Tanglewood: 1952

Abstract

The summer of 1952 will mark the tenth anniversary session of the Berkshire Music Center. No one will find it strange, I suppose, if those of us who were with the school from the start feel that this is a moment for rejoicing. This by now well-known school of music was established in 1940 because the late Serge Koussevitzky persuaded the Trustees of the Boston Symphony Orchestra to take an unprecedented step: the formation of a summer school under the aegis of a symphony orchestra. No one had ever before heard of such a thing. But it was the dream of our former director to find some tangible way for the older and more experienced musician to pass on a lifetime of experience to the young aspirant. Here talented young musicians might gather to engage in all kinds of ensemble playing and singing. Their very presence was to act as a stimulus among themselves and also to their teachers. Before long the plan was enlarged to include the departments of opera production, composition, and the study of the art of conducting. Beyond this—and here was a special love of Dr. Koussevitzky—a division of the school was to be set up for the musical enthusiast who wanted to spend a summer of “living and working in music.”