Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Archives related to: Bass, John

title	Manuscript Collection
repository	Carnegie Hall Archives
description	The Manuscript Collection contains more than 250 documents including letters, musical quotes, and calling cards dating from 1802 to 2009, predominantly 1901-2009. The Manuscript Collection has been arranged by donor. Throughout the years the collection has been in Carnegie Hall each manuscript has been identified by the donor; therefore, Series 1 is the John Bass Collection, Series 2 is the George Sylvester Collection, Series 3 is the Otto & Gertrude Lobbenberg Collection, and Series 4 is a compilation of single manuscripts titled Additional Gifts & Acquisitions, which includes the Becker, Weigl, Copland and Ellington manuscripts, as well as assorted other manuscripts donated individually since 1989. Series 5, Scores, is comprised of works commissioned by Carnegie Hall (excluding Centennial Commissions), including Carnegie Hall’s first two commissioned works, Leonard Bernstein’s Opening Prayer, premiered by the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta in December 1986, and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (commissioned jointly by Carnegie Hall, the Detroit Symphony, and the American Symphony Orchestra League) by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, which was premiered at Carnegie Hall in January 1987. Also in this series are works created since 1991, including scores by Elliott Carter, David Del Tredici, Bill Frisell, Osvaldo Golijov, Michael Gordon, Brad Mehldau, Meredith Monk, André Previn, Kaija Saariaho, and Charles Wuorinen, among others. Series 6, Centennial Commissions, contains scores of works created for Carnegie Hall’s centennial celebration during the 1990-1991 season, ranging from Malcolm Arnold’s Fantasy for Recorder and String Quartet and William Bolcom’s I Will Breathe a Mountain to T ru Takemitsu’s From me flows what you call Time and Maury Yeston’s December Songs. Series 7 is the Geiger Collection of Modern Composers. In 1934, author David Ewen, working on a new edition of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, sent questionnaires to 60 modern composers, including Alban Berg, Jean Sibelius, Anton Webern, and Edgard Varèse. The questionnaires, along with many letters from the composers, comprise the materials in this series. In the future single manuscript donations will be added to Series 4, Additional Gifts & Acquisitions, while entire collections of manuscripts will be assigned new series according to the donor's name. Within each series documents have been arranged alphabetically. Document have been placed in Mylar sleeves and stored in acid-free folders. Each folder also contains a translation, description, and/or copy of the original document. Some folders also contain photographs. When possible negatives have been produced and put in a separate Negatives Collection. Each document is unique in size and content, from the 2" x 3.5" calling card of Joseph Haydn (John Bass) to the 19.5" x 14.25" Faust poster of Charles Gounod (George Sylvester). Letters vary from a two page note written by Jules Massenet asking the director to allow a Mr. David to participate at the Chopin Festival Monday June 6 at Salle Pleyel (George Sylvester) to a letter by Richard Wagner describing the "Ride of the Valkyries" (Otto & Gertrude Lobbenberg). Some manuscripts are particularly important to the history of Carnegie Hall such as Duke Ellington's New World A-Comin', which was premiered in Carnegie Hall December 11, 1943 (Ruth Ellington). One of the most interesting items is the manuscript of Franz Schubert, Daphne and Bach, written by a copyist and signed in the upper right hand corner by J. Brahms. The entire Manuscript Collection is a valuable part of Carnegie Hall and its musical past, not only as music performed in Carnegie Hall but also as music displayed in the corridors of Carnegie Hall. Historical / Biographical Note The Bass, Sylvester, Weigl, and Becker manuscripts were matted and framed and hung in the corridors of Carnegie Hall for several years. The John Bass collection, which has been in the hall the longest, was mentioned in a New York Times article October 12, 1941 in reference to redecoration of the corridor: The rest of the corridor has been painted a rosy buff and a long trough of fluorescent light has been hung from the ceiling the length of the corridor. As a result of these improvements the framed musical manuscripts presented by John Bass now show up much better on the walls. In 1950 John Bass appeared in Who's Who in America with the following entry: President The Fajardo Sugar Company of P.R.; b. Vienna, Austria December 25, 1891 s. Leopold and Clementine (Graf) B.; student high sch and cumml. accd., Vienna, graduating with highest honors; m Johanna Redlich, Feb. 21, 1921. With Gottlieb Taussig, Vienna, 1901-1910, Schenker and Co., Paris, France, 1913-14. New York, 1914; pres. Fajardo Sugar Co. of P.R. since 1915; pres. L.W. and P. Armstrong C.,Inc. , NY City. The Fajardo Development Company; v.p. and director Loiza Sugar Co., P.R. Trustee The Fajardo Sugar Growers Assn. Mem. NYC of C. Writer of newspaper articles. Composer of published music. Home: 700 W. 47th St., Miami Beach, Fla. No other documentation is available at this time about the donors of the manuscripts. The Bass, Sylvester, and Becker manuscripts were appraised by Wurlitzer-Bruck on October 15, 1970 for insurance purposes. The value of fifty-four documents was estimated to be $11,000. The manuscripts remained in the hall until 1986 when Carnegie Hall closed for restoration, at which time the manuscripts were taken down and placed in the care of the Archives. In 1987 the same collection of manuscripts were appraised again by Wurlitzer­Bruck; the estimated value of the collection was increased to $40,000. On April 10, 1987 the manuscripts were taken to Sky Meadow Bindery for conservation work. The manuscripts were removed from frames and mats, restored and placed in Mylar sleeves. When the hall reopened on December 15, 1986, facsimiles of the original manuscripts were matted and framed to hang in Carnegie Hall while the originals remain in storage in the Carnegie Hall Archives. In January of 1988 Otto and Gertrude Lobbenberg donated eighteen manuscripts to Carnegie Hall bringing the total to seventy two. The Lobbenberg Collection was appraised by Wurlitzer-Bruck on March 28, 1988 at a value of $12,000. Facsimiles of the originals have been matted, framed and hung on the Parquet level of Carnegie Hall. On May 19, 1988 Aaron Copland donated one page of a manuscript in his hand signed "to Carnegie Hall" and an inscribed autograph card. The manuscript is from Symphony No. 3, third movement, alternate orchestral sketch, page 114, bars 1—29, including movement number at top of page. On June 26, 1988, during the intermission of a concert by the American Composers Orchestra, Carnegie Hall Corporation board member Betty Allen accepted a manuscript in Duke Ellington's hand from Ruth Ellington Boatwright. The manuscript is seven bars from New World A-Comin', which was premiered at Carnegie Hall December 12, 1943. The Geiger Collection of Modern Composers was presented to the Carnegie Hall Archives in 1994 as a gift from the family of Robert Geiger, an editor of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary.
extent	32.0 Linear feet
formats	Correspondence Printed Materials Manuscript Ephemera
access	Open for research without restrictions.
record link	http://www.carnegiehall.org/Manuscripts_Collection_Finding_Aid/#N10000
record source	http://www.carnegiehall.org/Manuscripts_Collection_Finding_Aid/#N10000
acquisition information	e Manuscript Collection began by donations from John Bass, George Sylvester, Mrs. John Becker, and Mrs. Karl Weigl. At various times these collectors donated manuscripts to Carnegie Hall. The dates of acquisition or agreement of gift have been mostly lost, but the understanding in Carnegie Hall is that John Bass donated thirty-four manuscripts in the late 1930s, George Sylvester donated thirteen manuscripts in the 1960s, and Mrs. Becker donated a single manuscript to Carnegie Hall. A letter from Mrs. Weigl to Stewart L. Warkow, Executive Director of the Carnegie Hall Corporation, dated October 3, 1979 acknowledges her manuscript donation. An undated photograph shows Mr. and Mrs. George Sylvester presenting their manuscript collection to Carnegie Hall, with Executive Director Julius Bloom and conductor Zubin Mehta accepting the donation.
updated	03/16/2023 10:30:06
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