A year ago Serge Koussevitzky said that he would retire "at the highest point in my career." That, he explained, would be when he had rounded out a quarter-century on Boston's podium. Last week, the milestone passed, his fans gave him a proper Boston goodbye.
When Koussy appeared on the podium, looking fresh but a little frailhe will be 75 in Julythe jampacked audience came to its feet. For his final concert, Koussy had planned an all-Beethoven program, including the Ninth Symphony, which he remarked "was Beethoven's last also." Through Beethoven's First, emotion ran high, but it was the mighty flood of...