Collections in Music Division

Donna K. Anderson (1935-2018) was an American musicologist who dedicated her career to researching the life and music of Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920). The Donna K. Anderson research files on Charles Tomlinson Griffes hold scores, research files, and recordings compiled or created by Anderson in her role as executor of the Griffes estate, and in the preparation of her books, Charles T. Griffes: An Annotated Bibliography-Discography, The Works of Charles T. Griffes: A Descriptive Catalog, and Charles T. Griffes: A Life In Music. less

Established in New York City in 1874, the Lambs Club is the oldest professional theater club in the United States. The Lambs Club scores consists of the organization's library of published and manuscript music, representing a range of popular music, both vocal and instrumental, from the late 19th century up to about the 1960's. There are many pieces by prominent former members of the Lambs such as John Philip Sousa, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin, as well as much original music composed for Lambs Gambols and other events by members like Fred Hillebrand, Adam Carroll, Sam Stept, James Caruso, and Eddie Weber, just to name a few. There are orchestra arrangements for the Lambs celebration for Ed Sullivan, scores of incidental music for Lambs TV, and in general, a representative cross-section of popular music and its creators particularly from the early 20th century. less

The Otto Luening papers contain the composer's scores, correspondence, writings, subject files, and other professional papers; and family papers of his siblings, parents, extended family, and ancestors, including the scores of his father, Eugene Luening. less

Marcella Sembrich was a Polish born coloratura soprano who sang leading roles in European and American opera during her highly successful career. From 1898 to 1909 she was a regular member of the Metropolitan Opera Company, New York. She continued performing as a concert singer after her retirement from the operatic stage. Sembrich also became an instructor of singing at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School of Music, becoming mentor to many pupils who later became famous in their own right. The correspondence, papers, posters, and programs in this collection represent the career and activities of Marcella Sembrich and her family from 1851 to 1988. The collection consists of an extensive amount of correspondence with the leading musical figures of the day; posters, concert advertisements and programs from Sembrich (and other) performances throughout her career; and memorabilia including an autograph album with signatures and drawings of famous musicians and others. Series IX "Photographs" also includes some 15-20 original graphic art works among its 2284 items. Subjects include Sembrich, places she lived, places she performed, and people with whom she performed. The sheet music and musical scores (Series X) are currently being processed. less

Dr. Carleton Sprague Smith toured Brazil between the 1940s-1950s as a form of cultural diplomacy and it is suspected that he acquired this collection of music on one of these tours. The collection primarily consists of handwritten parts and fragments for music to be performed as part of Catholic church services, identified as being from Mariana, Brazil. less

Arturo Toscanini was born in Parma, Italy, on March 25, 1867, and died in Riverdale, New York, on January 16, 1957. Many regard him as one of the world's greatest conductors. In addition, Toscanini's anti-Fascist stance during World War II distinguished him as a symbol of freedom and humanity. His extraordinarily long career began in 1886, when Italian orchestral conductors were still relatively few in number, and extended into the 1950s, by which time his radio and television broadcasts had transformed him into a cultural icon. The Toscanini Legacy papers form a portion of the Toscanini Legacy housed at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The other major portion, of sound recordings, is housed in NYPL's Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound. The papers in the Music Division consist of music scores and orchestral parts with and without markings by Arturo Toscanini and others (including composers in some instances), correspondence, photographs, programs, clippings, books, newspapers, brochures, periodicals, scrapbooks, and medical and financial records. Subjects include the various musical organizations in Europe and the United States with which Toscanini was associated, and his anti-Fascist activities. The hundreds of correspondents include family members, composers, performers, conductors, and music critics; as well as Italian exiles, and U.S. and Italian political figures. less

The collection consists of 3 undated letters and 12 dated letters from Viotti (1801-1821), all in French ; 20 undated and 34 dated letters (1793-1822) to Viotti and several others from various correspondents, chiefly in French with several letters in English or Italian. The earliest dated letter (1793) is from Pugnani. Muzio Clementi, Johann Dussek, and Ferdinando Pa̋er are represented by one letter each. Two unsigned notes are attributed to Mme. de Staël, and 2 unsigned letters, to Stéphanie Félicité Genlis, the author of La duchesse de La Vallière. One letter is signed "Albertine de Staël" (duchesse de Broglie). Several items in 1821 relate to Viotti's having been named Chevalier de l'Ordre royal de la Légion d'honneur. Many letters are from and to the Chinnery family with little musical content. Viotti often signed letters "Amico" or "L'amico.". less

Herbert Henry Weinstock (1905-1971), an American writer and editor, specialized in the field of early 19th-century Italian opera. Between 1935 and 1971, Weinstock wrote prolifically, particularly on musical subjects, while also working as a publisher's editor. In this role, Weinstock was brought into formative contact with some of the most important musical writers of his day; he edited Stravinsky and Craft's Expositions, for example, and translated La Grange's Life of Mahler. He was also New York correspondent of Opera from December 1966 until his death and contributed reviews, programs, and articles to numerous publications. By his own tally, he contributed over 300 articles to the Encyclopedia Americana, and he completed, before his death, the revised entry on Opera for the Encyclopaedia Britannica (a typescript of which is in the collection). Weinstock's work also includes a number of translations of Spanish and Italian works, and some material for children. Arguably Weinstock's most important books were his last trilogy of musical biographies: Donizetti and the World of Opera in Italy, Paris, and Vienna (1963), Rossini, a Biography (1968), and Vincenzo Bellini, His Life and His Operas (1971). His oeuvre also includes hundreds of articles and program notes and over two dozen books (original and translated), most of which were translated into several languages and issued in multiple (sometimes revised) editions. The Herbert Weinstock Collection consists of professional and personal papers and a small number of three-dimensional memorabilia belonging to Herbert Weinstock, members of Weinstock's family, and Weinstock's long-time companion, Ben Meiselman. The professional papers, which span the years 1750-1989, were produced and collected mainly by Weinstock in connection with his research, particularly his work on early 19th-century opera. The range of collected materials is broad, and sometimes unexpected, as in the case of a facsimile manuscript essay by Wagner on Bellini's Norma, but the largest group consists of facsimiles of over 1200 letters to and from Rossini and members of his circle. The professional papers also include a number of Weinstock's own writings on both musical and non-musical subjects, including a hand-corrected typescript of his biography of Rossini, as well as writings by other persons, perhaps most notably a hand-corrected typescript of one of the Stravinsky-Craft books, music by Carlos Chavez, and the typescript of a long article by Philip Gossett. Weinstock's voluminous correspondence includes letters from many important figures of the musical and publishing worlds of his time, including Guglielmo Barblan, Maria Callas, Warren Chappell, Carlos Chavez, Aaron Copland, Karl Geiringer, Philip Gossett, Newell Jenkins, Friedrich Lippman, Andrew Porter, Harold Rosenthal, Beverly Sills, Igor Stravinsky, and Virgil Thomson. less