ABSTRACT
Russian conductor and string bass player, born in Vishy-Volochok. He learned trumpet as a child and played with a family ensemble at local events. After studying the string bass in Moscow he joined the Bolshoi Opera Theater orchestra in 1894, and became first chair in 1901. He gave recitals in Moscow and Berlin; and turned to conducting, leading the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1908, then forming his own orchestra in 1909. He toured Russia until the revolution, moved to Paris in 1920, then to America. In 1924 he was named director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a post he held for 25 years. Koussevitzky was a champion of new compositions, and commissioned many important works, including Symphony of Psalms. He established the Berkshire Music Center (Tanglewood) in 1940. He retired in 1949, and died in Boston in 1951.
