Search Results

1. Selma Epstein collection, 1931-1987

   72 items. 5 containers. 2.6 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Selma Epstein (1927-2014) was a concert pianist, teacher, promoter of contemporary music, and champion of 20th-century black and female composers. The collection contains contemporary music scores, many by women and African-American composers, as well as a small amount of clippings and promotional materials.

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   Some or all content stored offsite.

2. Henry Cowell music manuscripts, 1909-1965

   approximately 1,100 items. 37 containers plus bound scores. 18 linear feet . 10 microfilm reels. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Henry Cowell was an American composer, theorist, writer, pianist, and teacher. A member of the 1920s "ultra-modernists," Cowell's experimental compositions explored a myriad of unusual instrumental techniques and non-Western musical sounds. Works such as The Aeolian Harp (1923), The Banshee (1925), and Mosaic Quartet (1935) are seminal examples of his exploration of 'tone clusters,' or secondal harmonies, for expanding the musical sound palette. Cowell was also a prolific writer and editor who founded The New Music Quarterly in 1927 as an outlet for the musical works of modern composers. This finding aid collates classed holograph manuscript scores, sketches, and parts by Cowell that were donated to the Music Division beginning in the 1950s.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Leonora Jackson McKim papers, 1854-1969

   approximately 2,000 items. 30 containers. 13 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Leonora Jackson McKim was one of the first American female concert violinists to achieve international acclaim. She made her debut in 1896 and was awarded the Mendelssohn State Prize in 1898. She performed for royalty in Britain, Germany, and Sweden and was decorated by Queen Victoria in 1899. In 1915, she married Dr. William Duncan McKim (1855-1935) and they lived in Washington, D.C. The collection contains printed and manuscript music (chiefly for violin and piano), writings, correspondence, photographs, publicity materials, artwork, and miscellaneous items.

6. José María Castro papers, 1907-2001

   approximately 3,500 items. 46 containers. 18.5 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   José María Castro was an Argentine composer, conductor, and cellist. He was a member of the Sociedad del Cuarteto and a co-founder of Grupo Renovación, an avant-garde musical youth movement in Argentina that became the International Society for Contemporary Music’s Argentine Section in 1932. The collection includes musical compositions, arrangements, and transcriptions by Castro; music by others; correspondence; writings; programs; clippings; scrapbooks; personal papers; photographs; and business papers pertaining to Castro’s career, Grupo Renovación, and the Asociación del Profesorado Orquestal.