Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 25 years, Russian-born Sergey Alexandrovich Koussevitzky was a vital, flamboyant figure in 20th-century music. His influence on American concert music is difficult to overestimate.
Koussevitzky was born in Vishny-Volochok, Tver, Russia, on . His father and three brothers were all musicians, and the young Sergey learned to play several instruments. He entered the Moscow Philharmonic Music School at age 17, and began to study the double bass...