Scope and arrangement
The papers, music, diaries, scrapbooks and photographs gathered here represent the activities and collection of Carl V. Lachmund (with some additions by his daughter Marjorie Lachmund) from 1857 to 1966. The bulk of the collection falls between 1881 and 1926, and as a whole it covers Lachmund's musical career from his student days in Weimar to his death at age 70 in New York City: incorporated throughout is his collection of Liszt and Wagner material. Alphabetical arrangement has been used with the correspondence and published scores, with other series divided by subject. An alphabetical index precedes the box and folder listing finding aid.
The files in the collection contain correspondence, mostly to Carl V. Lachmund; Lachmund's diaries from Weimar; scrapbooks; various drafts and notes for Lachmund's book Living With Liszt; newspaper articles and journal clippings; music programs and menus; various booklets; holograph music sketches and scores, mostly by Liszt; published scores; photographs and engravings; and mementos and ephemera. The correspondence and book drafts constitute the largest part of the collection.
The correspondence files consist primarily of letters written to Carl Lachmund, many of which are from important musical figures of the time. The letters are in English, German, and French, some of which are replies to Lachmund's requests for information about Liszt and Weimar days for his book. Five items written by Franz Liszt are part of the collection. There are no letters between Liszt and Carl Lachmund. The Liszt letter originals have been removed to the Music Division's Special Collections *MNY files (see desk librarian). These *MNY items are a folded calling card to Caroline Lachmund, an envelope addressed to the poet Longfellow, and letters to Caesar Cui, Grand Duke Carl Alexander, and an unknown person. Xerox copies of these letters are foldered at the end of the correspondence series. Included in this file is a letter-diary written by Caroline Lachmund to her father during the three years in Weimar (1882-1884). This letter-diary is highly significant in that it portrays the Lachmunds' time in Weimar in a less idealistic, more day-to-day fashion than material written by Carl Lachmund, giving a more intimate and practical view to these focal years. In the collection are hand copies of Liszt letters, drafts of letters by Carl Lachmund, and postcards to Ernest Lachmund and Caroline Lachmund (Carl Lachmund's brother and wife). The letters are written in the period between 1880 and 1925, the majority of which occur from 1895 to the early 1920s.
Carl Lachmund kept small, hand-sized diaries detailing the music sessions with Liszt and recounting his eventful life in Weimar. Written at the time of the lessons, (1881-1883) Lachmund said the diaries contained exact Liszt quotations and observations of occurrences in the sessions. These diaries are an invaluable source of information concerning Franz Liszt's teaching style and personality in later life. Wagner and Bayreuth are also discussed. Lachmund's fellow pupils are covered in detail, men and women of whom many later became celebrated musicians such as Eugene D'Albert, Alfred Reisenauer, and Martha Remmert. The Weimar diaries have page numbers, and there is a separate index of subjects and people for these diaries. The collection also includes an 1876 diary kept by Franz Liszt, which has been rehoused from the diary series to the Special Collections locked case (title: Petit agenda general, call number JOB 72-11). Carl Lachmund also kept an expenses log for 1881-82, and a diary in 1876 when he studied in Cologne.
The scrapbooks series consists of three albums containing articles about Lachmund, Liszt, Wagner, and other musicians, often fellow pupils of note from Weimar days. Programs of Lachmund-related concerts (such as those with Women's String Orchestra) are in the albums. Included also is a volume of the periodical Music and Drama for which the Lachmunds wrote while they were in Germany (Volume 3 no. 6 though Volume 6 no. 11: August 12, 1882-June 16, 1883). The series also contains pieces or issues of various periodicals sewn together. This series of material is only available on microfilm, due to serious acid paper disintegration from age. The articles and programs in the scrapbooks are from the 1880s to the 1920s.
The intensive diaries kept by Lachmund were the basis for his book Living With Liszt.The collection contains numerous notes and drafts of the manuscript, which was not published in Lachmund's lifetime. The book is a adulatory recount of events noted in the diaries and in Lachmund's articles. A German translation was published in 1970, and the manuscript is currently being considered for publication in English. The collection holds four boxes of this material from the 1920s. All notes and drafts of Living With Liszthave been microfilmed, call number *ZZ-32276.
Lachmund collected articles and clippings which were not placed into scrapbooks, comprising the fifth series. The subject matter of these clippings is generally Liszt, Carl V. Lachmund, Liszt's associates and friends such as Wagner (and Bayreuth), Chopin, George Sand, and the Lisztianer, as his pupils were called in Weimar. Also contained in these clipping files are articles on other musicians, theoretical discussions of music, and reprints of musician's portraits. Most of the articles are in English, with two folders of German material, and they range in date from the 1880s to the 1920s.
The sixth programs and menus section of the collection consists of musical programs gathered and kept by Carl Lachmund. Many are from his stay in Germany from 1881-1883 and show the quality and quantity of music and performers during this period in Germany. There are also programs and menus gathered from the 1890s and early teens: the earliest is dated 1857.
A small collection of booklets in English and German is included in the collection. Half are about Franz Liszt's life or his music, and all concern music or musicians. Included is a booklet of reproductions primarily from Carl Lachmund's Artist's Album of signatures (the original album is not in Music Division's Carl V. Lachmund Collection). The date range of these publications is from 1868 to 1926.
The eighth series of material are the holograph and manuscript music sketches and scores. Much of this material is by Liszt although it is not entirely in his hand, as Liszt would set his pupils to work as writers of his compositions which he would later correct with paste-overs or side notes. Items of particular importance and interest are Liszt's Zweiter Mephisto Valse, an ode written for the dedication of the Grand Duke Carl August Monument, and a sketch of Kaiser Wilhelm National Hymn, which was discovered and publicized by Lachmund during World War I. A complete listing follows in the finding aid. The holograph and manuscript music ranges in age from approximately the 1880s to the 1920s. All Liszt holograph music has been removed from the Lachmund Collection boxes and placed in the Special Collections Locked Case.
A small group of eleven published scores and one libretto is included in the Carl V. Lachmund Collection. Nine scores have signed inscriptions to Lachmund by the composers or arrangers. The scores are by people such as Arthur Bird, W. H. Dayas, Franz Liszt (unsigned), and Rafael Joseffy. The dates on the scores are from 1873 to 1917: the Liszt scores are undated.
Of the photographs and engravings in the tenth series all but one are photographs of Franz Liszt. There are two photographs of Liszt and his pupils in Weimar during Lachmund's residence there, and two identical signed photographs of Liszt with Carl and Caroline Lachmund. The other pictures are of Liszt by himself with one engraving of Moritz Moszkowsky. Seven additional Liszt photographs and pictures have been removed from the collection and stored in the Rare Photographs file (call numbers PhD 1865, PhC 1757, PhC 1758, PhC 1759, PhC 1761, PhC 1763, and PhC 1764).
(Other photo. added Later - See Series 10)
The eleventh and final series are the mementos and ephemera. Carl Lachmund collected memorabilia of Liszt and other great German figures in addition to articles, photographs, and music. Some of the more entertaining items are locks of Franz Liszt's hair, his handkerchief, pencils used by Liszt to mark Lachmund's scores in Weimar, five cigar stubs smoked by Liszt, a sliver of wood from Schiller's deathbed, and two leaves from Goethe's grave. There are also tintype plates of Siegfried Wagner, his family, Bayreuth, and Liszt in his study and with the Lachmunds. Some biographical information about Carl Lachmund and his daughter Marjorie, circulars promoting the publication of Living With Liszt, calling cards, articles and programs for the Women's String Orchestra, and rough drafts of article material about Lachmund and Liszt are included in the ephemera series.
Altogether the Carl V. Lachmund collection is an extensive and valuable assortment of items for the Liszt student or researcher. The diaries and book show an insider's view of Liszt at Weimar and the various personalities of students who later became respected musicians. The interest in Wagner in these musical circles is also illustrated. The music manuscripts offer insights into Liszt's composing style, and many of the articles and programs illustrate the career of Carl V. Lachmund, showing his abiding interest in Franz Liszt's life and music.
The Carl V. Lachmund collection is arranged in ten series: