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| BOX 69-198A | Writings, 1928-1991 | ||||||||||||
| 9,261 items, 131 boxes | |||||||||||||
| The Writings series contains a diverse group of documents that reflect Bernstein's
wide-ranging activities. Spanning 1928 to 1991 (when an article was published
posthumously in the New York Times), these writings might be characterized as non-music manuscripts
(although many items are typescripts as opposed to manuscripts, and some
items--notably transcripts of interviews--were not really "written" at all). The Writings series is divided into four subseries. The first, General Writings Chronology, includes the bulk of the writings, arranged in date order--by date of creation, publication, performance, presentation, or other approximate date. This is followed by the Television Scripts subseries which is further subdivided into the Young People's Concerts Television Scripts (arranged chronologically by air date); Bound Television Scripts; Television Scripts Collections--Notebooks; and TelePrompTer scripts. The final two subseries are Norton Lectures/The Unanswered Question and Book Materials. The Norton lectures include not only Bernstein's manuscript notes, draft scripts, and annotated typescripts, but also notes and outlines of others who helped prepare the lectures, research materials, television production materials, TelePrompTer scripts, and correspondence relating to the production and distribution of the lectures on video. The Book Materials include typescripts, musical examples, planning materials, correspondence with the publisher, and publisher's proofs. The contents within the various subseries are not exclusive. For example, the General Writings Chronology contains Norton lecture material, book materials and television scripts. Where titles exist, they appear as the initial entry in the "Title/Description" field in this guide. Either in place of, or following, a title, but always in square brackets, is a description of the type of work represented--article, poem, lecture, etc.--including any information known about where or for what or whom items were created, published or presented, and often a brief topic description. Most descriptions are self-explanatory; one exception is "imaginary conversation," a term created by Bernstein to describe a particular type of article. The Writings series contains sketches and/or complete drafts for twelve imaginary conversations, of which, apparently, only three or four were published. This guide can most successfully be used by those able to access it by computer and do word searches. In that way, for instance, the fifteen writings with titles or descriptions that include "Mahler" can be found in a matter of seconds. Searching for "Tanglewood" will garner the researcher not only writings about Tanglewood, but writings on various topics presented at Tanglewood. In terms of discrete works, the largest number of items in the Writings series is contained in the General Writings Chronology list; however, in terms of the amount of space required to house material, the various groupings are roughly proportionate. For example, while the total of 37 boxes of material described in the general listing represents hundreds of titles, the 39 boxes of Norton lectures material represent a total of six lectures. The Writings series includes notes, drafts, and completed works intended for presentation before a public readership or audience: music reviews and other articles; program and liner notes; speeches and statements; lectures; concert preview/explanatory scripts; TV scripts and other TV or radio commentary; books authored by Bernstein; introductions and prefaces to books by other authors; lyrics; etc. The General Writings Chronology list also contains manuscripts or typescripts intended for more limited readerships: school and extra-curricular work while at Boston Latin School or Harvard College (short stories, essays, work assignments and exams, college thesis, music reviews); letters, birthday poems, memos, and recommendations, written for family, friends, colleagues, proteges, or staff; and poems and poem translations, crossword puzzles and games, a sleep record from January and February 1983, annotated texts or books, and marginal notes, written by Bernstein for his own use. Some anomalies will be found in the Writings series, among which are the following: interviews; a Charlie Harmon phone list; a transcript of a speech by Joachim Kaiser at the bestowal of the Karl Amadeus Hartmann Medal on Bernstein in 1986; a list of Bernstein's copyrighted works; and a catalog for the Museum of Broadcasting's 1985 exhibition concerning Bernstein's television work. These maladapts are housed in the Writings series both because this was where they were filed prior to coming to the Library, and because they provide important direct (interviews) or indirect (Joachim Kaiser speech) testimony concerning Bernstein's life and how it touched the lives of others. Since this is what we hope the Writings series conveys anyway, it seems not unreasonable to accept a few black sheep within its fold. A final caveat: because certain types of material are typically found in the Writings series, please do not assume that all such items in the collection are to be found here. One should, for example, also peruse the Amberson Business Papers subseries, which is known to contain, inter alia, interviews, recommendations, correspondence (personal), and speeches. |
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| BOX 69-104, 197, 198A | General Writings Chronology | ||||||||||||
| Includes Bernstein's notebooks from school, newspaper and journal articles, original poetry and song lyrics, program notes, speeches and lectures, radio and television scripts, general notes and correspondence related to his professional activities, and a significant number of concert talks from Thursday Evening Previews. | |||||||||||||
| Arranged chronologically | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/1 | [annotated text: Graded classics fifth reader], 1928-1929 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/2 | [Geometry notebook, Boston Latin School], 1932-1933 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/3 | [correspondence: Leonard Bernstein to Beatrice Gordon; Jennie and Samuel Bernstein to Beatrice; Sid Ramin to Leonard Bernstein (1933)], 1933-1957 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/4 | [English notebook (photocopy), Boston Latin School], 1934-1935 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/5 | Father's books [essay, Boston Latin School], 1935 February 11 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/6 | [notes on Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Boston Latin School], circa 1935 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/7 | [Harvard exam blue book: German], 1935 December | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/8 | [Harvard lesson and exam blue books: Italian], 1935-1936 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/9 | [Harvard exam blue books: English and Comparative Literature], 1935-1938 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/10 | [Harvard notes: History of the Fine Arts and Literary History], 1936 February-May | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/11 | Some remarks on an untouched phase of the immediate aesthetic enjoyment of Shakespeare [Harvard paper], 1936-1937 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/12 | Dorothy Parker: Résumé [poem analysis, Harvard], 1937 March 31 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/13 | Color analysis [Aesthetics (Philosophy) paper, Harvard], 1937 April 23 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/14 | [Aesthetics analysis, Harvard], circa 1937 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/15 | The autobiography of John Dos Pathos [poem], circa 1937 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/16 | The black spawn of Aristotle [Harvard paper], circa 1937 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/17 | Song and dance. A general and comprehensive survey of the Elizabethan music and dance [Harvard paper], circa 1937 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/18 | Boston takes a bow [Harvard Advocate(?) review, published in Modern Music as "Season of premieres in Boston"], 1938 January | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/19 | The occult [short story, Harvard], 1938 February 24 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/20 | The feeb [short story, Harvard], 1938 March 20 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/21 | Three fantasies [short stories, Harvard], 1938 April 21 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 69/22 | New music in Boston [Harvard Advocate(?) review, published in Modern Music as "Boston carries on"], 1938 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 70/1 | Sonata-form: 1938 [poem, Harvard], 1938 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 70/2 | True story with a moral [Harvard Advocate review], 1938 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 70/3-4 | [annotated text: An outline of the history of political theory], 1938-1939 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 70/5 | [Harvard class notes: English, Philosophy, Music, Comparative Literature], 1938-1939 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 70/6 | Music review [Harvard Advocate review, published as "Record review," 3/39], circa 1938 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 70/7 | New American music in Boston [Harvard Advocate(?) review, published in Modern Music as "The latest from Boston", 3-4/39], circa 1938 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 70/8 | On acquiring knowledge [poem], circa 1938 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 70/9 | Oh the land of the free [lyric sheet], circa 1938-1939 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 70/10-12 | The absorption of race elements into American music [Harvard thesis], 1939 April 10 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 70/13 | Superego (A dream) [poem], circa 1939 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/1 | [correspondence with Etta Schiff (including from Aaron Copland) regarding Bernstein lectures at Belle Harbor Institute of Study], 1942 September-October | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/2 | Lucky to be me; It's gotta be bad to be good [lyrics, for On the Town], 1942 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/3 | [repertoire list, piano and orchestral works], 1942 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/4 | I know a fellow [lyric, used in By Bernstein, two lines in Sondheim hand (circa 1974)], circa 1943 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/5 | Opera's a peculiar bird; The ruckers of...; There was a sunset [poems], circa 1943 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/6 | On the Town [Act II scenario, Leonard Bernstein's annotations], circa 1944 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/7 | Atlantic City song; Speed and love, my destinations [poems], 1945 January | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/8 | The arts belong to the people [article, published in the Christian Register], 1945 November 25 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/9 | On leaving Manitoba and entering Saskatchewan; Child of wrath; The wisdom of three darknesses; Deign, foolish muse...; Breaks now my rage from me [poems], circa 1945 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/10 | Neglected works: A symposium [article, published in Modern Music, reprinted in Perspectives of New Music, Spring-Summer 1964], 1946 January 16 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/11 | Three [dance] variations from Fancy Free [Arthur Berger program note], 1946 January 21 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/12 | Three dance episodes from On the Town [program note, Rochester Philharmonic], 1946 February 6 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/13 | Art is fun [article, published in Dance Magazine as "Music and the dance"], 1946 April | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/14 | [annotated flight record of Leonard Bernstein's first trip to Europe], 1946 May 4 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/15 | [speech, American Fund for Palestinians], 1946 May 28 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/16 | Letter to myself [poem], 1946 July-1948 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/17 | Jazz forum: Has jazz influenced the symphony? [article in the form of a debate with Gene Krupa, published in Esquire], 1946 August 19 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/18 | Song and soil [foreword to an album of Palestinian music], 1946 September | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/19 | [statement regarding choosing between conducting, composing, and performing], 1946 October 15 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/20 | [concert narrative regarding Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex], 1946 November 12 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/21 | [letter to Serge Koussevitzky from Canoga Park, California], 1946 December 27 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/22 | Facsimile [program note, Rochester Philharmonic], 1947 March 3 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/23 | [letter to Mr. Rosenbluth regarding the Palestine Symphony Orchestra], 1947 May 9 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/24 | Life is juicy [poem, published in Neurotica, Spring 1948], 1947 July 2 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/25 | [article for RCA Victor regarding availability of recorded music in Europe and the U.S., appearing in Findings as "Music U.S.A., 1947"], 1947 July 8 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/26 | [radio commentary, "Johnny Victor" radio program regarding Leonard Bernstein's New York Philharmonic debut], 1947 July 8 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/27 | American music [three lectures]; Impressions of music in Europe; Gustav Mahler [lecture outlines for the "American music" lectures at Tanglewood; Katherine Wolfe notes] 71/28, 1947, 1948 July-August | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/28 | The Palestinian Composer [article, New York Herald Tribune, 1947 September 1], 1947 August 26 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/29 | A Career as an Orchestra Conductor [article on the elements of success], 1947 August 29 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/30 | A note on Stravinsky's variety [article, published in Dance Index as "A note on variety"], 1947 September | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/31 | [programming plans, New York City Symphony], 1947 September-November | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/32 | An "open hearing" for the Negro in music [article, published in the New York Times as "The Negro in music"], 1947 October 26 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/33 | [notes for a lecture at the Temple Sinai Forum regarding musical development in America and Palestine], 1947 December 8 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/34 | Music that sings [article, published in Theater Arts], 1947 December 16-20 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/35 | [statement for the "We call it jazz" concerts], 1947 December | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/36 | La bonne cuisine [translation of poem], circa 1947 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/37 | The great American murder [short story], circa 1947 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/38 | I can love a woman [lyric], circa 1947 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/39 | For Varèse [statement regarding composing and musical aims], 1948 January 14 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/40 | [letter to Herman Starr, Music Publishers Holding Corporation, regarding changing publishers], 1948 February 21 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/41 | [correspondence regarding resignation from directorship of the New York City Symphony], 1948 March-December | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/42 | [imaginary conversation regarding nationalism in music], 1948 May 1 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/43 | [letters to Helen Coates from Munich, West Germany, and Verona, Italy], 1948 May 8 and 11 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/44 | [imaginary conversation sketch], 1948 June 23 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/45 | [statement regarding concert at Waldorf-Astoria on behalf of the Hebrew fighters of Palestine], 1948 July 1 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/46 | K blues [lyric for Koussevitzky's 74th birthday, Tanglewood], 1948 July 26 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/47 | [radio commentary regarding the inaugural season of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra], 1948 September 28 | ||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/48 | [letter to Serge Koussevitzky regarding Israel and Koussevitzky's nephew], 1948 October 29 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/49 | [concert talk or lecture on Copland's 3rd Symphony, Tel Aviv, Israel], 1948 October | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/50 | [radio commentary regarding Israel and support for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra], 1948 November 10 | ||||||||||||
| Digital content available | |||||||||||||
| BOX-FOLDER 71/51 | [letter to Jennie Bernstein from Israel, illustrated by Jossi Stern], 1948 November | ||||||||||||
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