Related Resources
Search Results
Joint Army and Navy Committee on Welfare and Recreation, Sub-Committee on Music papers, 1920-1950
approximately 9,800 items. 30 boxes. 15 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Summary:
The Joint Army and Navy Committee on Welfare and Recreation, Sub-Committee on Music was established in 1942 to attend to the morale of military personnel through the provision of music materials and the support of bands at various levels – camp, fort, field unit, and individual performer. Library of Congress Music Division chief Harold Spivacke served as the Sub-Committee chairman. These files document his role and that of his staff in this war effort through correspondence, photographs, memoranda, notated music and lead sheets, reports, songbooks, and technical and training manuals.
Mannes - Damrosch collection, 1848-1986
approximately 1,800 items. 41 containers. 15 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Summary:
Includes biographical materials, correspondence, writings, music, programs, clippings, artwork, photographs, awards, and other materials. Biographical materials include a copy of autobiography of Leopold Damrosch and memoirs of Marie von Heimburg, the aunt of Clara, Frank, and Walter Damrosch. Both items also exist in Damrosch-Tee Van Collection and Damrosch-Blaine Collection. The correspondence consists of letters between members of the Mannes and Damrosch families and other important correspondents, including Percy Goetschius, Franz Lizst (translation from the original), Daniel Gregory Mason, Sergei Rachmaninoff, John D. Rockefeller, Arthur Schnabel, Randall Thompson, and others. The writings contain primarily numerous literary works by Marya Mannes and articles by Leopold Damrosch, Clara Damrosch Mannes, Leopold Mannes. The music consists of holograph scores, parts, and sketches of compositions by Leopold Damrosch. Also included are manuscript copies of works by Heinrich Gottwald, holograph scores of Edmund Singer, and songs by Leopold Mannes. The Photographs consist of photoprints and 28 albums of photoprints chiefly related to Mannes and Damrosch families. The artwork includes portraits of various members of the Mannes and Damrosch families, sketches by Clara Damrosch Mannes, and photographic reproductions of sculptures of Marya Mannes.
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.
Please note:
Some or all content stored offsite.
Leonard Bernstein collection, circa 1900-1995
around 400,000 items. 1,723 boxes. 710 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Summary:
Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, writer, lecturer, and pianist. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, writings, personal business papers, the archives from his corporate identity, Amberson Inc., scrapbooks, clippings and press materials, programs, datebooks and schedules, iconography, address books, and fan mail. In addition, it contains music manuscripts for many of his compositions, including The Age of Anxiety (Symphony no. 2); Candide; Chichester Psalms; Fancy Free; Jeremiah (Symphony no. 1); On the Waterfront; Prelude, Fugue and Riffs; Serenade after Plato's "Symposium"; Trouble in Tahiti; West Side Story; and Wonderful Town.
Please note:
Access restrictions apply.
Some or all content stored offsite.
Correspondence of Elizabeth Mitchell Stephenson Fite and the American National Opera Company, 1864-1951
approximately 125 items. 1 container. .5 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Summary:
This collection documents the efforts of Elizabeth Mitchell Stephenson Fite to establish the American National Opera Company, a performing organization that endeavored to present operas in English, but did not realize that vision." Reflected in the materials is the involvement or opinions of noteworthy musicians such as George Whitfield Chadwick, Reginald De Koven, Arthur Foote, Victor Herbert, and others. It also contains correspondence addressed to other individuals, possibly related to Fite’s work at The Circle and Success magazine, published in New York in the first decade of the twentieth century. Also included is correspondence and documents believed to be related to Fite’s family members as well as a small number of photographs, clippings, and autographs.
Charles Mingus collection, 1925-2015
approximately 15,000 items. 76 boxes. 35 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Summary:
Charles Mingus was a jazz double bassist, band leader, and composer. A prolific recording artist and pioneer in double bass technique, Mingus composed works that often incorporated elements of hard bop and gospel music and featured collective improvisation. The collection includes manuscript and printed music by Mingus; writings; correspondence; business papers; clippings; programs; publicity materials; photographs of Mingus, his family, and colleagues, such as Eric Dolphy, Dannie Richmond, Max Roach, Oscar Pettiford, and Miles Davis; artwork and artifacts; and sound recordings.
Chet Baker materials from the papers of Diane Vavra, 1970-1989
108 items . 2 boxes. 1.7 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Summary:
Chet Baker was an American jazz trumpeter whose early success in the 1950s was due not only to his musical talents, but also to his model good looks. He rose to prominence as a member of baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan's quartet and later established himself as acclaimed vocalist during the 1950s. Baker began an on-again, off-again relationship with Diane Vavra in 1970 and was with her during the last years of his life. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, and other items related to his personal life and career.
Seeger family collection, 1846-2023
approximately 43,000 items. 270 containers . 22 mapcase folders . 136.5 linear feet. 6 microfilm reels . 5,882 digital files (213 GB). -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Summary:
The Seeger Family Collection documents the lives and careers of pioneering musicologist Charles Louis Seeger; his second wife, modernist composer Ruth Crawford Seeger; their eldest daughter, folksinger and songwriter Peggy Seeger; and her husband, playwright, singer, and songwriter Ewan MacColl through their music manuscripts, personal and professional papers, and correspondence. The collection also includes papers relating to the Crawford family and materials associated with Pete Seeger, Mike Seeger, other Seeger family members, and Seeger/MacColl family members.
Sharon Preston-Folta collection on Lucille Preston and Louis Armstrong, 1940-2009
approximately 340 items. 5 containers. 3 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Summary:
Lucille "Sweets" Preston (1921-2020), a dancer at the Cotton Club and member of the vaudeville comedic duo Slim & Sweets, was an intimate partner of jazz legend Louis Armstrong beginning in the early 1950s. This collection consists of correspondence, photographs, and other materials formerly owned by their daughter Sharon Preston-Folta. The items document both the relationsip between "Satchmo" and Lucille Preston as well as Preston's colleagues in the entertainment industry.
Please note:
Some or all content stored offsite.
Shirley Horn papers, circa 1935-2014
approximately 2,630 items. 27 containers. 2 mapcase folders. 14 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Summary:
Shirley Horn (1934-2005) was an American jazz pianist and singer. A lifelong resident of Washington, D.C., she was classically trained before discovering jazz, eventually forming her own trio in 1954. After graduating from Howard University, she recorded an album that caught the attention of Miles Davis, for whom she opened at the Village Vanguard in 1961. After recording two albums produced by Quincy Jones, she performed locally while raising her daughter. She began performing internationally in the early 1980s. Her subsequent albums garnered one Grammy win and nine nominations. The Shirley Horn Papers document her life and career through printed music, business records, programs, clippings, and photographs.