In 1921, Thomson received the John Knowles Paine Fellowship for travel, and decided to use it for a year of study in Paris. While there, Thomson studied organ and counterpoint with Nadia Boulanger , and met many of the leaders of music and letters, including Milhaud, Poulenc, Auric, Honegger, Satie, the poet Cocteau, the novelist Radiguet, and Picasso. He also sent back reviews to the Boston Transcript which marked the beginning of his career as a music critic. In only a few...