Search Results

1. Serge Koussevitzky archive, 1880-1978

   around 200,000 items. 505 containers. 224 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Serge Koussevitzky was a Russian-born conductor, composer, and double bassist. The archive includes correspondence, personal and business papers, photographs, writings, clippings, scrapbooks, programs, and other materials which serve as a record of Koussevitzky's life and career, and document some of the most significant aspects of twentieth-century music. Through his work as a conductor and publisher, and his efforts to commission new musical works, Koussevitzky maintained deep ties with many of the finest composers and musicians of the day. These figures are represented in their personal and professional affiliations with the conductor. The collection extensively chronicles periods in the history of organizations such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Berkshire Music Center, the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, and the American International Music Fund. Material in the collection dates from Koussevitzky's years in his native Russia and also contains material created after Koussevitzky's death, reflecting his widow Olga's continuing work with various organizations and projects. Musical compositions commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky are part of the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation Collection, and are shelved in ML30.3c, ML30.3c2, ML30.3c3, and ML30.3e2.

2. Society for American Music records, 1971-2001

   approximately 40,000 items. 114 containers. 49 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   The Society for American Music, an educational organization founded in 1975 by a group of American music enthusiasts, is dedicated to promoting the study, teaching, creation, and dissemination of music in the Americas. The society was originally named in honor of American musicologist, librarian, and editor Oscar G. T. Sonneck (1873-1928), the first critical scholar and bibliographer of American music, and first chief of the music division of the Library of Congress. The records range from the founding of the society to 1999, when it changed its name to the Society for American Music. Materials include correspondence, minutes, reports, memorandums, conference materials, bylaws, handbooks, committee records, publicity and promotional materials, financial papers, materials related to its publications American Music and Sonneck Society Bulletin, photographs, and realia.

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   Some or all content stored offsite.

3. Alan M. and Sali Ann Kriegsman collection, 1933-1997

   37,400 items . 192 containers . 83 linear feet . -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Alan M. "Mike" Kriegsman, chief dance critic of the Washington Post, was the first dance writer to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for criticism. Sali Ann Kriegsman, a distinguished dance historian, directed the Dance Program at the National Endowment for the Arts and contributed to many initiatives advancing the dance field and preserving dance legacies in the United States. The Alan M. and Sali Ann Kriegsman Collection consists of press kits, newspaper clippings, performance and conference programs, research notes and drafts, records of their service to nonprofit boards, and audiovisual materials. Note: the 192 boxes of processed materials described in this finding aid represent only about a third of the materials in the collection.

4. Elliott Carter music manuscripts and other papers, 1933-1971

   approximately 18,900 items. 55 containers plus bound scores. 19 linear feet. 22 microfilm reels. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Among other accolades, American composer Elliott Carter was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his second and third string quartets. A student of Nadia Boulanger, his works combined American and European styles of modernism, and his compositional style, based around collections of pitches, was later described as musical set theory. Carter was also known for his use of proportional tempo changes, which is referred to by scholars as metric modulation. Carter composed in a wide variety of genres, including symphonies, concertos, chamber music, ballets, and choral music. This finding aid collates classed holograph scores, sketches, and parts by Carter that were donated to the Music Division beginning in the 1960s. Additional music materials, programs, and a small amount of photographs and other papers will be added to this document in the future.

5. Society for the Preservation of the American Musical Heritage collection, 1792-1969

   approximately 475 items. 16 containers. 6.25 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Karl Krueger was an American conductor, best known as the first American-born conductor of a major United States orchestra. He founded the Society for the Preservation of the American Musical Heritage in 1958 with the goal of collecting and recording music by American composers. The collection primarily consists of musical scores and parts with a small amount of business papers.

6. Cyrilla Barr research materials on Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, 1864-2000

   approximately 700 items. 6 containers. 3 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Dr. Cyrilla Barr (1929-2021) was a musicologist, author, and educator. The collection includes articles, correspondence, notes, photographs, and programs for the biography she published in 1998, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge: American Patron of Music.

7. Lou Gordon collection, 1953-2006

   1 box plus 1 oversized folder. manuscripts: 31 folders. -- American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Manuscript materials, including programs, newspaper clippings, handbills, programs, small posters, and black-and-white photographs, documenting Swapping Song Fair, a folk music production company and concert series founded in New York City in 1955 by Lou Gordon and Paddy Clancy, which produced a Musical Tribute to Woody Guthrie in 1956, and Folk Song '59. The collection documents musical and other events in the folk music revival in New York City during the 1950s.

8. Amateur Hour collection, 1934-1950s

   approximately 8,500 items. 20 boxes. 9 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   The Original Amateur Hour was a popular radio talent show hosted by Edward Bowes (stagename, Major Bowes) from 1935-1952. The collection primarily consists of more than 7,000 applications from contestants who appeared on the program between 1934 and 1948. A small amount of administrative papers dating from the late 1940s and 1950s, as well as materials relating to the Mexican version of the program, La hora internacional del aficionado, are also included. Filed with the contestant applications are letters of introduction, reference letters, and other documents sent by prospective contestants. Applications from conventional performers such as musicians, dancers, singers, and impersonators are most numerous, but there are also applications from novelty acts, such as a human piccolo, a group of hand standing singers, and a group who played harmonicas with fire extinguishers. Of particular interest are applications from performers who are now well-known, including Teresa Brewer, Stubby Kaye, Robert Merrill, Beverly Sills, and Frank Sinatra. Photographs from the 1940s and 1950s provide a visual record of the show, while correspondence to and from program staff members recount some of the program's business transactions. Scripts, promotional material, and advertising and sponsor documents also are part of the collection.

9. Minna Lederman Daniel collection, 1896-1993

   around 21,000 items. 24 containers. 12.5 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Minna Lederman Daniel was an American writer and editor who specialized in music and dance. A major influence on 20th century music, she was a founding member of the League of Composers, a group of musicians and proponents of modern music. She helped launch the League’s magazine, The League of Composers’ Review (later called Modern Music), which was the first American journal to manifest an interest in contemporary composers. The collection contains her correspondence, financial and legal papers, writings, clippings, and photographs.

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   Some or all content stored offsite.

10. Dorothea Dix Lawrence collection, 1856-1980

    350 items. 4 containers. 2 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

    Summary:

    Dorothea Dix Lawrence was a successful opera singer in the 1930s and 1940s who later became a recitalist and folklorist. The materials in the collection include correspondence, photographs, clippings and other items that document her career as a singer and interpreter of American folk music. In addition, the collection includes her articles on American folklore that were published in various journals, and two copies of her famous Folklore Music Map of the United States. The collection also includes piano-vocal opera scores and a large number of American folk songs.