- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"16.78", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"45 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- unitid
-
{"value"=>"JPB 04-38", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"20317", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1905-2004", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1905/2004"}
{"value"=>"1930-2003", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1930/2003"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1905
- date_inclusive_end
-
2004
- keydate
-
1905
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Arthur Berger papers"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. <span class=\"subarea\">Music Division.</span></span> <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">New York, New York</span></div>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The Arthur Berger Papers contain primarily his analytical documentation of 20th century music, and his compositions from the 1940s-1990s."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>Arthur Berger Papers, JPB 04-38, Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Berger, Arthur, 1912-2003", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Arthur Berger (1912-2003) was a critically acclaimed composer, music critic, and professor. He began writing short reviews for the <span class=\"title\">New York Daily Mirror</span> while attending New York University, where he studied composition and music education. After graduating in 1934, he won a fellowship to study at the Longy School of Music (Cambridge, MA). During this time he simultaneously completed a Masters degree in music from Harvard. Berger furthered his studies in France, spending two more years under the tutelage of Nadia Boulanger.</p> <p>Throughout his schooling Berger wrote articles for various periodicals. These include the <span class=\"title\">Boston Evening Transcript</span>, <span class=\"title\">New York Sun</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Trend</span>. He also edited <span class=\"title\">Musical Mercury</span> from 1934-1937. In the 1940s and early 1950s he was a well-known music critic for the <span class=\"title\">New York Herald Tribune</span>, a fact supported by the press coverage of his resignation in the summer of 1953. He left the paper to accept a full-time teaching position at Brandeis University, and was an instrumental figure in the founding of this school’s music department.</p> <p>Berger’s output as a composer was steady, although not prolific. Many of his works were composed during the 1940s and 1950s; later works from the 1970s-1990s revised these earlier pieces in a process that he called “collages,” a term inspired by his friendship with the artist Robert Motherwell.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Arthur Berger papers document 20th century music from both a critic and composer’s perspective. In the former, Berger’s papers contain seven decades of reviews and other writings, and files on many of the century’s classical music achievements and shortcomings. The other significant parts of the collection are scores for Berger’s compositions, and sheet music used by him throughout his career. While the collection does not contain his earliest informal work, there are some personal items from the first twenty years of his life, notably photographs.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Arthur Berger papers are arranged in eleven series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20317#c562835'>Series I: Correspondence</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1932 - 2004, undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>0.94 linear feet (2.25 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The correspondence series provides a wealth of information about Berger and his role in 20th century American music. Reflected in the letters are his professional and personal relationships with many influential composers, such as Aaron Copland and Igor Stravinsky. The largest exchange of correspondence is found in the <span class=\"title\">Perspectives of New Music</span> folders, which follows the creation of the periodical, and details the arguments between Berger and his co-editor, Benjamin Boretz, during the summer of 1963. The general correspondence section of the series demonstrates his wide reach as a composer and critic.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20317#c562887'>Series II: Personal Papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1937 - 2003, undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>0.21 linear feet (0.5 box</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series sums up Berger’s personal life with biographical information such as entries submitted to <span class=\"title\">Who’s Who in America</span>, and other personal items (e.g. passports, yearbook). A small folder of note regards Berger’s relationship with the Selective Service during World War II.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20317#c562899'>Series III: Performance materials</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1931 - 2004, undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1.56 linear feet (3.75 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The materials found in this series maintain Berger’s organization scheme. He grouped items such as programs, clippings, correspondence, and program notes by the piece of music they related to; the only change made to these folders was to order the contents chronologically. The folders at the end of the series (box 7) are a group of programs arranged chronologically that were not part of the above method. Included here are also programs for lectures given by Berger, and radio shows that featured his work.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20317#c562966'>Series IV: Subject files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1930 - 1999, undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2.36 linear feet (5.67 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series follows Berger’s organization, with the folder contents retained where possible. New folders were created, and materials added to others to compensate for the many items in his papers that were not organized. The value of these files can be found on at least two different levels. One, they demonstrate Berger’s areas of interest beyond music. Two, they offer more information about people found in the correspondence series.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20317#c563077'>Series V: Writings</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>c.1929 - 2003, undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2.5 linear feet (6 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>One of the larger series, Berger’s writings include both articles he wrote as a music critic, and drafts of the two books he wrote, <span class=\"title\">Aaron Copland</span> and <span class=\"title\">Reflections of an American Composer</span> (his memoirs). Many of his early reviews were collected in scrapbooks, of which preservation photocopies were made and original order preserved. Due to the poor condition of the original copies, many articles are not complete, but often the title and date are decipherable. This series also contains drafts of several lectures by Berger, two folders of program notes, several writings on Stravinsky, and the transcription of an interview with Yale University’s Oral History Project.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20317#c563168'>Series VI: Schoolwork and Teaching Materials</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1930 - 1962, undated</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series is divided into two subseries that contain Berger’s college and post-graduate schoolwork, and materials from his academic career.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20317#c563203'>Series VII: Analyses</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1945, undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>0.21 linear feet (15 folders</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series consists of sketches and notes that Berger prepared to analyze works by a specific composer. There is no information in the collection that identifies what Berger used these analyses for. Please see Series XI, Oversized Materials, for more analyses.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20317#c563220'>Series VIII: Photographs</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>c.1918 - 2003, undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>0.10 linear feet (4 folders</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The photographs trace Berger’s life from youth to old age, and complement the other papers in the collection. Included in the first folder are two snapshots of Berger with Copland. Berger’s widow identified many of the photographs and gave at least a general idea of date and place.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20317#c563225'>Series IX: Scores</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1932 - 2002, undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>4 linear feet (12 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The scores series fills out Berger’s professional life, and demonstrates how much work he put into his compositions. Nearly every piece includes sketches, and many have multiple drafts of the score with corrections or other notes. Also found in this series are unpublished scores by other composers, most of which are either dedicated or inscribed to Berger. More scores are in Series XI, Oversized Materials.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20317#c563362'>Series X: Sheet music</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1905 - 1962, undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3 linear feet (9 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The sheet music in this collection is either annotated or inscribed. In the former case the amount of annotations vary by piece, which is why some folders note “few annotations.” There are seven pieces by Aaron Copland that he inscribed; other notable inscriptions include one piece of sheet music from Walter Piston, and two from Stravinsky.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20317#c563459'>Series XI: Oversized Materials</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1937 - 1995, undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1.34 linear feet (4 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Analyses and scores form the bulk of the oversized materials series. Also of note is a plaque and medal awarded posthumously to Berger by ASCAP for the publication of his memoirs.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection is organized into eleven series and two sub-series. They are:</p> <p> <ul> <li>Series I: Correspondence, 1932-2004, undated</li> <li>Series II: Personal Papers, 1937-2003, undated</li> <li>Series III: Performance Materials, 1931-2004, undated</li> <li>Series IV: Subject Files, 1930-1999, undated</li> <li>Series V: Writings, c.1929-2003, undated</li> <li>Series VI: Schoolwork and Teaching Materials, 1930-1962, undated <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - Schoolwork, 1930-1941, undated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Teaching Materials, 1939-1962, undated</li></ul></li> <li>Series VII: Analyses, 1945, undated</li> <li>Series VIII: Photographs, c.1918-2003, undated</li> <li>Series IX: Scores, 1932-2002, undated</li> <li>Series X: Sheet Music, 1905-1962, undated</li> <li>Series XI: Oversized Materials, 1937-1995, undated</li></ul></p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Arthur Berger in 1995.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Audiovisual materials separated from archival collections are cataloged individually and can be found in the Library catalog. Search CATNYP, The New York Public Library catalog.</p> <ul> <li>Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound <ul> <li>Two compact discs of Arthur Berger's 90th Birthday Concert, 2003 Apr. 8</li> <li>Compact disc of NEC memorial concert and tribute, 2004 Jan. 28</li></ul></li></ul>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Music Division, The New York Library for the Performing Arts.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections Department, Brandeis University Libraries</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Anastasia Karel and Manny Paez; Machine-readable finding aid created by Anastasia Karel.</p>"}
- extent_statement
-
16.78 linear feet (45 boxes)
- date_start
-
1905
- date_end
-
2004
- date_bulk_start
-
1930
- date_bulk_end
-
2003