Transatlantic Crossings: Nadia Boulanger and Marion Bauer Page: 3
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performers, patrons, and critics, to have their moment in the history books. In her 1999 book
chapter on gender, musicology, and feminism, Suzanne Cusick, however, points out that even
feminist musicologists are guilty of this romanticized narrative as well by focusing on only
women composers or on feminist readings of male composers. Those who play supporting roles
in the lives of composers, such as teachers, patrons, conductors, or collaborators, must be
connected to the works of the composers being discussed even to have their names mentioned.
In response to Cusick and the writing of other feminist musicologists, Kimberly Francis
has applied Pierre Bourdieu's theories on the field of cultural production. Bourdieu's model of
cultural production allows scholars to position other cultural musical figures with composers to
create interdependent narratives. This way composers are not isolated figures. To become
successful, they must work with other people in society. By using Bourdieu's model, scholars
can move past composer-centered historiographies. Francis notes:
Indeed, even the work of feminist musicologists has tended to focus on women
composers or feminist interpretations of male composers. And while this works remains
greatly important for the field, it continues to entrench composers as the absolute center
of any musicologist inquiry, and any discussion of actors who play tangential roles -
roles so often filled by women - is more often relegated to the peripheries, if such
discussion are incorporated at all. This myopia has directly affected Boulanger.5
By focusing on individuals in tangential roles to that of the "great composer," scholars bring to
light people who allowed the composers to shine and demonstrate that these people are not only
secondary figures in history. These individuals led the charge in the development of music, art,
and culture through their support of composers.
In her book, Francis explains Bourdieu's theory of cultural production. According to
Bourdieu, culture "can only be defined within and among a group of individuals who engage in
5 Kimberly Francis, Teaching Stravinsky: Nadia Boulanger and the Consecration of a Modernist Icon (New York,
NY: Oxford University Press, 2015), 10.3
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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/m1/7/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .