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Creator
Damrosch, Walter, 1862-1950
Call number
JPB 22-5
Physical description
10.58 linear feet (27 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Walter Damrosch papers, JPB 22-5. Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Music Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Walter Damrosch was a major New York City orchestra conductor active from the late 19th through 1950. His papers include correspondence, schedules, programs, memorabilia, speeches, and publications related to his work as a conductor, radio program producer, and composer.

Biographical/historical information

Walter Damrosch was born in Breslau, Silesia (Prussia) on January 30, 1862. His father, renowned composer and performer Leopold Damrosch, was his first music teacher. In 1871, the Damrosch family moved to the United States. In 1878, Leopold Damrosch founded the New York Symphony Society, a position he held until his death in 1885.

Upon Leopold's death, Walter became the musical director of the New York Symphony Society. Since 1884, he had also been serving as the assistant conductor of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra (while his father served as full conductor). In 1894, he founded the Damrosch Opera Company, which primarily produced Wagner operas.

Eventually, Walter Damrosch also became the conductor of the New York Oratorio Society, and in 1903 of the NYSS when it became reorganized as the New York Symphony Orchestra. In 1905, he began attempts to recruit orchestral musicians from Europe to join his orchestra in New York. During the advent of radio in the 1930s, Damrosch served as the musical director for NBC and hosted the weekly program NBC's Music Appreciation Hour.

As a conductor, Damrosch was known in particular for leading premieres of Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto, with Rachmaninoff performing as soloist, as well as Carl Goldmark's opera Merlin.

Damrosch also composed a number of his own large works, including four operas: The Scarlet Letter, Cyrano, The Man Without A Country, and The Opera Cloak.

Walter Damrosch died on December 22, 1950.

Scope and arrangement

The Walter Damrosch papers include correspondence, schedules, programs, memorabilia, speeches, and publications related to his work as a conductor, radio program producer, and composer.

The Walter Damrosch papers are arranged in twenty-one series:

  • Series I : Biographical Files
    1905-1945

    Includes ephemera and correspondence relating to milestones in Damrosch's life, as well as a draft of his autobiography, drafts of speeches, and fan mail.

  • Series II : Business Letters
    1905-1948

    Includes letters to and from business firms, as well as letters pertaining to finances, agreements and publications.

  • Series III : Composers and Performers
    1904-1957

    Includes letters to and from members of the New York Symphony Society, letters of recommendation, as well as biographical materials on artists and composers.

  • Series IV : Walter Damrosch Compositions
    1911-1945

    Includes letters and other material related to Damrosch's works, such as correspondence relating to tours and publicity.

  • Series V: Concerts and Recitals
    1900-1949

    Includes correspondence pertaining to guest appearances, special concerts (including the 1933 Madison Square Garden concert), and lectures.

  • Series VI : Conductors
    1905-1945

    Includes letters to and from symphony orchestra conductors, as well as correspondence of the Society of American Symphonic Conductors (of which Damrosch served as chairman).

  • Series VII: Documents
    1894-1949

    Includes legal papers, contracts, and awards.

  • Series VIII: Funds
    1905-1946

    Includes letters relating to foundations and scholarships, as well as material related to the Musicians Emergency Fund.

  • Series IX: Opera Activities
    1885-1950

    Includes correspondence primarily related to the production of Damrosch's operas.

  • Series X: Opinions and Ideas
    1910-1939

    Includes correspondence in which Damrosch discusses politics, sociology, ecology, economics, and music.

  • Series XI: Orchestras
    1879-1948

    Includes correspondence regarding orchestras, including the New York Symphony Orchestra.

  • Series XII : Organizations, Foreign
    1920-1949

    Includes letters to and from foreign organizations, as well as to and from domestic organizations dealing with foreign affairs.

  • Series XIII: Organizations, General
    1905-1949

    Includes letters to and from domestic organizations, societies, clubs, and leagues.

  • Series XIV: Organizations, Government
    1917-1948

    Includes letters to and from government agencies, government-sponsored organizations and committees, and war agencies.

  • Series XV: Personal Letters, Walter Damrosch
    1905-1951

    Includes correspondencee to and from Walter Damrosch of a personal nature.

  • Series XVI: Personal Letters, Leopold Damrosch
    1819-1947

    Includes correspondence to and from Walter Damrosch's father, Leopold Damrosch, as well as documents relating to Leopold.

  • Series XVII: Personal Writings
    1910-1949

    Includes poems and short articles written by Walter Damrosch.

  • Series XVIII: Radio Shows
    1920-1947

    Includes material relating to Damrosch's radio broadcasts, scripts, fan letters, and Music Appreciation Hour correspondence.

  • Series XIX: Schools
    1908-1947

    Contains correspondence to and from educational institutions, awards, and invitations to give lectures.

  • Series XX: Tours
    1904-1937

    Contains correspondence relating to tours given by the Walter Damrosch Orchestra.

  • Series XXI: Miscellaneous and Originals
    1904-1937, 1972

    Includes items such as bookmarks, tickets, and guest lists, the original inventory of the collection made in 1972 by Fred Himmelein, and documents on acidic paper that were photocopied for inclusion in previous series.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Anita Damrosch Litttell in 1956.

Processing information

Processed by Tema Hecht between 1970-1972. Rehoused and inventoried by Jessica Wood in 2025.

Related Material

Frank Damrosch Papers, 1892-1937, Walter Damrosch Presentation Volume, 1928, Mischa Mischakoff Papers, 1895-2011, from the Music and Recorded Sound Division, The New York Public Library. Scores donated as part of the Walter Damrosch Papers have been cataloged separately. Photographs have been filed in the Music Division Iconography Files.

Using the collection

Location

Music Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor