Marlboro Music School and Festival records Ms. Coll. 950 Finding aid prepared by Marissa Hendriks. Last updated on May 15, 2020. University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts 2015 June 25 Marlboro Music School and Festival records Table of Contents Summary Information....................................................................................................................................3 Biography/History..........................................................................................................................................4 Scope and Contents....................................................................................................................................... 5 Administrative Information........................................................................................................................... 7 Related Materials........................................................................................................................................... 7 Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................8 Collection Inventory.................................................................................................................................... 10 Series I. Administrative files.................................................................................................................10 Series II. Photographs..........................................................................................................................117 Series III. Audio-visual materials and files.........................................................................................125 - Page 2 - Marlboro Music School and Festival records Summary Information Repository University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts Creator Marlboro Music School and Festival. Title Marlboro Music School and Festival records Call number Ms. Coll. 950 Date [inclusive] 1946-2013 Extent 150 linear feet (227 boxes, 3 oversize folders) Language English Abstract The Marlboro Music School and Festival Records spans Marlboro’s history from 1950 through 2013 and showcases its influence on chamber music in America as it documents its growth from a small and informally organized summer school in the early 1950s to its current status as a prestigious institution that has shaped careers and inspired the formation of numerous renowned ensembles. The school's emphasis is on the intensive study of chamber music where young and senior professionals collaborate in a relaxed atmosphere that is removed from the demanding rehearsal and performance schedules that they face throughout the year. The collection comprises administrative documents, concert programs, printed promotional materials, articles and reviews, photographs, and audio-visual materials relating to the Marlboro School of Music and annual summer festival as well as the related Musicians from Marlboro touring series and the Marlboro Recording Society. - Page 3 - Marlboro Music School and Festival records Cite as: Marlboro Music School and Festival records, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania Biography/History The violinist Adolf Busch founded the Marlboro School of Music in 1951 along with his son-in-law, pianist Rudolf Serkin, cellist Herman Busch, flutist Marcel Moyse, pianist and flutist Louis Moyse, and violinist and conductor Blanche Honegger Moyse. While the festival unofficially began the previous year in the summer of 1950 when Walter Hendricks, the founder of Marlboro College in rural southern Vermont, initially invited Busch and the Moyses to host a summer music school at the college, it wasn’t until the following year, 1951, that the school was officially established as its own separate entity from Marlboro College. Busch passed away suddenly in 1952 leaving Serkin to take over spearheading the artistic direction of the school and festival. He preserved Busch’s vision of a setting in which professionals and amateurs could enjoy the simple pleasure of making music without the usual pressures of rehearsals and performances that they endure throughout the rest of the year. Part of Busch’s dream for Marlboro was that money would not be a factor in determining participation; senior artists were typically unpaid and students were offered scholarships to cover costs. This growing pressure to cover the annual expenses eventually forced Serkin to give Marlboro an administrative overhaul. He actively engaged in fundraising and set up an endowment fund. Tickets were required for attendance at concerts and, in 1962, the new auditorium was completed, accommodating larger audiences than the campus dining hall where performances had been held prior to its construction. As the years went by and applications poured in, the admissions process became more rigorous and included formal auditions and letters of recommendation from sponsors. The dynamic became one in which exceptionally gifted young musicians played alongside senior artists for seven weeks each summer and gave weekly concerts to the public, often with the programs decided upon only at the last minute. At the beginning of each season, participants requested works they would like to study; dozens of pieces would be rehearsed over the course of a particular summer, but very few were actually performed. The emphasis was always on the intensive study of chamber music, with the concerts being of secondary importance. Serkin frequently reiterated that Marlboro was a school first and foremost and that the concerts were merely its by-product. Over the years, Marlboro has attracted numerous prominent musicians such as pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Joshua Bell, and cellist Pablo Casals, who - Page 4 - Marlboro Music School and Festival records returned to Marlboro for thirteen summers from 1960-1973, teaching cello master classes and conducting orchestral performances, a rare exception to Marlboro’s strict adherence to the study of chamber music. With Rudolf Serkin’s death in 1991, Marlboro found itself without an artistic director for the first time since Serkin himself took the reins in 1952. In 1999, pianists Richard Goode and Mitsuko Uchida, both former Marlboro participants themselves, were appointed as the new artistic directors. In 2013, Uchida became the sole director and, under her leadership, Marlboro Music continues to thrive and draw musicians from around the world to its bucolic setting and collegial atmosphere and remains a wellspring for artistic talent, collaboration, and inspiration. Scope and Contents This collection comprises administrative documents, concert programs, printed promotional materials, articles and reviews, photographs, and audio-visual materials relating to the Marlboro School of Music and annual summer festival as well as the related Musicians from Marlboro touring series and the Marlboro Recording Society. The collection spans Marlboro’s history from 1950 through 2013 and showcases its influence on chamber music in America as it documents its growth from a small and informally organized summer school in the early 1950s to its current status as a prestigious institution that has shaped careers and inspired the formation of numerous renowned ensembles such as the Guarneri String Quartet and the Daedalus String Quartet. The bulk of the collection consists of administrative records and these include correspondence, internal memos, financial documents, and information for and related to participants. The administrative files from the first decade of the school are minimal, but those that do exist are of interest in that they show how the administration of the school changed over the years to adapt to its growth while still trying to maintain its original philosophy. The school initially accepted amateur musicians as participants and some of the earliest letters are from applicants so young that a parent has written on their behalf. Not long after Serkin took over as artistic director and the number of applicants increased, the emphasis shifted towards accepting young professionals instead of amateurs, with the appearance of formal applications and auditions in the collection showing how the selection process became more rigorous over the years. An exception is seen in the files relating to the youth auditors program that Serkin initiated in the 1960s which offered scholarships for talented underprivileged youths to attend the summer school. An important aspect of Marlboro culture was the attitude towards playing and rehearsing. At the beginning of each year, participants were given the opportunity to request works they would like to study that summer and the scheduling subseries contains many years of these forms as well as the resultant rehearsal schedules and final tabulations of works studied and performed as well as lists of who played with whom. Serkin frequently referred to Marlboro as a “republic of equals” and this fair approach to determining the season’s schedule is indicative of that sentiment. - Page 5 - Marlboro Music School and Festival records The oral history project and Marlboro recollections subseries provide excellent personal insights into the history of the school. The transcriptions of recorded interviews and the handwritten anecdotes on the backs of mailed