"Composers" / Repository: nnc-rb - Columbia University Libraries Archival Collections Search Results

Rare Book & Manuscript Library

6th Floor East Butler Library

535 West 114th Street

New York, NY 10027, USA

rbml@library.columbia.edu

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library is Columbia University’s principal repository for special collections. We collect, preserve, describe, promote, and provide access to the material evidence of diverse individuals and activities in alignment with the University’s research and teaching mission. We build and steward deep collections in select subject areas and connect them to a global audience through reference, teaching, exhibitions, publications, and public programs.

Start Over "Composers" Repository Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Serge Prokofiev Archive, 1917-2012

294 linear feet

Serge Prokofiev (1891–1953) was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist and conductor, and seminal figure in the history of twentieth-century music. The Serge Prokofiev Archive (SPA) contains 58 original music manuscripts and over 10,000 letters and documents primarily from 1918-1936, the years Prokofiev spent in the West. The SPA also includes an expansive collection of music manuscript copies, published scores, concert programs, scholarly books and articles, photographs, and audio and video material, making it the premier research collection for studying Prokofiev's life, work and legacy.

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Douglas Moore papers, 1883-2018, bulk 1907-1969

45 linear feet

Douglas Stuart Moore (1893-1969) was an American composer, educator, and author. His best known works include the operas The Devil and Daniel Webster (1937-1939), The Ballad of Baby Doe (1953-1956), and Giants in the Earth (1949-1950), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1951. The papers include clippings, correspondence, course and lecture materials, librettos, photographs, programs, publicity materials, recordings, and scores.

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Activism for Composers, 1947 Box 68, Folder 1

Highlight: Activism for Composers, 1947

American Composers Alliance, 1938 Box 79, Folder 10

Highlight: American Composers Alliance, 1938

League of Composers, undated Box 68, Folder 29

Highlight: League of Composers, undated

Peter G. Davis Papers, 1912-2021, bulk 1948-2021

13 Linear Feet

This collection contains the papers of Peter G. Davis (1936-2021), who worked as a classical music critic at various national and specialist publications from 1962-2018. It includes the vast majority of Davis's writings on music (published or draft), along with print material relating to these writings, Davis's compositions (1957-1964), material relating to Davis's early education (1948-1959), and correspondence and interviews with a number of major classical musicians.

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"Actors N- composers", undated 1 items Box 21, Item 73

Highlight: "Actors N- composers", undated

Interview with composer/lyricist Robert Wright and his collaborator George Forrest, undated 1 audiocassettes Box 21, Item 10

Highlight: Interview with composer/lyricist Robert Wright and his collaborator George Forrest, undated
Abstract Or Scope: On both sides of item 10.

Photographs relating to Davis's professional activities, 1965, undated Box 22, Folder 2

Highlight: Includes photographs of various composers and singers, photographs of Davis, photographs from the
Abstract Or Scope: Includes photographs of various composers and singers, photographs of Davis, photographs from the 1965 recording of Mahler's tenth symphony at Columbia Records (which Davis attended).

Ulysses Kay papers, 1894-2017, bulk 1938-1995

55.25 linear feet

Ulysses Kay (1917-1995) was a noted twentieth-century American composer. The collection includes audio reels, biographical materials, correspondence, diaries, phonograph records, photographs, programs, and scores.

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Student Composers Awards, 1987 Box 90, Folder 6

Highlight: Student Composers Awards, 1987

Composers Applying, circa, 1973-1980 Box 99, Folder 14

Highlight: Composers Applying, circa, 1973-1980

[BMI] Student Composers Judging, 1984 April 7 Box 80, Folder 71

Highlight: [BMI] Student Composers Judging, 1984 April 7

Nicolai Berezowsky papers, 1893-1954

4.5 linear feet

Letters to and from Nicolai Berezowsky documenting his career and covering his development as violinist, conductor, and composer. The profession is well represented in the correspondence, with 63 letters from David Diamond, 22 from Serge Koussevitsky, 72 from Nicolai Lopatnikoff, and 31 from Eugene Ormandy; others in the collection are Leon Barzin, Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, Vladimir Golschmann, Eugene Goosens, Alex Grechaninov, Ernest Hutcheson, Douglas Moore, Paul Nordoff, Wallingford Riegger, Artur Rodzinski, Roger Sessions, Harold Spivacke, Leopold Stokowski, and Olga Samaroff Stokowski. Organizations, such as the WPA music program, League of Composers, Juilliard School of Music, and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, are represented. There are also 15 volumes of music scores.

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American Composers' Alliance, 1940-1945 Box 1

Highlight: American Composers' Alliance, 1940-1945

League of Composers, 1947-1952 Box 4

Highlight: League of Composers, 1947-1952

Composers-Authors Guild, 1946 Box 2

Highlight: Composers-Authors Guild, 1946

Vladimir Ussachevsky papers, 1932-1969

8.25 linear feet

The Vladimir Ussachevsky Papers document the academic and professional career of pioneering electronic-music composer Vladimir Ussachevsky. This collection contains teaching and administrative materials, correspondence with other composers, writings and compositions by Ussachevsky and others, and programs, publicity materials, and personal documents.

3 results

American Composers Alliance, 1955-1968 Box 7, Folder 3

Highlight: American Composers Alliance, 1955-1968

Composer Organizations

Highlight: Composer Organizations

American Composer Alliance Bulletin, 1955-1958 Box 12, Folder 13

Highlight: American Composer Alliance Bulletin, 1955-1958

Carnegie Corporation of New York, Series III: Grant Records, 1911-1994

1500 linear feet

The Corporation awards grants to nonprofit organizations and institutions for projects that are broadly educational in nature and that show promise of having national or international impact. Certain appropriations are made for activities, such as Corporation-led initiatives that are administered by the foundation's officers. The trustees set the overall policies of the foundation and have final authority to approve all grants above $50,000 recommended by the program staff. Grants of $25,000 or less, called discretionary grants, are made upon the approval of the president and are reported to the board; larger discretionary grants, those between $25,000 and $50,000, are also reviewed by a Corporation-wide group, which makes recommendations to the president. (from Program Guidelines 2003-2004 (http://www.carnegie.org/sub/program/areas.html))

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League of Composers, , 1929-1946 Box iii.a 200, Folder 25

Highlight: League of Composers, , 1929-1946

Metropolitan Opera Association : Stipend of Librettist and Composer, , 1941-1943 Box iii.a 220, Folder 8

Highlight: Metropolitan Opera Association : Stipend of Librettist and Composer, , 1941-1943

Arthur Mitchell Collection, 1800s-2021, bulk 1934-2019

107 linear feet

Arthur Mitchell (1934-2018) was an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and founder and director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. This collection contains materials related to his career as a dancer with the New York City Ballet, and his later professional work with the Dance Theatre of Harlem and others. The collection includes administrative records, appointment books, correspondence, invitations, notes, notebooks, photographs, posters, programs, and audio and video recordings.

3 results

Meet the Composers, 1994-1996 Box 27, Folder 23

Highlight: Meet the Composers, 1994-1996

New York Choreographic Institute--Spring Session, 2011 March 11 1 DVDs Box 117, Item 113

Highlight: Composer- Gity Razaz Choreographer- Robert Binet; Composer- Michael Ippolito, Choreographer- Joseph
Morrissey; Composer- Michael Gilbertson, Choreographer- David Morse; Dancers: Students of the School of
Abstract Or Scope: Composer- Gity Razaz Choreographer- Robert Binet; Composer- Michael Ippolito, Choreographer- Joseph Morrissey; Composer- Michael Gilbertson, Choreographer- David Morse; Dancers: Students of the School of American Ballet; Musicians: Students of The Julliard School

Colours of Ritual, 2007 Feburary 22 1 DVDs Box 117, Item 115

Highlight: Performances at Hunter College. Artistic Director/Composer: Mossa Bildner.
Abstract Or Scope: Performances at Hunter College. Artistic Director/Composer: Mossa Bildner.

New York City Opera records, 1924-2019, bulk 1965-1991

214 linear feet

New York City Opera (NYCO) was famously dubbed "The People's Opera" by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia at its founding in 1943. The Opera company's mission is to inspire audiences with innovative and theatrically compelling opera at an affordable price. This collection documents the artistic productions and the daily administrative functions and operations attest to the mission of the company. The materials in this collection consist of administrative and financial records, production files, stage guides, scores, correspondence, programs, photographs, posters, scenery plans, memorabilia, printed materials, and audio and video recordings, dating from 1924 to 2019, with its bulk dating from 1965 to 1991.

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Composers, Conductors, Designers, etc.

Highlight: Composers, Conductors, Designers, etc.

VOX Showcasing American Composers

Highlight: VOX Showcasing American Composers
American Composers" ("VOX" was added to the title in 2002, "Contemporary American Opera Lab" added in 20 I
use a full opera orchestra, allowing composers and listeners to hear bow the music really sounded. The
Abstract Or Scope: In 1999, the New York City Opera Company began a series of opera readings called "Showcasing American Composers" ("VOX" was added to the title in 2002, "Contemporary American Opera Lab" added in 20 I 0). Such workshop productions had been common in the opera world, but this was the first to first to use a full opera orchestra, allowing composers and listeners to hear bow the music really sounded. The public was invited, at no cost, but audiences were small in the early year. In 2006, VOX moved to NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. By this time, VOX had attained a considerable reputation in the opera world, and representatives from many companies swelled the audience. Skirball Center was an ideal site: a modem theater with excellent facilities and 950 seats, now well filled. In later years, a $25 "consignment" for tickets was instituted to contain audience size. Six operas were presented on each of two days (Saturday and Sunday) rehearsals were no longer open to the public, and each opera received 30 minutes rather than 45. Those changes made it more difficult to appreciate an unknown work. To counter that, videos of composers and librettists helped prepare the audience for what it was about to experience.

Coloratura Soprano Eileen Di Tullio, undated 1 phonograph records Box 225

Highlight: A1: Bel Raggio Lusinghier (Semiramide) Composed By – Rossini*
A2: Care Selve (Atalanta) Composed By – Handel*
A3: Ach, Ich Liebte (Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail) Composed By – Mozart*
Abstract Or Scope: Commercially produced. "Recorded during performance, Town Hall, New York City." "Management: Eleanor Morrison, 327 Centra Park West, N.Y.C."

Juma Sultan papers, 1960s-1990s

20 linear feet

The Juma Sultan papers includes a large collection of performances from the loft era in New York City, a significant but under-documented period of jazz history. The recordings collection of circa 430 items, spanning the period from 1965-1975 (on open reel and cassette) contains unique, unreleased concert recordings, with the exception of a small amount of the collection included in the box set of Aboriginal Music Society recordings, Father of Origin (Eremite records, 2011). The recordings document not only the music of Sultan's own groups, such as the Aboriginal Music Society, but also a wide variety of recordings of other bands at Studio We, at other loft spaces in Lower Manhattan (e.g., Studio Rivbea, Artist House, the Ladies Fort, and Ali's Alley), as well as in Woodstock.

2 results