Clash of the Titans, Part II

This week Exploring Music profiles three more “divine” beings— Maestros Pierre Monteux (1874-1964), Fritz Reiner (1888-1963), and Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951): three world-renowned conductors who seemed to have descended from the Greek gods. After World War I, these conductors settled in America and took on the responsibility of nurturing the artistry of American composers and American orchestras: the native Frenchman Monteux in Boston and then San Francisco; the Hungarian Reiner in Pittsburgh and Chicago; and the Russian Koussevitzky in Boston. The stories of their boundless energy and colorful natures are as legendary as their support of musicians and orchestras. We will listen to music by Stravinsky, Bartok, and Debussy in works that these conductors commissioned and premiered, plus many other compositions all played by “their bands.”