Mannes - Damrosch Collection

Mannes - Damrosch Collection Guides to Special Collections in the Music Division of the Library of Congress Music Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2007 Revised 2010 March Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/perform.contact Additional search options available at: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu007003 LC Online Catalog record: http://lccn.loc.gov/2006568218 Processed by the Music Division of the Library of Congress Collection Summary Title: Mannes - Damrosch Collection Span Dates: 1848-1986 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1900-1950) Call No.: ML31.M2135 Creator: Mannes, David, 1866-1959 Extent: circa 1,700 items ; 36 containers ; 12 linear feet Language: Collection material in English Location: Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Summary: Includes biographical materials, correspondence, writings, music, programs, clippings, artwork, photographs, awards, and other materials. Biographical materials include a copy of autobiography of Leopold Damrosch and memoirs of Marie von Heimburg, the aunt of Clara, Frank, and Walter Damrosch. Both items also exist in Damrosch-Tee Van Collection and Damrosch-Blaine Collection. The correspondence consists of letters between members of the Mannes and Damrosch families and other important correspondents, including Percy Goetschius, Franz Lizst (translation from the original), Daniel Gregory Mason, Sergei Rachmaninoff, John D. Rockefeller, Arthur Schnabel, Randall Thompson, and others. The writings contain primarily numerous literary works by Marya Mannes and articles by Leopold Damrosch, Clara Damrosch Mannes, Leopold Mannes. The music consists of holograph scores, parts, and sketches of compositions by Leopold Damrosch. Also included are manuscript copies of works by Heinrich Gottwald, holograph scores of Edmund Singer, and of songs by Leopold Mannes. The Photographs consist of photoprints and 27 albums of photoprints chiefly related to Mannes and Damrosch families. The artwork includes portraits of various members of the Mannes and Damrosch families, sketches by Clara Damrosch Mannes, and photographic reproductions of sculptures of Marya Mannes. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. People Damrosch, Leopold, 1832-1885--Correspondence. Damrosch, Leopold, 1832-1885. Damrosch, Leopold, 1832-1885. Mannes - Damrosch collection. 1948-1986. Goetschius, Percy, 1853-1943--Correspondence. Goetschius, Percy, 1853-1943. Mannes, Clara, 1869-1948--Correspondence Mannes, Clara, 1869-1948. Mannes, Clara, 1869-1948. Mannes, Clara, 1869-1948. Mannes - Damrosch collection. 1948-1986. Mannes, David, 1866-1959--Correspondence. Mannes, David, 1866-1959. Mannes, David, 1866-1959. Mannes, Leopold, 1899-1964--Correspondence. Mannes, Leopold, 1899-1964. Mannes, Marya. Rockefeller, John D., 1906-1978--Correspondence. Rockefeller, John D., 1906-1978. Schnabel, Artur, 1882-1951--Correspondence. Schnabel, Artur, 1882-1951. Thompson, Randall, 1899-1984--Correspondence. Thompson, Randall, 1899-1984. Subjects Musicians--United States--Correspondence. Mannes - Damrosch Collection 2 Administrative Information Provenance Gift; Marya Mannes and David Blow; 1966 and 1990-1991. Accruals No further accruals are expected. Processing History The Mannes-Damrosch Collection was processed in 1995 by Margaret Collins and revised by Wilda M. Heiss in 1997. The original finding aid was prepared with Corel WordPerfect 8. In 2007 the Mannes-Damrosch Collection finding aid was coded for EAD format by Michael A. Ferrando. Related Material Two other related collections in the Music Division at the Library of Congress include the Damrosch-Blaine Collection from the Walter Damrosch family and the Damrosch-Tee Van Collection from the Frank Damrosch family, both brothers of Clara Damrosch Mannes. Additionally, both published and unpublished music and/or published writings by Leopold, Walter, and Frank Damrosch, David and Clara Mannes, and Leopold and Marya Mannes have been classified and placed in the general collections of the Library of Congress. Copyright Status The status of copyright on the materials of the Mannes - Damrosch Collection is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.). Access and Restrictions The Mannes - Damrosch Collection is open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Performing Arts Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use. Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply. Preferred Citation Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: container number, Mannes - Damrosch Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Sketches David Mannes was born February 16, 1866 in New York City. He studied the violin at a very early age, and formal lessons soon followed with August Zeiss, a pupil of Ludwig Spohr, and with Carl Richter Nicolai, concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra. Mannes studied later at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin with the Joachim Quartet's Heinrich de Ahna and with Carl Nadir, assistant to Joseph Joachim, who was a professor of violin at the Hochschule. In 1891, Mannes became a member of the New York Symphony Orchestra under Walter Damrosch; thirteen years later, he became the orchestra's concertmaster, a position he held until he resigned in 1912. He married pianist Clara Damrosch (sister of Walter) in 1898, and their first child, Leopold Damrosch Mannes, was born in 1899. In 1900, David began teaching violin at the Music School Settlement (later the Third Street Music School Settlement) for young, underprivileged children and amateurs. Accompanied by his wife and son, he went to Brussels in 1903 where he studied violin with Eugène Ysaÿe for six months. Once back in the United States, David and Clara began a thirteen-year professional collaboration in 1904 and toured as the Mannes Duo for violin and piano. Later that fall, their second child, Marya, was born. David became musical director at the Music School Settlement in 1910, and in 1912, inaugurated a similar school—the Music School Settlement for Colored Children—in Harlem, assisted by prominent, interested friends from the community. In 1915, Mannes resigned as director of the Third Street Settlement School and also ended his relationship with the Music School Settlement for Colored Children. The following year, he and his wife co-founded the David Mannes School of Music (later to become the Mannes College of Music), which developed potential professional musicians and offered opportunities to those who Mannes - Damrosch Collection 3 wanted "to enrich themselves through a better understanding or playing of music without the responsibilities of a career." The final tour of the Mannes Duo occurred during 1916-17, but the couple continued to perform locally until the mid-1920s. After years of intermittent assignments leading an orchestra at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for special occasions, David received a chance to conduct an annual series of free concerts at the Museum which continued for twenty- eight years until 1948. On April 16, 1956 a concert was held there to celebrate David Mannes's ninetieth birthday and to raise funds for the Mannes College of Music. His autobiography, Music Is My Faith, was published in 1938. He died in New York City on April 25, 1959. Leopold Damrosch (1832-1885), the family patriarch, was a violinist, conductor, and composer who was educated in Posen, his native city, and in Berlin. The Damrosch family—Leopold and Helene von Heimburg Damrosch, their four children, Frank, Walter, Marie and Clara (the fifth and last child, Elizabeth, was born in America), and Helene's sister Marie von Heimburg—immigrated to America from Breslau in 1871. He came to America in 1871 to conduct the Arion Society, a men's choral group; later, in 1873, he founded the Oratorio Society of New York and, in 1878, the Symphony Society of New York. He introduced Wagner operas to America and other large choral works, many of which were American premieres. Both Frank Damrosch (1859-1937) and Walter Damrosch (1862-1950) also contributed to the musical life of New York City. Frank conducted the People's Choral Union, the Oratorio Society of New York, and the Musical Art Society and was founder of the Institute of Musical Arts; Walter conducted operas, particularly Wagner operas, the New York Symphony Society (formerly the Symphony Society of New York), and the NBC Symphony Orchestra in the "Music Appreciation Hour" radio show. Clara Damrosch Mannes was born on December 12, 1869 in Breslau, Germany. Clara was the middle daughter and the only daughter to pursue a music career. She began piano lessons as a child in New York City; in 1888, she studied piano in Dresden with H. Scholtz and theory with Johannes Schreyer; and, in 1897, she took piano lessons from Ferruccio Busoni in Berlin. David Mannes proposed to Clara in Europe during the summer of 1897 and the following June, they were married. A year later, their son Leopold Damrosch Mannes was born. (A daughter, Marya, arrived in 1904.) While in Brussels in 1903, Clara learned piano parts to various violin sonatas, and on their return to the United States, the couple began a successful career as the Mannes Duo for violin

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