14 - Mademoiselle

Summary

The 1932 Paris winter season was in full swing, and brilliant. One eagerly awaited musical event was an upcoming recital to be given by Stravinsky and Russian violinist Samuel Dushkin. The two musicians had decided to embark on a duo partnership, and Stravinsky had written some new pieces for their collaborative programs: a Suite italienne based on his Pergolesiinspired ballet Pulcinella, and a Duo Concertant. These works were scheduled to receive their Paris debut on 8 December 1932 at the Salle Pleyel. Winnaretta's seats for the recital were already reserved. She had invited Igor Markevitch, now a “regular” in the Polignac salon, to join her in her loge, with a promise to introduce him to Stravinsky afterwards. At the moment, Markevitch was in a bit of an awkward position vis-à-vis his patron: she had recently asked him to write a new work for small ensemble, a request that surely delighted the composer; on the other hand, she had not yet sent the final payment of four thousand francs for his Partita, due at the time of the manuscript's delivery. After the financial misunderstandings that had taken place the previous year, Markevitch did not feel capable of broaching the subject of money with Winnaretta. He wrote to his teacher, Nadia Boulanger, to ask for help. Boulanger was accustomed to acting as emissary on behalf of her talented but unworldly young students. On 15 November 1932 she called at rue Cortambert, expecting, no doubt, to carry out a relatively simple errand on Markevitch's behalf. Little did she imagine that her visit would set in motion a chain of events that would change her own life, and Winnaretta’s, forever.

Nadia Boulanger's strength of character had been forged from many personal and professional disappointments. Born in 1887, she was the daughter of composer and Prix de Rome winner Ernest Boulanger and his wife Raissa (his former voice student), who claimed descent from a family of Russian princes. The young Nadia had shown early promise as a musician. At the Conservatoire she studied harmony, piano accompaniment, and organ; in 1901 (the year of Edmond de Polignac's death) she entered the composition class of Gabriel Fauré. While still a student, she met the pianist and composer, Spanish-born Raoul Pugno, who became her mentor and, subsequently, her lover.