Historical Note
Arthur Mendel
Arthur Mendel (1905-1979) was a self-taught musicologist specializing in Renaissance and Baroque music who received wide recognition for his scholarship on Johann Sebastian Bach and Josquin des Prez. He held several positions as editor or translator throughout his career, including six years with Associated Music Publishers, where he corresponded with and edited publications by Igor Stravinsky and others. In 1952, Mendel was appointed to the faculty of Princeton University, where he served as professor of music and later as department chair until 1973.
Stravinsky / Mendel Editorial History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1930-1938 | Mendel worked at G. Schirmer as literary editor |
| 1939 | Stravinsky moved from Paris to the United States |
| 1941 | Stravinsky's arrangement of the "Bluebird Pas-de-deux" from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty commissioned by the American Ballet Theatre |
| 1941-1947 | Mendel worked at Associated Music Publishers (AMP) as an editor |
| 1942 | Premiere of Circus Polka with choreography by George Balanchine for Ringling Brothers Circus Premiere of Danses Concertantes Premiere of Four Norwegian Moods |
| 1943 | Premiere of Ode: Elegiacal Chant in Three Parts (in memory of Natalie Koussevitzky) by the Boston Symphony Orchestra |
| 1944 | Premiere of Sonata for Two Pianos by Nadia Boulanger and Richard Johnston Premiere of Scènes de Ballet in the Broadway revue Seven Lively Arts Orchestration of Circus Polka published |
| 1946 | Premiere of Symphony in Three Movements by the New York Philharmonic |
Note: The above Stravinsky compositions are all referenced in the correspondence, with Danses Concertantes, Sonata for Two Pianos, Scènes de Ballet, and Circus Polka receiving the most coverage.