Scope and arrangement
The New York City Ballet (NYCB) scores date from 1930 to 1965. They contain scores for some 40 compositions which were used in ballets produced by NYCB or one of its earlier incarnations, particularly Ballet Caravan. Some are full orchestral scores, while others are piano-conductor scores. Most are published, though there are manuscripts, and many contain annotations, suggesting they were used in performance.
Composers represented include Paul Bowles, Aaron Copland, Robert McBride, Emmanuel Chabrier, Cyril Scott, Alexie Haieff, Charles Turner, Leo Smit, John Cage, Paul Creston, Marc Blitzstein, Henry Brant, Robert McBride, Paul Ramseier, Chou Wen-Chung, Stanley Bate, Carter Harman, and Vittorio Rieti.
Among the notable scores in the collection are Marc Blitzstein’s ballet The Guests (full score, annotated); Yankee Clipper, by Paul Bowles (two–piano scores and a full set of orchestral parts, all manuscripts); Suite for Orchestra, also by Bowles (parts only); John Cage’s The Seasons (piano score, and parts for strings and percussion); Robert McBride’s Jazz Symphony (parts only); and a set of published music by Emmanuel Chabrier, a favorite composer of George Balanchine’s.
Arrangement
The scores are arranged alphabetically by composer.