Nicolas Slonimsky Collection

Guides to Special Collections in the Music Division
Library of Congress, Washington DC,  2001

Finding aid prepared 1999

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chronology

Scope and Content Note

Description of Series

Container List

Biographical Materials

Nicolas Slonimsky biographical materials

Family history

Subject File, miscellaneous

Travel materials

Clippings

Writings

Articles

Radio Scripts

Books, Index cards

Reviews

Music Composed by Nicolas Slonimsky

Manuscript

Printed Music

Programs of Nicolas Slonimsky Performances

Correspondence

Biographical Materials on Composers and Performers

Programs

Clippings

Music Collected by Nicolas Slonimsky

Manuscript

Printed Music

Multi-Composer Collections

Scrapbooks

Iconography

Photographs--People

Photographs--Subjects

Artwork

Miscellaneous

Miscellany

Nicolas Slonimsky Collection (ML31.S6)

The Nicolas Slonimsky Collection was acquired by the Music Division of the Library of Congress from Slonimsky in 1969 and, after his death, from his daughter Electra Yourke in 1999.

A number of monographs on a variety of musical topics and mostly published in the twentieth century accompanied the Collection. Those that were not hitherto part of the Library's collections have been classed and cataloged as ML31.S6 and cited on the Library's online public access catalog (OPAC). Books of which the Library already had multiple copies were transferred to the Library's Exchange and Gift Division; the title pages of each were photocopied and are filed in the Music Division's Slonimsky Collection Processing File.

In addition, a large collection of Soviet periodicals and pamphlets on music, including Proletarskii Muzikant (Moscow: 1929-32); Musikalinaia Letopis (Petrograd: 1922, 1923, 1926); Muzika i Revoliutsiia (Moscow: 1926-29); De Musica (Leningrad: 1925); Novaia Muzika (Leningrad: 1927-28); Muzikalnaia Samodeyatelnost (Moscow: 1934); Muzikalnyi Sovremennik (1915-17) have been classed and cataloged as ML31.S6 and can be found through the Library's online catalog (OPAC).

A number of audio materials accompanied the collection. These were transferred to the custody of the Motion Picture, Broadcast and Recorded Sound Division of the Library of Congress. For further information about these materials, see the staff of the Motion Picture, Broadcast and Recorded Sound Division.

There are no restrictions on viewing any of the materials in this collection. However, literary rights in unpublished writings by Slonimsky found in this collection and in other collections in the custody of the Music Division of the Library of Congress remain with the Nicolas Slonimsky Estate. Patrons are encouraged to consult the Music Division's Permissions File for more information on these and any other rights that may be embodied in the materials. The status of the literary rights in other materials found in this collection is unclear.

Many of the materials in this collection are extremely fragile and patrons are asked to use extreme care in handling.

This Finding Aid was prepared with Corel WordPerfect 8 and Procite. An automated version is available from the staff of the Performing Arts Reading Room.

Chronology

Scope and Content Note

The Nicolas Slonimsky Collection (ML31.S ) contains materials collected by Slonimsky throughout his lifetime that document his life and work as musicologist, composer, conductor lecturer and author. His career as a composer and performer together with his lexicographical work, especially in compiling detailed information about the lives and works of musicians- those of the twentieth century in particular- has produced a remarkable archive of music, correspondence, memorabilia, books and related documents.

The Collection is divided into three sections 1) materials about Nicholas Slonimsky 2) materials related to his work as a composer, conductor and lexicographer and 3) selected items from Nicholas Slonimsky's personal library of rare printed materials (books, journals, periodicals, pamphlets), many of which are in Russian/Cyrillic. This finding aid is a guide to sections 1 and 2 above. The first category of materials pertains to Slonimsky's life and the lives of members of his family; to his work as a composer, performer, writer, etc.; to his work as a composer and performer; and to his writings. The second part of the collection is an assemblage of his work as a lexicographer, musicologist, and writer and consists primarily of correspondence, musicians' biographical materials, and music.

Items in category 3 are fully cataloged and are accessible through the Library of Congress Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). Some materials, mostly bound books of a general nature, were deaccessioned by the Library. A collection of the title pages of these items is found in box 354.

The date span of the biographical materials is equal to that of Slonimsky's life (1894-1995). Of special interest are examples of Slonimsky's school work from his youth in Russia as well as some personal and medical papers. Most of the materials in the series are clippings which these date from 1925 to 1994. They provide a comprehensive overview of the man's personality, activities, and accomplishments.

Included among the writings series are drafts, typescripts, reprints, etc., and of newspaper, periodical, journal, and magazine articles, record liner notes, radio broadcasts, and talks; these are both published and unpublished and filed in alphabetical order by title. In addition, there are index cards of errata and corrigenda, typescripts, amendments, corrections of earlier editions, publishers' proofs and other documentary material for several editions of Slonimsky's larger-scale works such as Baker's Biographical Dictionary, Lectionary of Music, Music Since 1900, and Perfect Pitch. Worthy of special mention is an unpublished biography of composer Roy Harris including some Harris holograph materials.

The music composed by Nicolas Slonimsky is divided into two sections: manuscripts and printed music. The manuscripts are mostly for solo piano or piano and voice and many of these date from Slonimsky's younger days. The earliest dated manuscripts are from 1913, including a musical examination exercise from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Other early manuscripts date from the years 1918 to 1921. Other manuscripts of particular interest include a volume of 15 Russian Peasant Songs composed in 1935, several chamber works, including the Piccolo Divertimento and the Quaquaversal Suite, and some of Slonimsky's signature dittie such as the component works of the 51 Minitudes or the Möbius Strip Tease.

The printed music by Nicolas Slonimsky consists of music published between 1920 and 1990, and written, again, mostly for solo piano or voice and piano. Among these are the Bosphore valse, published in 1920 in Constantinople, and the Five Advertising songs, published in 1988, although composed at a prior date and credited by Slonimsky as being some of the earliest singing commercials. Several large-scale works are also present, including My Toy Baloon, for orchestra, and the Piccolo Divertimento, for woodwinds, percussion, typewriter, and cat's meow. An incomplete copy of the famed Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns is also found amongst the printed scores. Many works not found in manuscript are found here.

A valuable collection of programs of Nicolas Slonimsky performances dating from 1924-1992 portrays Slonimsky's life as a public figure in his roles as a composer, conductor, musician, lecturer, and writer. Each program refers to Slonimsky in one or more of these roles.

The correspondence series ranges from 1920 through the 1990s. The bulk of these letters date from 1940s through the 1970s and most are responses to Slonimsky's inquiries for biographical and other information relative to his editing of International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians and Baker's Biographical Dictionary. Written mostly in English but also in other languages, many of the letters include biographical information and provide valuable insights into the lives and personalities of some correspondents. Noteworthy correspondents include the following: Henry Cowell, Alexandre Gretchaninoff, Roy Harris, Charles Ives, and Edgar Varèse. Other correspondents who deserve special mention are: Gerald Abraham, Modest Altschuler, George Antheil, Jacob Avshalomov, Simon Bucharoff, Milton Babbitt, Samuel Barber, John J. Becker, Leonard Bernstein, Ernst Bloch, Friedrich Blume, Benjamin Britten, Howard Mayer Brown, Manfred Bukofzer, Alan Bush, Charles Wakefield Cadman, John Cage, Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Carlos Chávez, Chou Wen-Chung, Jani Christou, Sergei Conus, Aaron Copland, César Cui, Aleksandr Grechaninov, Luigi Dallapiccola, Mario Davidovsky, Norman Dello Joio, David Diamond, Christoph von Dohnányi, Olin Downes, Arcady Dubensky, Vladimir Dukelsky (Vernon Duke), Alfred Einstein, David Ewen, Lukas Foss, Harry Lawrence Freeman, Kenneth Gaburo, Alejandro García Caturla, Vladimir Guba, George Gershwin, Walter Gieseking, Henry F. Gilbert, Lawrence Gilman, Alberto Ginastera, Isaac Goldberg, Michael Goldstein, Eugene Goossens, Leonid Grabovsky, Morton Gould, Howard Hanson, Jascha Heifetz, John Joubert, Ulysses Kay, Tikhon Khrennikov, Charles Koechlin, Ernst Krenek, Genrihk Litinsky, Wanda Landowska, Eric Leinsdorf, Jay Leda, Douglas Lilburn, Nikolai Lopatnikoff, Lorin Maazel, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Nicolai Malko, Igor Markevich, Nikolai Miaskovsky, Darius Milhaud, Hans Moldenhauer, Lawrence Morton, Nicolas Nabokov, Aleksandr Olenin, Claude Palisca, George Perle, Walter Piston, Dragan Plamenac, Hubert du Plessis, Sergei Prokofiev, Solomon Rosowsky, Serge Rachmaninoff, Maurice Ravel, Yuri Shaporin, Max Steinberg, Silvestre Revueltas, Wallingford Riegger, Andrei Rimsky-Korsakoff, Charles Ruggles, Lazare Saminsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Wiliam Schuman, Roger Sessions, Fabien Sevitsky, George Bernard Shaw, Alexander Siloti, Sergei Slonimsky, Kaikhosru Sorabji, Leo Sowerby, William Grant Still, Karlheinz Stockhausen, George Szell, Joseph Szigeti, Alexandre Tansman, Alexander Tcherepnin, John Thompson, Oscar Thompson, Randall Thompson, Virgil Thomson, Ernst Toch, Vladmir Ussachevsky, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Jacob Weinberg, Anton Webern, and Eugene Zádor. In addition, scattered letters, mostly of lesser import, are found among the biographical materials on composers and performers series and elsewhere in the collection.

Most of the biographical materials on composers and performers date from the 1920s to the 1980s. Like the correspondence series, most of these materials were generated when Slonimsky was editing Bakers and the International Cyclopedia. Again, in these files one finds extensive information about composers and musicians from around the United States and the world. Many of the musicians included here are not well known. Especially interesting are materials relative to the lives and works of composers and musicians from the former Soviet Union. Included with the materials are a number of obscure facts and details, curricula vitae, works lists, biographies and other notes about these individuals and their families with a surprising number of birth and death certificates in English and other languages (mostly Italian, German, and French). Materials of a biographical nature are found in other series in the collection as well. A number of files are minimally informative and contain only brief birth and/or death dates, or newspaper articles that are generally available elsewhere.

A collection of concert programs amassed by Slonimsky date from 1873 to 1997. Most of these date from the early 1950s until the late 1990s and most deal with contemporary music. A significant number of the programs are from music festivals. They are organized chronologically.

The music collected by Nicolas Slonimsky series is divided into subseries of manuscript, printed music and multi-composer collections. Among the manuscripts are many short holographic works and fragments by composers: Dante Alderighi, John J. Becker, Eleazar de Carvalho, Sergei Conus, Luigi Dallapiccola, Mabel Daniels, Arcady Dubensky, Gregor G. Fitelberg, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Gino Gorini, Aleksandr Gretchaninov, Roy Harris, Daniel Jones, Ellis B. Kohs, William Kraft, René Leibowitz, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Franco Margola, Edvard Mirzoyan, Riccardo Nielsen, Goffredo Petrassi, Manuel M. Ponce, Gardner Read, Nino Rota, Luis H. Salgado, Giovanni Salviucci, Sergei Slonimsky, Alexandre Tansman, Boris Tishchenko, David Toradze, Georges Tsouyopoulos, Guillermo Uribe-Holguín, Aurelio de la Vega, Heitor Villa-Lobos, John Vincent, Andrei Volkonsky, and Adone Zecchi.

Of particular interest among the printed music and multi-composer collections are a significant number of works by lesser-known Soviet composers as well as composers with Spanish surnames. Especially noteworthy are a number of published works by Sergei Slonimsky, Prokofief and Shostakovich. A copy of 114 songs by Charles E. Ives contains annotations and corrections in Ives' hand.

The scrapbooks include general materials such as announcements, flyers and related programs in addition to clippings of reviews of Slonimsky's early work as a performer and conductor and of his later work as a writer. Included also are articles he wrote for the Boston Evening Transcript and the Christian Science Monitor.

Most interesting among the iconographical materials in the collection are family photographs along with photographs of composers and musicians from the former Soviet Union, as well as little known musicians from the United States and elsewhere.

The Collection was processed in 1998-99 by Michael Ferrando, William Nelson, Stefan Patejak and Albert Tucker with the assistance of Kevin LaVine. Robert Saladini was Music Specialist and Team Leader.

Description of Series