150 Years of Koussevitzky: Free Musical Performances & Talks at the BPL

The Associates of the Boston Public Library in collaboration with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Public Library are thrilled to announce the 2024 Pierce Performance Series. This year’s series celebrates the 150th anniversary of conductor Serge Koussevitzky’s birth and the centennial of his appointment as BSO music director.

Three free programs featuring speakers and musical performances will be held at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square on October 15, October 29, and November 19, each starting at 6 pm.

October 15, 2024:

• 3:30-5:30 PM - BPL Special Collections Open House: Celebrating Serge Koussevitzky. The BPL’s Special Collections team will host an Open House, featuring items from the Serge Koussevitzky Collection curated by BPL Curator of Music, Jared Rex in the Special Collections Reading Room.
• 6 –7 PM - Koussevitzky, Innovator Program. In Rabb Hall, BPL Curator of Music, Jared Rex, along with the BSO’s Blanche and George Jones Director of Archives/Digital Collections, Bridget Carr, discuss how the BPL’s Serge Koussevitzky collection and the BSO archives document Koussevitzky’s impact on the music world. The program will include a short chamber music performance featuring BSO musicians.
• 7 –8 PM - Wine and Cheese Reception. Hosted by the Associates of the Boston Public Library.

Jared Rex is the Curator of Music at the Boston Public Library, a position underwritten by the Associates of the Boston Public Library. Prior to starting at the BPL in September 2020, he held various music library positions at College of the Holy Cross, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, American Academy of Conducting at Aspen, New World Symphony, and as Personal Librarian to conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. Rex trained in the music libraries at the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, University at Buffalo, and The Boston Conservatory. He is an honors graduate of Manhattan School of Music Preparatory Division. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from The Boston Conservatory and a Master of Library Science and Master of Arts in Music Theory from the University at Buffalo.

October 29, 2024:

6 – 7 PM - Koussevitzky’s Legacy Program

A conversation in Rabb Hall centered on Serge Koussevitzky’s influence on the orchestra’s sound and the artistic trajectory of contemporary American symphonic music, featuring Northeastern emeritus professor and Russian music scholar Harlow Robinson and PRX radio host Tom Godell.

The program will include a performance of the final movement of Benjamin Britten’s String Quartet No. 2 in C, Op. 36, featuring BSO musicians.

November 19, 2024:

6 –7 PM - Koussevitzky, Musician Program.

A discussion in Rabb Hall on Koussevitzky’s origins as a double bass virtuoso and impresario, with WCRB’s Brian McCreath and BSO Principal Bass Edwin Barker. The program will include a performance by Mr. Barker of selections from Koussevitzky’s legendary 1929 Boston recital.

Legendary Russian-born conductor, composer, and double-bassist, Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951) was appointed as the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Music Director one hundred years ago. Under Koussevitzky’s tenure from 1924 to 1949, the BSO became a leading American orchestra, but it is the activities and initiatives he spearheaded off the podium that we primarily remember today. This includes his extensive work commissioning new orchestral compositions from young American composers; his passion for music education by creating a place for young musicians to study at the Berkshire Music Festival and Center (now Tanglewood); publishing musical works of his contemporaries through Éditions Russes de Musique, the music publishing company he founded; and, the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, a trust fund managed by the Library of Congress to commission works by contemporary composers, which continues to provide funding for new compositions to this day. Koussevitzky’s dedication to mentoring young musicians, including Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten, Dorothy Maynor, and Leonard Bernstein, helped launch the careers of many significant composers, conductors, and performers. Join us in celebrating this transformative force in American music!

GETTING HERE:

Join us at the Boston Public Library's Rabb Hall, located on the lower level of the Boylston Street Building in Copley Square. The Central Library's address is 700 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116. Seating is first-come, first-served.

ABOUT THE ASSOCIATES' PIERCE PERFORMANCE SERIES:

The Associates of the Boston Public Library's Pierce Performance Series seeks to raise the visibility of the Boston Public Library's Special Collections through free public performances. Thanks to the generosity of the Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust our past performances have commemorated the hundredth anniversary of the Peace Jubilee, explored abolitionists' vital messages, celebrated women's suffrage, and examined the lives of Thomas Paine and Phillis Wheatley Peters. Learn more at https://www.associatesbpl.org/Pierce/

QUESTIONS:
Contact the Associates of the Boston Public Library at [email protected] or (617) 536-3886.

Host or Publisher Associates of the Boston Public Library