Transatlantic Crossings: Nadia Boulanger and Marion Bauer Page: 2
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harmony to Bauer. Boulanger agreed and reportedly asked Bauer for English lessons in payment.
The students in Bauer's English class were Nadia Boulanger, Lili Boulanger, and Rene Pugno.3
This fateful meeting began Boulanger's teaching legacy as Bauer was her first American
student. Many claimed Aaron Copland to be Boulanger's first American student, but later in life,
he commented in an interview with Edward Cone, "I wasn't literally the first American to study
with [Boulanger], but I was the first to study composition with her. Melville Smith had been
studying organ with her, and I believe that Marion Bauer had studied harmony shortly before."4
Students of Boulanger claim her teaching and presence had an impact on the rest of their lives.
Although Boulanger and Bauer met early on in their respective musical careers, their relationship
impacted Bauer's musical and pedagogical ideas.
Many women composers and performers have been treated in scholarly historical
accounts recently, especially in studies by feminist musicologists. While the terms "women
composers" or "women performers" are problematic, gender should not be ignored or removed.
By universalizing the way music is discussed, scholars marginalize women's experiences and
trivialize their work. But before tackling the issue of universality in music, scholars must take on
the issue of the "great composer." The issue of the "great composer" stems from the composer
being perceived as a genius or in a position of power above others, such as performers and
teachers. Since scholars had put more time and effort into their writings on composers, those in
secondary roles were becoming lost to time. Luckily, as years have passed, the infatuation with
the "great composer" has lessened, allowing those acting in supporting roles, such as teachers,
3 Susan Pickett, Marion and Emilie Francis Bauer: From the Wild West to American Musical Modernism (Lulu
Publishing, 2016), 33, 40-41; Madeline Goss, Modern Music Makers (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1952), 131.
4 Richard Kostelanetz and Steve Silverstein, eds., Aaron Copland: A Reader: Selected Writing 1923-1972 (New
York, NY: Routledge, 2004), 350.2
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Brubaker, Blaine. Transatlantic Crossings: Nadia Boulanger and Marion Bauer, thesis, August 2019; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1538643/m1/6/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .