Boulanger to Stravisnky
36 rue Ballu
Paris IX
March 22, 1951
Dear Friend,
This is not the letter I would like to write you during this month which brings us together with
such sad memories.
But today I’m only going to talk about the Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund. This year we would
like to give the prize to a young boy who deserves it—and who greatly needs us to support him:
Jean Michel [Dufay]—a true musician, a cultivated and well-guided spirit heading in the right
direction. I am sure you would agree with the quality of his work—his taste and his technique—
and his intuition. He is eighteen years old and is good in every respect. Moreover, he has a
difficult situation—he lost his mother and little brother at eleven.
Thank you, and if you are in agreement, the attached ballot is to be sent signed to Winifred
Johnstone, 122 Bay State Road, Boston, Mass. Have you read Leonardo’s writings? I believe his
interest in the subject, his care for doing things the right way, his realism—no, his sense of a
subject’s reality and its possibilities and limits—will please you.
Each day I think of you and understand better what we all [owe] you. But that’s for another day.
All my love to Vera and you.
Nadia B.
Boulanger à Stravinsky
36 rue Ballu
Paris IX
22 mars [19]51
Cher Ami,
Ceci n’est pas la lettre que je voudrais pourtant vous écrire en ce mois qui nous rapproche par de
si graves souvenirs.
Mais aujourd’hui je ne nous tous parle que du Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund. Nous voudrions
donner le prix cette année à un jeune garçon qui [en] merite [sic]—et [en] a grand besoin qu’on
le soutienne [sic]. Jean Michel [Dufay]un vrai musicien—un esprit dirigé, cultivé—allant dans la
bonne direction. Vous seriez d’accord, j’en suis sûre, avec la qualité de son travail—son goût, sa
technique—et son flair. Il a 18 ans—il est bien, à tous égards. De plus[,] situation difficile—a
perdu sa mère—un petit frère à eleven.
Merci pour lui—si vous voulez bien être d’accord le bulletin ci[-]joint à envoyer signé à
Winifred Johnstone, 122 Bay State Road, Boston, Mass. Avez-vous lu les écrits de Leonardo—
son intérêt pour la matière—son soin à la bien manier [sic], son réalisme, non, son sens de la
réalité de la matière de ses possiblités, de ses limites, vous plairont, je crois.
Chaque jour, je pense à vous—et comprends mieux ce que nous tous de vous […] Ceci pour un
autre jour. Vous embrasse Vera et vous avec toute ma tendresse.
Nadia B
Nadia Boulanger , “Chapter 4, 22 March 1951,” Digital Exhibits, accessed December 22, 2024, https://digex.lib.uoguelph.ca/items/show/2461.
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