Koussevitzky@150 Debuts on Charlottesville Classical

2024 marks the 100th anniversary of Serge Kousevitzky's tenure as director of the Boston Symphony -- and the 150th anniversary of his birth. Koussevitzky@150 brings together the best of his legendary recordings with the voices of those who knew Koussevitzky best from Leonard Bernstein to Aaron Copland to Nicholas Slonimsky.

This 13-week series premieres on charlottesvilleclassical.org Wednesday, Sept. 4th at 9:00 am. It's produced and presented by Tom Godell, a 50-year public radio veteran and founder of the Koussevitzky Recordings Society.

Koussevitzy led the Boston Symphony for 25 years (1924-49). He virtually reshaped the world of classical music in the process. During his tenure, Koussevitzky commissioned works from Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, and Howard Hanson. He also championed nearly every significant living composer of his day. And much of the music he presented has since entered the repertoire.

.Leonard Berstein with Serge Koussevitzky at the Boston Symphony premiere of Bernstein's "Kaddish" Symphony.

Koussevitzy was a music publisher, too. His firm published first editions of scores by Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Nikolai Medtner, Igor Stravinsky, and Sergei Prokofiev.

And then there's his recorded legacy. Koussevtizky did hundreds of iconic recordings. Many are considered definitive interpretations.

Koussevitzky@150 provides a fresh look at this legendary artist.

Koussevitzky@150 airs Wednesday mornings at 9:00 am and is rebroadcast Wednesday evenings at 6:00 pm on charlottesvilleclassical.org