Koussevitzky, Serge, << `koo` suh VIHT skee, sairzh >> (1874-1951), was a Russian-born symphony orchestra conductor. He became the most important patron of music in America during the first half of the 1900’s.
Koussevitzky was born in Vyshniy Volochek on July 26, 1874. After graduating from the Moscow Philharmonic Music School, he began a successful career as a double bass soloist. He made his conducting debut in Berlin in 1908. In 1909, he formed his own orchestra, which popularized the works of young Russian composers such as Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Igor Stravinsky. In 1922, Koussevitzky commissioned French composer Maurice Ravel to make his famous orchestration of the piano composition Pictures at an Exhibition by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky.
From 1924 to 1949, Koussevitzky served as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. From 1936 to 1950, Koussevitzky was conductor and director of the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts. In 1940, he helped found the Berkshire Music Center in Lenox, where he trained many conductors. Koussevitzky died on June 4, 1951.
