{"value"=>"<p>The letters and correspondence in the collection illustrate the depth of Wolff's interests and connections with a cross-section of composers, musicians, and artists. One portion of the letters is arranged chronologically and consists primarily of incoming mail. The other portion is filed by writer, and in some cases holds return correspondence from Wolff. Letters filed under Wolff's name are outgoing only. Some letters in this series are in German.</p> <p>Writers and correspondents include the composers John Cage, Frederic Rzewski, Gordon Mumma, Robert Ashley, Cornelius Cardew, Barbara Monk Feldman, Aki Takahashi, Larry Polansky, David Tudor, Pauline Oliveros, Howard Skempton, Tomomi Adachi, Gerhard Stäbler, Erik Ulman, and Urs Peter Schneider; choreographer Merce Cunningham; the musicians Eddie Prévost, John Tilbury, and Martin Ingenhütt; the composer, writer, and publisher Peter Garland; the poet John Ashbery; and Björn Nilsson, owner of the Swedish label Mode Records.</p> <p>With the exceptions of John Cage, Frederic Rzewski, and Björn Nilsson, there is not a large amount of letters from any one figure. The Cage letters date from the mid-1950s to 1988. In addition to originals, there are copies and transcriptions of Cage-Wolff correspondence. Cage's letters are friendly and describe events in his and Merce Cunningham's lives, both personal and professional. Some discuss philosophical ideas, and his and Wolff's music, as well as that of other composers. Also present is correspondence between Cage and Helen Wolff (Wolff's mother) regarding Cage's piece <span class=\"title\">4'33\"</span>; Cage defends it from Helen's criticism and explains his intentions in composing it.</p> <p>Correspondence with Frederic Rzewski is over a longer period (54 years) than with any other figure in the collection. Most of those letters, however, date from the 2000s and consists of printed email exchanges.</p> <p>The Björn Nilsson correspondence mainly discusses recording projects on which Nilsson and Wolff collaborated.</p> <p>Wolff took notes on the contents of his letters, listing correspondents, years, and number of letters. These can be found at the end of the series.</p>"}