researched study [Teaching Stravinsky]. . . . The translations from French into English are excellent. . . . The book has been well and carefully produced. H-FRANCE Full review: https://h-france.net/vol19reviews/vol19no258dufour.pdf * . *
An extensive haul of letters spanning more than four decades (1929-41) [that] saw the continuation of the composer's remarkable contribution to 'modernist discourse. * MUSICAL TIMES *
Draws on theories by Pierre Bourdieu and others to explore Nadia Boulanger's vital role in the promotion of Stravinsky's music in Europe...useful to scholars of both musicians as contextual reading. * FRENCH HISTORY *
Deftly selected, edited and translated. The majority of these letters are appearing in English translation for the first time. They will fascinate readers interested by the emotional and professional lives of these mid-twentieth-century figures. Nadia Boulanger and the Stravinskys adds an important primary source to a growing body of scholarship that seeks to reassess the influential, and in many ways unique, role played by Boulanger in the history of twentieth-century classical music. * ROYAL MUSICAL ASSOCIATION RESEARCH CHRONICLE *
A new springboard for further research on Boulanger and the Stravinskys, but even more importantly, illuminates the kinds of entitlements and expectations Stravinsky -- like many men of the period -- had of his supporters and the vast amounts of uncompensated emotional, intellectual, and physical labour Boulanger provided for him in their shared goals to make him the success that he became. * FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE *
A model of scholarship. As a reference into the gestation and completion of works like Symphony of Psalms this book is indispensable...[Boulanger's] proof-reading notes to Stravinsky are astounding in their perception and detail....[The companion website] is a true research tool and keeps the length of the book manageable. * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *
Reading it is an absorbing experience...sheds new light on an important relationship between two exceptional personalities. * GRAMOPHONE *
The letters are often moving, and are undoubtedly vital for those studying either figure. * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *
The correspondence between Nadia Boulanger and the Stravinsky family circle is well worth translating into English. No amount of reporting about their interchanges can substitute for actually following the letters chronologically and absorbing their tone, where personal matters are inextricably entwined with professional ones and Boulanger's absolute admiration for the composer shines through so often. Kimberly Francis's book documents an important moment in twentieth-century music, and also an important moment in the history of women in music. -- Steven Huebner, McGill University