ABSTRACT
Drawing on recently uncovered archival sources, this chapter reconsiders the careers of Nadia and Lili Boulanger and sheds light on their friendships with other professional women, such as writer, activist and musician, Louise Cruppi. It provides a new interpretation of the sisters’ relationship and of how they were perceived by other women during the war years. Through our discussion, we consider that historians have imposed upon women’s experiences the lens of waiting, inert while battles waged far from them. Musicological work has overwhelmingly overlooked the day-to-day activities women pursued during the conflict. The writings considered here allow us to reconsider Nadia Boulanger’s pre-war persona. They suggest a new context for her outside of the writings of an inaccurate biographer, of misogynistic critics, and of her own grief-laden diaries. Cruppi’s third-person account provides a glimpse of these women’s friendships, amplifying notions of the Boulangers as two exciting women composers who represented youth, hope, and the potential for new pathways for women’s artistic and professional success.
