Scope and Content Note
The Henryk Szeryng Collection documents the career of a violinist who was also active as a teacher, a patron of the arts, and a diplomat. The bulk of the materials are Szeryng's collected musical scores, but also included are personal papers relating to activities other than musical performance. Various teaching and master-class materials in the collection date from his many years as an educator, and a number of speeches and writings reflect his active role as a public figure. Szeryng's support of the arts and other worthy causes, as demonstrated by his donation of several valuable violins for use by promising young violinists and by his many benefit performances, is also well documented in the biographical articles and interviews in the collection.
The Music materials consist of both manuscript and printed scores. The bulk of the music is printed, but many of these scores and parts include Szeryng's handwritten annotations. The manuscripts include a number of Szeryng's own compositions, as well as his arrangements and revisions of both standard and little-known works. Among these is Paganini's Violin Concerto no. 3, a work which Szeryng rediscovered. Also of particular significance are the manuscripts of composers whose works Szeryng actively commissioned or promoted, such as Manuel Ponce and Cristóbal Halffter.
The Correspondence consists of letters between Szeryng and many prominent violinists, pianists, and conductors, including Isaac Stern, Shlomo Mintz, Yehudi Menuhin, Josef Gingold, Rafael Kubelik, Jean Martinon, Erich Leinsdorf, and Eugene Ormandy. The numerous personal friendships that Szeryng fostered in the various locations to which he traveled are reflected in correspondence from those acquaintances as well. The many official invitations indicate his prestige as both violinist and diplomat, and the letters of condolence received by Waltraud Szeryng following his death reflect the widespread sense of loss felt at his passing.
Szeryng's studies and teachings as a violinist are reflected in several papers and books detailing the principles of the Leopold Auer, Carl Flesch, and Eugéne Ysaye schools of violin playing. Szeryng's own views about violin technique are described in papers housed in both the Educational Materials series and the Biographical Material series.
In the Performance Files, publicity materials provide an overview of the evolution of Szeryng's career. Representative concert programs and numerous clippings clearly document Szeryng's endeavors as a concert artist, diplomat and patron. The Business Records include many receipts, contracts, and financial statements that also reflect his concert and recording activities.
The remainder of the collection consists of various personal papers: more than a thousand Photographs, many of Szeryng with other prominent musicians and diplomats or ambassadors; documentation of his career as a recording artist; numerous awards and citations; his Scrapbooks; and all of the Books from his personal library that pertain to his musical career or have noteworthy inscriptions.