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 The American Conservatory at Fontainebleau was originally established in 1919 to improve the quality of United States military bands mobilized in France at the end of World War I. In 1921, the school opened to American civilians, welcoming music students for summer classes in the Louis XV wing of the Château de Fontainebleau. The School of Fine Arts was established in 1923, and architecture has become the focus of its instruction. Still active today, the Conservatory's faculty has featured...

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 It contains holograph music manuscripts, printed scores, published and unpublished writings, business and personal correspondence, subject files, photographs, programs and promotional materials, scrapbooks, artwork, biographical materials,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 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 Samuel Barber remains one of America’s eminent composers, best known for the "Adagio" from his String Quartet, op. 11 in B minor. He composed large and small-scale works for piano, voice and piano, chorus, and orchestra, as well as three operas. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Barber's compositional style remained decidedly tonal. The collection is comprised of correspondence, music from Barber's personal library, printed music, writings,...

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 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

Little is known about Mrs. Cameron (Harriet) Winslow or how she became acquainted with the influential French composer, conductor, and teacher, Nadia Boulanger. This collection consists of photographs, concert programs, and clippings related to Boulanger's career that Mrs. Winslow received from 1956 to 1964. Most of the items are signed, dated and contain simple messages from Boulanger.

Abstract

The Brill Family Collection of Programs contains ephemera from performances of concerts, motion pictures, musicals, plays, revues, and variety programs attended by Richard S. Brill, his parents Maurice and Rhona, and his brother Robert between 1921 and 1941.

Abstract 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...

Abstract

Herbert L. Kirk (1926-1994) was a writer, editor, and publishing consultant. The collection chiefly consists of material relating to his book, Pablo Casals, a Biography (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1974). It includes his extensive research material on Casals, his research notes and business papers, correspondence, photographs, programs, drafts and proofs of the book, clippings, articles, posters, and a scrapbook.

Abstract The Damrosch-Tee Van Collection consists of the papers of violinist, conductor, and composer Leopold Damrosch; his son Frank, who was also a conductor; and and their families. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, writings, manuscript and printed music, financial and legal papers, programs, scrapbooks, artwork, and photographs. The papers of Leopold Damrosch consist of correspondence, a few examples of writings, four scores, and biographical materials. The papers of...

Abstract

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.

Abstract

Robert Evett (1922-1975) was a composer, arts editor, and critic who made his home primarily in the Washington, D.C., area. This collection contains several scores, sketches, and instrument parts for works composed by Evett; biographical information collected by Evett's family after his death; and his published book and music reviews for the "Atlantic Monthly," "New Republic," and "Washington Star-News."

Abstract

Irving Fine was an American conductor, teacher, and composer whose works assimilated neoclassical, romantic, and serial elements. The bulk of the materials in the collection are musical scores and sketches which represent nearly his entire musical output. In addition, there are photographs, clippings, programs, and scrapbooks, as well as correspondence from twentieth-century musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, Alberto Ginastera, Ned Rorem, and William Schuman.

Abstract Ross Lee Finney (1906-1997) was a twentieth century American composer and educator. He served on the faculty of Smith College in Massachusetts and as faculty and composer-in-residence at the University of Michigan. His musical education included both classical training and traditional American folk music, both of which directly influenced his compositional style. Finney's music was cateogrized as tonal and melodic and included serial and twelve tone techniques, particularly in his later...

Abstract Russian-American musician Jascha Heifetz was a virtuosic violinist who became a dedicated teacher. The collection includes his personal music library of original compositions, arrangements, and transcriptions. Concert programs document his performances from 1911 to 1974, and photographs, photo albums, and scrapbooks span the violinist's entire life. The correspondence contains letters from significant twentieth-century musical figures such as Leopold Auer, Benjamin Britten, Sergei Prokofiev,...

Abstract

Leon Hilsberg was a concert manager in Łodz, Poland, and then a banker in Vienna before immigrating to New York in 1941. This collection of his materials includes photographs of and correspondence with musicians he met in Poland, as well as programs and a poster for performances of his brothers Alexander and Ignace.

Abstract Helen Hopekirk (1856-1945) was a Scottish-born American composer, pianist, and educator of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During her lifetime she maintained a rigorous performance schedule throughout Europe and the United States and studied under numerous artists. Her compositions were often inspired by traditional Scottish and Gaelic folk-songs and the works of poets and other authors. This collection contains music manuscripts by Hopekirk and other composers,...

Abstract Shirley Horn (1934-2005) was an American jazz pianist and singer. A lifelong resident of Washington, D.C., she was classically trained before discovering jazz, eventually forming her own trio in 1954. After graduating from Howard University, she recorded an album that caught the attention of Miles Davis, for whom she opened at the Village Vanguard in 1961. After recording two albums produced by Quincy Jones, she performed locally while raising her daughter. She began performing...

Abstract Anne Hull (1888-1984) was an American pianist, composer, pedagogue, and writer. In her early career she formed a piano duet with Mary Howe, touring throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Hull later turned to education, focusing on younger students at preparatory schools. The collection includes music composed by Hull and others; writings of Hull and those in her circle; correspondence; programs and promotional materials of Hull's concerts and of her students'; and subject files pertaining to...

Abstract This collection contains concert programs, publicity materials, clippings and correspondence from the nearly 25-year history of the Inter-American Music Festival Foundation. The Foundation was organized by the Inter-American Music Council in 1958 under the auspices of the Pan American Union "to promote closer relations and understanding among the American republics by recognizing and stimulating the development of music of the Americas." The foundation's concerts introduced the finest...

Abstract Hall Johnson was a choral conductor, composer, and arranger of spirituals. Through his arrangements, writings, and performances of the Hall Johnson Choir, he raised the profile of the African American spiritual as a significant art form. The collection contains holograph and manuscript scores for several of his compositions and arrangements, works by other composers, concert programs, scripts, and legal and financial papers related to his estate. Titles in this collection contain demeaning...

Abstract

Henry P. Joslyn was an American advertising agent and self-taught musician who composed symphonic and chamber works intended for concert halls. The Henry P. Joslyn Music Manuscripts consist of scores, parts, and sketches for 25 of his named works, as well as dozens of sketches. Most of these items are holographs with some copyist items as well. There are also several items of correspondence, a program, and an article written by Joslyn.

Abstract

Louis Kaufman was an American violinist. His wife, Annette Leibole Kaufman, was a pianist who served as his accompanist for over fifty years. The collection contains materials related to their personal lives and professional careers, including correspondence with many notable musical and artistic figures of the 20th century, concert programs, photographs, scrapbooks, subject files, and other miscellaneous materials.