Abstract

John Adams (1947-) is an American composer, conductor, and writer. He is the winner of five Grammy Awards and recipient of the 2003 Pultizer Prize for his work On the Transmigration of Souls in tribute to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The collection includes music scores by Adams and others, correspondence, business and financial papers, biographical materials, programs and promotional materials, and clippings.

Abstract

Bhumibol Adulyadej (1927-2016), King of Thailand, was prominently known as the longest-reigning monarch in the world at the time of his death in 2016. He was also a gifted reed player with a passion for musical composition and jazz performance. This collection consists largely of his music manuscripts for songs and piano solo works.

Abstract

Milton Ager (1893-1979) was an American arranger and composer of popular songs, primarily in the 1920s and 1930s. His notable compositions include the songs, "Everything Is Peaches Down in Georgia," "Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah)," and "Happy Days Are Here Again." The collection chiefly contains scores of Ager's compositions, sketches, and lyrics, as well as a small amount of correspondence.

Abstract Laurindo Almeida was a Brazilian-American guitarist and composer. Often credited for contributions to the development of jazz samba, Almeida was a prolific composer and arranger of music for both classical Spanish guitar and popular guitar. He was an acclaimed recording artist and became the first person to win Grammy Awards for both classical and jazz performances. The collection contains manuscript and printed music, correspondence, publicity materials, photographs, and other items related...

Abstract American Ballet Theatre (ABT), established in 1940 as Ballet Theatre, is recognized as one of the world's largest and most distinguished dance companies. By act of Congress on April 27, 2006, ABT became America's National Ballet Company. The archive includes music scores, choreographic notes and Benesh dance notation scores, correspondence, business papers, scrapbooks, programs, clippings, photographs, posters, video recordings and films, and prints and drawings, including set and costume...

Abstract The collection of American Ballet Caravan Music Scores consists of full scores, parts, piano rehearsal and vocal scores for six ballets, at least two of them unrealized, for Lincoln Kirstein's dance company, which he founded in 1936. Three of the six ballets were commissioned by Kirstein during the Caravan's tour to Latin America in 1941. The works are Pastorela (Paul Bowles); Soirées musicale (Benjamin Britten, arranged for two pianos by Brian Easdale); Estancia (Alberto E. Ginastera);...

Abstract George Antheil was a composer, pianist, author and inventor. The collection consists of materials related to the professional and personal activities of George Antheil and his wife, Elizabeth (Böske) Antheil. It contains holograph music manuscripts, printed scores, published and unpublished writings, business and personal correspondence, subject files, photographs, programs and promotional materials, scrapbooks, artwork, biographical materials, and memorabilia which document the life of this...

Abstract 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,...

Abstract The Arnold Volpe Papers contain letters, photographs, music, scrapbooks, posters, and other materials reflecting Volpe's career, from his student days in Russia to his accomplishments as a conductor, composer, violinist, and mentor in the United States. He was founder and director of the Young Men's Symphony Orchestra of New York (1902-1919) and the Volpe Symphony Orchestra of New York City (1904-1914). He is also credited with founding and conducting the initial Lewisohn Stadium Concerts...

Abstract

Arsis Press was a music publishing company in Washington, D.C., founded by composer Clara Lyle Boone in 1974 to publish music by women composers. The Arsis Press Records include printed music by nearly forty composers, financial records, business papers, and correspondence.

Abstract Luiz Heitor Corrêa de Azevedo (1905-1992) was a Brazilian musicologist, folklorist, educator, and music critic. His papers document his life and career through correspondence, writings, teaching materials, notebooks, research and subject files, photographs, and awards. Correspondence, as well as holograph, facsimile, and inscribed scores, illustrate Azevedo's relationships with twentieth-century composers from South America, North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. His own...

Abstract Milton Babbitt was an American composer, mathematician, music theorist, and teacher best known for his innovations in the fields of serial and electronic music. The collection primarily consists of holograph sketches for original compositions by Babbitt, including his highly-regarded Philomel (1964), Reflections (1966), and Quintet for clarinet and strings (1997). Also included is a selection...

Abstract

Ernst Bacon was an American composer, pianist, and conductor. Largely a self-taught composer, Bacon also became an esteemed administrator and educator, serving as director of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Music Project in 1935 and later as composer-in-residence at Syracuse University from 1947-1963. The collection contains music, writings, correspondence, iconography, programs, clippings, publicity materials, and other miscellaneous items.

Abstract Pearl Bailey was an American singer and actress who established herself as a prominent nightclub entertainer on the East Coast during the mid-twentieth century. She also appeared in several Broadway productions, including House of Flowers and Hello, Dolly! Bailey also starred as Maria in the 1959 filmed production of Porgy and Bess. She later hosted her own televised variety series, the ...

Abstract

Seymour Barab (1921-2014) was an American composer and performer. He was the founding cellist of the Composer's Quartet of Columbia University and taught at Rutgers University, Black Mountain College, and the New England Conservatory of Music. Barab primarily composed opera and vocal music, especially humorous music and works for young audiences. The collection includes scores, parts, libretti, and sketches, with small amounts of correspondence and ephemera.

Abstract The Barry Sisters (Merna and Claire Barry) was a popular American Jewish vocal group whose careers as Yiddish jazz singers spanned from the late 1930s through the early 1970s. They made their first recordings on Victor Records, and they performed on the radio and television, at New York's Catskill resort hotels, and toured in the United States and abroad. The collection chiefly documents their musical careers through musical scores, parts, and lead sheets, as well as other related...

Abstract Ethel Bartlett and Rae Robertson comprised the piano duo Bartlett and Robertson, who were active in the first half of the twentieth century. They met as students at the Royal Academy of Music and married in 1921, forming their piano duo shortly thereafter. The collection includes primarily manuscript music, both newly composed works for piano duet and two-piano transcriptions and arrangements, as well as compositions written by Bartlett and Robertson. Of note are holograph scores of...

Abstract

Béla Bartók was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. The Etelka Freund Collection on Béla Bartók consists chiefly of correspondence between the composer and pianist Etelka Freund (1879-1977), and printed music for his early works, some of which are annotated. Additional materials include photographs, clippings, programs, publicity materials, and journal articles that document Bartók’s professional activities.

Abstract Harold Bauer was an English violinist and pianist, teacher, and music editor who corresponded with many musical luminaries of his day, including Ernest Bloch, Nadia Boulanger, Pablo Casals, Gabriel Fauré, Percy Grainger, Jascha Heifetz, Josef Hofmann, Gustav Holst, Vincent d'Indy, Fritz Kreisler, Charles Martin Loeffler, Pierre Monteux, Moritz Moszkowski, Vladimir de Pachmann, Ignace Jan Paderewski, Isidore Philipp, Henry Prunières, Carl Ruggles, Carlos Salzedo, Gustave Schirmer, Leopold...

Abstract Irwin "Bud" Bazelon (1922-1995) was an American composer of both concert and film music, as well as a conductor and author. His compositional output includes symphonies, chamber music, music for documentaries and television commercials, and other works. His Knowing the Score: Notes on Film Music, first published in 1975, was one of the early scholarly texts on film music. The collection consists of Bazelon's music, writings (especially pertaining to...

Abstract Ellen Bender is an American composer, flutist, and educator who has based her career in Boston, Massachusetts. She was married to composer, flutist, and educator Robert Di Domenica until his death. Bender’s works range from solo compositions (Suite for Flute Solo, 2008) to those for small ensemble (Trio for Flute, Viola, and Piano, 2005) and orchestra (Variations for Orchestra, 1984; The Tragic Triad, 2008). Many of her compositions are written for flute,...

Abstract

Alban Berg (1885–1935) was an Austrian composer and member of the Second Viennese School, along with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, who together advanced atonal and twelve-tone music. The Willi Reich Collection on Alban Berg consists of correspondence between the composer and musicologist Willi Reich (1898-1980), articles and clippings, and printed music for Berg's vocal and instrumental works.

Abstract Irving Berlin was an American lyricist and composer of over 1,200 songs. He was also a music publisher, theater owner, and a founding member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). The collection, which documents all aspects of his life and career, contains music scores, Berlin's handwritten and typewritten lyric sheets, publicity and promotional materials, personal and professional correspondence, photographs, business papers, legal and financial records,...

Abstract 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....

Abstract

Ernest Bloch was a Swiss-born composer, violinist, conductor, and photographer. The collection, which documents his life and work, includes manuscripts (music and lecture material), correspondence, business and financial papers, photographs, programs, promotional material, clippings, writings about Ernest Bloch, personal papers, and printed matter.