- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"simple", "value"=>"6 linear feet (18 boxes)"}
- unitid
-
{"value"=>"JPB 91-18", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"20105", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1905-1982", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1905/1982"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1905
- date_inclusive_end
-
1982
- keydate
-
1905
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Wallingford Riegger papers"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"subarea\">Music Division.</span>, The New York Public Library"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The Wallingford Riegger Papers illustrate the career of the composer Wallingford Riegger, whose works combined an advanced harmonic and rhythmic idiom with traditional structures."}
- prefercite
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{"value"=>"<p>The Wallingford Riegger Papers, JPB 91-18, Music Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.</p>"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Wallingford Riegger was born in April 29, 1885 in Albany, Georgia and died in New York City on April 2, 1961. He spent his childhood in Indianapolis, and the family moved to New York in 1899. The Rieggers were all musically oriented, and Wallingford was persuaded to change from violin to cello in order to create a family string quartet. In 1904 Riegger went to Cornell University on scholarship, were he remained for only one year while he persuaded his family to allow his enrollment at the Institute of Musical Art (which later merged to form Juilliard). He graduated from the Institute in 1907 having studied composition under Percy Goetschius and cello with Alwin Schroeder of the Kneisel Quartet.</p> <p>Wallingford Riegger then went to Germany for three years' further study at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, and had his conducting debut with the Blüthner Orchestra. Riegger married Rose Schramm in 1911 and became the principal cellist with the St. Paul Orchestra, but returned to Germany in 1914 to become assistant conductor and voice coach at the Städttheatre at Würzburg. He conducted the Blüthner Orchestra during the 1916-1917 season before returning to the United States due to the entrance of the U.S. into World War I.</p> <p>Due to the scarcity of conducting positions in America, Riegger turned to teaching after his return, working as an instructor at Drake University, the Institute for Musical Art, and Ithaca Conservatory. His attention turned more and more to composing, and in 1922 Riegger won the Paderewski Prize for “Piano Trio in D Minor”. He also received the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge prize for his musical setting of “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”, the first American to win this award. In 1925 the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music conferred an honorary doctorate of music on Wallingford Riegger.</p> <p>In 1928 Riegger returned to New York City, and began to solidify his reputation as one of the most articulate exponents of avant-garde modernism, reflected in such works as “Study in Sonority” and “Dichotomy”. Martha Graham commissioned a work in 1930, and Riegger also composed for Doris Humphrey and Hanya Holmes. Wallingford Riegger was also heavily involved in the work of new music organizations such as the Pan American Association of Composers and Henry Cowell's New Music Quarterly. Throughout the 1930s Riegger was primarily involved with the dance world, but in the 1940s his focus moved toward absolute music. His Third Symphony received the New York City Critics' Circle award for the 1947-48 season and a Naumberg Recording Award, leading to wider recognition.</p> <p>Riegger continued composing throughout the 1950s and early 60s, frequently working on specifically commissioned pieces. Not employed by a specific institution, Riegger supported himself and his family through composition, editorial work, and doing arrangements under a variety of pseudonyms. His reputation continued to grow, and performances of his pieces, extremely rare (excepting dance compositions) during his early career, became more common. Nicknamed “the Dean of American Composers”, Wallingford Riegger received a long series of honors and awards toward the end of his life, such as large honorary 70th and 75th birthday celebrations. In 1961 Wallingford Riegger died from head injuries occasioned by a chance street accident in Manhattan.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The papers, music, and photographs gathered here represent the activities of Wallingford Riegger from 1905 to 1982. The bulk of the collection falls between 1950 and 1961, and the collection as a whole traces his musical career from his schooldays to his death. Alphabetical arrangement has been used for the music (scores and manuscripts) and correspondence, with others series divided by subject. Items marked with stars [*] (holograph manuscripts and published scores) were later additions to the Wallingford Riegger Papers, but have been incorporated into the collection for the sake of coherence and research convenience.</p> <p>The files in the collection contain holograph scores and sketches; published scores (often with holograph corrections and revisions); ephemeral material; photographs; correspondence written to and by Wallingford Riegger, and correspondence addressed to members of the Riegger family; a performance file and performance register; and contracts and releases. The correspondence and performance file are the largest parts of the collection.</p> <p>The sketches are principally Wallingford Riegger's hand-written copies of his shorter works. There are a few ozalid reproductions with corrections and also copies made in another person's hand. The majority of the sketches represent Riegger's early, more traditional compositions, which are an interesting contrast to later works which formed his reputation as an avant-garde composer.</p> <p>Twenty-five personal copies of Riegger's compositions are included in the collection, some of which have been corrected and amended in his own hand. The types of corrections range from title or dedication changes to alterations to the music itself. Riegger continued to revise many of his works throughout his life, the process of which may be seen in these scores.</p> <p>The ephemera division of the Wallingford Riegger Papers contains much valuable information about Riegger's life, both personal and professional. Riegger was an activist for causes: he wrote letters and organized the appeal for the preservation of Carnegie Hall in the the late 1950s when it was targeted for destruction. Riegger was also very concerned about the proliferation of nuclear weapons during the Cold War, and wrote articles and speeches for various organizations and letters to newspapers calling for test bans. Such political views were contrary to the prevailing U.S. government stance and brought him before the House Committee for Un-American Activities in 1957. The files in this series also provide information on Riegger's educational and familial background, contain copies of articles on musical matters written by Riegger, and include citations, celebrations and honors which were offered to Riegger during his later life. The ephemera series also holds condolence letters written to the family and newspaper articles detailing Riegger's accidental death.</p> <p>The fifteen photographs of Wallingford Riegger are mainly formal portraits, probably taken for publicity purposes. There are some group pictures, such Riegger and others at the 1956 Yaddo Festival, and the Fort Worth Composers Board. The time period of the photographs (not all are dated) ranges from 1931 to 1960.</p> <p>The correspondence consists primarily of letters written to Wallingford Riegger, usually regarding musical questions, performances, lectures, publications, and commissions. Although there are far fewer letters written by Riegger, many of the letters to Riegger have holograph rough drafts of his replies written on the back. The letters are useful to the researcher as they demonstrate the rise in interest in Riegger's works through performances and recordings, signifying the alteration in the musical world's perception of his work from that of a radical modernist to an established contemporary composer and elder statesman of American music. Letter dates range from 1922 to 1973.</p> <p>A valuable component of the Wallingford Riegger Papers is an extensive performance file he kept over his lifetime. There are individual files for each composition which contain a variety of programs, reviews, and places and dates of performances. Sometimes information regarding the publishers of the piece, the institution where the manuscript is held, and the recording label were written on the original folders: these notes have been xeroxed and placed in the folders. Riegger also created a performance register which gives the dates and places of the first performances of his compositions.</p> <p>The final Contracts and Releases series contains contracts for arrangements between Riegger and various publishing companies. Also included are lecture contracts, releases, ACA Library statements and releases, and publishing contracts. They have been preserved in the original order as maintained by Wallingford Riegger.</p> <p>Altogether, the Wallingford Riegger Papers present an extensive record of the professional life and personal interests of this influential American composer who brought both serious ways of rethinking musical structure and humor to American twentieth century music. A clipping file with many reviews and tributes is maintained by the Music Research Division, complementing the archival collection.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Wallingford Riegger papers are arranged in seven series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20105#c535390'>Series 1 - Holograph Scores and Sketches</a></div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20105#c535434'>Series 2 - Published Scores</a></div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20105#c535461'>Series 3 - Ephemera</a></div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20105#c535487'>Series 4 - Photographs</a></div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20105#c535503'>Series 5 - Correspondence</a></div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20105#c536438'>Series 6 - Performance File</a></div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20105#c536536'>Series 7 - Contracts and Releases</a></div>\n</li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Wallingford Riegger Papers were donated to the library by his daughters Mary Rose Aks and Ruth Riegger, with later additions from J and J Lubrano.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to copy or to publish please contact the Music Division.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Most of Riegger's musical scores and sketches are cataloged separately. More information can be obtained from CATNYP, The New York Public Library's online catalog, http://catnyp.nypl.org.</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Riegger, Wallingford, 1885-1961", "type"=>"persname"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"I. Musical sketches; II. Published scores; III. Ephemera; IV. Photographs; V. Correspondence; VI. Performance file and performance register; VII. Contracts and releases", "supress_display"=>true}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Angela Doane; machine readable finding aid created by Apex Data Services and revised by Chatham Ewing.</p>"}
- date_start
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1905
- date_end
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1982