Collections in Music Division

Correspondence (chiefly 1905-1958) including ca. 1000 autograph letters collected by Mr. Abell; mss. of articles and book chapters; concert programs; newspaper and magazine clippings; calling cards; photographs and other pictures including more than 150 portraits of musicians, many of them autographed; and other material. Includes extensive correspondence from Leopold Auer, Max Bruch, Serge Koussevitzky, Isidore Philipp, Xaver Scharwenka; and 6 or more letters each from Fannie Bloomfield-Zeisler, Willy Burmester, Carl Flesch, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Rudolf Ganz, Etelka Gerster-Gardini, Arthur Hartmann, Hugo Heerman, Ernst Hutcheson, Hugo Kaun, Juan Manén, Robert Schauffler, Arnold T. Schwab, Christian Sinding, Theodore Spiering, Richard Strauss, Amadeo von der Hoya, and Anton Witek. less

Paul B. Affelder (1915-1975) was a music critic and the founder of Program Note Service. The collection consists primarily of Affelder’s writings, as well as press releases, programs and other promotional materials compiled by Affelder from the mid-1950s through 1975. The collection also includes an incomplete set of orchestral parts for the Emmerich Kálmán–George Marion, Jr. operetta, Marinka. less

John Allison was an American singer, composer, lyricist, and collector of folk songs. Folk songs, chiefly lyrics only, including songs for Space way ballads and Katonah; correspondence, radio scripts, clippings, scrapbooks, brochures, and published music with markings by Allison. less

This collection contains materials related to the Metropolitan Opera’s basso singer Lorenzo Alvary. In addition to the many photographs and clippings, there are several legal documents, correspondence and production materials relating to his co-production with Salvador Dali of The Spanish Lady and The Roman Cavalier. less

Maryanne Amacher (1938-2009) was an experimental sound artist, musician, and composer best known for her site-specific sound installation work and audio research. Amacher's collection dates from the 1890s to 2009 (bulk dates 1960s-2009), and contains her working files, as well as sound and video recordings related to her installations, music compositions, and sound research. The collection details the entirety of Amacher's five-decade music career, illustrating her creative process, research methods, and expansive musical output. less

The American Composers Alliance, a publishing and service organization owned and operated by composers, was founded in 1938 to promote the interests of American composers. Minutes of the Board of Governors, executive committee, and general membership meetings. Typescript (chiefly carbon copies). Accompanied by an undated membership list and a list of 50th anniversary concerts, 1987-1988. less

The American Music Center was a non-profit organization which aimed to promote the creating, performing, and enjoying of new American music. The American Music Center was founded in 1939 by composers Aaron Copland, Otto Luening, Marion Bauer, Harrison Kerr, and Quincy Porter. The center's mandate was to make the music of its composer members available to potential performers and conductors, and to act as a clearinghouse for the dissemination of information vital to its membership. Until that time, American composers had not been able to firmly establish themselves or their music as a unique American commodity that was of both high quality and in great demand. As their music came of age, these composers began to organize themselves into a substantial power base that would not only get their music heard but also make assurances for appropriate representation, promotion and compensation. The American Music Center was one of the leading organizations in this campaign. A partnership with the New York Public Library, initiated in 1978 led to cooperative cataloging initiatives and eventually to an agreement that the center's entire collection of scores would over time be transferred to the library. The American Music Center's score library, now housed at the Music Division, numbered close to 60,000 items. While the center's physical collection of printed and recorded music was the backbone of this remarkable institution, the mandate and activities of the center were relevant not only to music scholars, but to those in other areas of research. The center's activities have been responsible for creating a vast worldwide cultural resource for the dissemination of American music. Approximately 60,000 orchestral, chamber, solo instrumental, vocal and choral scores, solo parts and libretti placed in the AMC library by their composer members. Virtually all genres of notated music are represented in the collection, including many forms of orchestral concert music (overtures, symphonies, suites, etc.), chamber music for winds, strings, keyboard, percussion, electronics, alone and in combination, vocal music, solo and choral, and staged works (opera, ballet, musicals). The collection includes many published scores. A large portion of these are self-published reproductions of composer's manuscripts. Conventionally notated scores predominate, but there are also many representatives of various forms of graphic notation. less

The American Music Center was a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the creation, performance, and appreciation of new American music. For much of its history, one of its principal activities was the creation of a research and circulating library of scores and recordings submitted by its members. The American Music Center collection of score manuscripts, dating from 1935 to 1996, holds music by ten composers: Gerald Busby, Ron Carter, Wendy Mae Chambers, Arthur Cohn, Judith Dvorkin (also known as Judy Spencer), Virginia Samuel, Les Thimmig, William Turner, Grace A. Yeager, and an unidentified composer who wrote incidental music for plays by Laurence Klavan. less

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is an organization of more than 420,000 artists that protects the copyrights of its members. The ASCAP records represent a portion of the artists who joined the society from the 1930s to the mid-1980s. Many notable recording artists are represented from vaudeville to rock music. The files hold articles, biographical data sheets, broadsides, film strips, memorandum, obituary notices, photographs and photograph negatives,performance brochures, publicity and sheet music. less

The Stage Door Canteen was a New York City venue run by the American Theatre Wing that offered food, socialization, and entertainment free of charge for U.S. military men during World War II. The original, New York City venue opened on March 2, 1942 in the basement of a theater on 44th Street in New York's theater district. Eventually, Stage Door Canteens were set up in cities across the country, as well as in London and Paris. The venues closed with the end of World War II in 1945. The collection consists of 278 black and white photographs of musicians and audience members at the Stage Door Canteen from the years 1943 to 1945. Photographs were taken by several different New York City news photographers and primarily depict musicians in the act of performing. Musicians include instrumentalists and singers from genres of classical, jazz, country, blues, and gospel. less

David Amram (born 1930) is an American composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist active in classical, jazz, and folk music. The David Amram papers, dating from 1937 to 2011, most strongly represent his career path from the 1950s through the early 2000s, documenting his compositions, performances, conducting, writings, and business matters. They also evidence Amram's relationships with musicians and writers, including Jack Kerouac and other "Beat generation" figures. less

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

Samuel Antek (1908-1958) was an orchestra conductor, musical director, violinist and author best known for his well-received memoir about the internationally famous orchestra conductor Arturo Toscanini, This Was Toscanini. The Samuel Antek papers (1937-1964) contain photographs, programs, clippings, correspondence and manuscripts for the Toscanini memoir and articles written about children's concerts and community orchestras. less

George Antheil was an American composer. In the 1920's he was involved in the avant-garde scene in Paris and composed ultra-modern music, then wrote more accessible operas and orchestral works, and finally moved to Hollywood and composed film scores while continuing his other composition. He was the author of the autographical Bad Boy of Music. Drafts of articles, books, and librettos; completed articles; several photographs, clippings, and items of correspondence; and periodicals containing articles by and about Antheil. Music scores have been cataloged individually in the Scores file. Many archival items have also been cataloged individually and linked to this record. less

Stanley Applebaum (1922-2019) was an arranger and composer who was highly active in the New York City popular and commercial music industry from the 1940s to the early 2000s. Among his clients were Skitch Henderson, the New York Pops, Ben E. King, Neil Sedaka, and the Broadway musical Raggedy Ann. Applebaum papers, which date from 1940 to 2007, are comprised primarily of scores for his arrangements, orchestrations, compositions, and commercial advertising; and sound recordings of his music for radio and television advertising. Business letters and contracts are also present. less

The Stefan Auber papers hold concert programs, images, scrapbooks, clippings, scores, promotional material, touring files, posters, and correspondence. The collection primarily documents the cellist's life and career from 1920 until the mid-1960s. Concert programs and images make up the largest portions of the papers. less

Jacob Avshalomov, composer, was born in China in 1919, but immigrated to the U.S.A. in 1937. He studied in Los Angeles with Ernst Toch, at the Eastman School of Music with Bernard Rogers, and at Tanglewood with Aaron Copland. Avshalomov spent the majority of his career as the director of the Portland Youth Orchestra from 1954 to 1995. The Scores contains various drafts and sketches and scores composed by Jacob Avshalomov from 1928-1998. The bulk of the material dates from 1940-1998, and in addition to the scores, the collection contains correspondence, libretti and programs. The collection also includes compositions written by the composers father, Aaron Avshalomov. less

Giuseppe Cesare Balbo was an Italian conductor, critic and music teacher who eventually moved to, and taught in, New York City. The collection is primarily scores – both original manuscripts composed by Balbo and those that he copied and/or arranged by other composers. less

Holograph musical scores by various composers including extensive sketches and drafts of Chausson's Symphony in B♭ major and single pages from works by Dukas, d'Indy, and Montemezzi; Toscanini's own works composed as a student, ca. 1882-1884, including holographs, photocopies of holographs, and copyists' manuscripts; arrangements, transcriptions, and reductions in Toscanini's hand of works and parts of works by various composers including extensive passages from Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony; letter, note, and rehearsal schedule in Toscanini's hand; clippings of 2 articles about Toscanini; flyer including Toscanini's portrait; 2 photographs; commemorative Italian stamps and coins with Toscanini's portrait. less

Gabriel Banat is an American violinist who played for many years with the New York Philarmonic. He was born in Transylvania, Romania in 1926, eventually moving to Hungary. At the age of eight, he was discovered by Béla Bartók, who enabled him to be accepted at the Royal Academy in Budapest (now the Franz Liszt Academy of Music), where he won honors. In 1946 he moved to New York City where he toured with Georges Enesco, his mentor. He became a naturalized citizen in 1953. He toured in the United States, Europe and Japan, and was guest soloist with the London Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, among others. In 1970 he joined the New York Philharmonic. He was a professor at Smith College where he led the violin department. He also conducted various ensembles and organizations during his career. His research on Mozart led to publication in facsimile of Mozart's five violin concertos (Raven Press, 1986). His research on the Chevalier de Saint-Georges led to a biography (Pendragon Press, 2006) as well as numerous articles. He also edited the series "Masters of the Violin" (1981-1982). The Gabriel Banat papers document the performing career and editing/writing activities of violinist Gabriel Banat through correspondence, programs, reviews, and photographs. less