Classical Music World Marks Conductor Serge Koussevitzky’s 150th Birthday

The Russian-American conductor and composer Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951) served as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the first half of the 20th century. He was born 150 years ago this month.

Driving the news: On July 26th, the classical music world marked 150 years since the birth of Serge Koussevitzky. Koussevitzky served as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924-1929, during which he shaped the BSO into the most refined and sensitive orchestra in the world.

In case you didn’t know…: Serge Koussevitzky was born into a Russian-Jewish family north of Moscow in 1874. He was an acclaimed double bassist before making his conducting debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1908.

As well as being a conductor, Koussevitzky was also a publisher, educator, and composer. He founded the Éditions Russes de Musique publishing firm in 1909, which published works by Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, and Scriabin, among others. In 1924, Koussevitzky became director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he also presented and commissioned new works by Ravel, Copland, Hindemith, Stravinsky, and Randall Thomson. He helped form the educational programs at the BSO’s summer home, the Tanglewood Institute, and was a great mentor to Leonard Bernstein, who never conducted without wearing the cufflinks given to him by Koussevitzky. The maestro must’ve had good taste.

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Sara Schabas

Sara Schabas is a Dora-nominated soprano, writer and yoga teacher. She has performed and created leading roles with companies including Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, the Dayton Opera, and Aspen Opera, and is a former member of Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists. Currently based in Montreal, she is a doctoral student at McGill University — where she recently received the Wirth Vocal Prize — and editor of Art Song Canada magazine.