ContentsOrganization of the Damrosch - Tee Van Collection Container List Biographical Materials, 1879-1939, undated |
Damrosch - Tee Van CollectionProcessed by the Music Division of the Library of Congress2007
Biographical SketchThe Damrosch family immigrated to America from Breslau, Germany in 1871. Leopold Damrosch (1832-1885), the family patriarch, was a violinist, conductor, and composer who was educated in Posen, his native city, and in Berlin. In 1857, Franz Liszt appointed him lead violinist in the court orchestra at Weimar. While there, he married the singer Helene von Heimburg. In 1860, he toured with Hans von Bülow and Karl Tausig and, in 1862, organized the Breslau Philharmonic Society. He came to America in 1871 to conduct the Arion Society, a men's choral group. In 1873, he founded the Oratorio Society of New York and, in 1878, the Symphony Society of New York. He introduced Wagner's operas, Berlioz's Damnation of Faust, and other large choral works to New York audiences; many of these were American premieres. In 1880, Columbia College conferred on him the Doctor of Music degree. During the 1884-85 season, he became a manager of the Metropolitan Opera and presented a "German" season which consisted primarily of German operas and some Italian operas sung in German. Six days before the end of the season, he died and his son, Walter, and the chorusmaster, John Lund, conducted the remaining performances. Walter conducted the tour of the Damrosch Grand Opera Company which followed the Metropolitan Opera season. Frank Damrosch (1859-1937), the oldest son of Leopold and Helene, was a conductor and teacher. He began his musical studies as a child in Breslau and continued them in New York City. Later, he left City College and found work in various non-musical jobs. In 1879, he went to Denver, Colorado to see what business opportunities existed there; eventually, he abandoned the business world and devoted himself to music. He became conductor of the Denver Chorus Club, supervisor of music in public schools, and organist and choir director for several churches and a synagogue. After Leopold's death in 1885, he returned to New York City and served as conductor of the Newark Harmonic Society and chorus master and assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera until 1891. In 1892, he organized and conducted the People's Choral Union for which he published a Popular Method of Sight Singing. He founded and conducted the Musical Art Society of New York, a small professional chorus. From 1897 to 1905 he was supervisor of music in the New York City public schools. He succeeded his brother Walter as conductor of the Oratorio Society from 1898-1912. In 1904, he received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale University. In 1905, he founded the Institute of Musical Art and was its director until 1926, when it merged with the Juilliard Graduate School to become the Juilliard School of Music of which he served as dean until 1933. Wilda Heiss, Music SpecialistMargaret Collins, Library Technician,July 1994 Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Content NoteThe Damrosch-Tee Van Collection consists of the papers of Frank and Leopold Damrosch and their families. The date span of the collection is 1856-1969, with the bulk of the materials dating from the 1870s to the 1930s. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, writings, manuscript and printed music, financial and legal papers, programs, scrapbooks, artwork, and photographs. Included in the collection is a series of biographical materials that relate to various Damrosch family members, chiefly Frank and Leopold Damrosch, and consists of printed articles, manuscript notes, and transcripts of interviews. One item of interest is an autobiographical essay written by Leopold Damrosch as a graduation thesis from the high school at Posen. The papers of Leopold Damrosch consist of correspondence (including a copy of a letter from Liszt,) a few examples of writings, four scores (including Leopold Damrosch's piano-vocal arrangement of the Berlioz Requiem), programs for concerts he conducted and attended, a scrapbook of clippings, and a few other miscellaneous items. This section of the collection is quite small, due in part to a fire in 1887 that destroyed many of Leopold's papers, including much of his correspondence with Liszt, Wagner, von Bülow, and others. Despite this fact, the collection contains important information on Leopold Damrosch. A large part of the collection consists of the papers of Frank Damrosch and other Damrosch family members. The correspondence comprises several hundred letters, with some of the more important correspondents being Harold Bauer, Andrew Carnegie, Edward Elgar, Percy Grainger, Josef Hofmann, Gustav Mahler, and Sergei Rachmaninov. Many of the letters of Frank Damrosch to his family were destroyed in the 1887 fire, mentioned above; there are, however, a long series of letters to his wife Hetty from Europe in 1891. Any letters to or from correspondents who wrote to both Frank Damrosch and other family members are filed together with Frank's correspondence. The correspondence of other Damrosch family includes letters to and from family members. Included are letters from Georges Barrère, Teresa Carreño, Pablo Casals, Madame Chiang Kai-Shek (regarding John Tee Van's zoo pandas), and John D. Rockefeller. Many of these are simply condolence letters received after Frank Damrosch's death while others reveal more familiar relationships. The remainder of the papers of Frank Damrosch and other Damrosch family include manuscript and typescript copies of Frank Damrosch's book Some Essentials in the Teaching of Music; a copy of the libretto for Walter Damrosch's The Scarlet Letter; several printed editions of Frank Damrosch's choral music; programs for concerts the Damrosch family attended or that Frank conducted; original artwork by Frank Damrosch; photographs, and other family memorabilia. Also included are papers of the Institute of Musical Art, the music school which Frank Damrosch founded in 1905. This part of the collection includes catalogs, programs, and other publications produced by that institution. Return to the Table of Contents Selected Search TermsPeople
Return to the Table of Contents Organization of the Damrosch - Tee Van CollectionThe Damrosch - Tee Van Collection is organized in 3 series:
Return to the Table of Contents Container ListBiographical Materials, 1879-1939, undatedThe Biographical Materials series contains manuscript, typewritten and printed biographies and typewritten poem. Arranged alphabetically by subject of biography, then by author. Damrosch, DorotheaDamrosch, "Uncle Juju," n.d. (poem)Damrosch, FrankDamrosch, FrankConversation with Randall Thompson, 1937Manuscript notes for autobiographical article, [1934]On leaving the opera, 1891-92Damrosch, Hetty MosenthalNotes about F[rank] D[amrosch], n.d.People's Choral UnionTo Frank Damrosch from the People's Choral Union, n.d.Frank Damrosch in memoriam, n.d.Rice, Edwin T.A tribute to Frank Damrosch, n.d.A tribute to Frank Damrosch, reprinted from The Musical Quarterly, 1939 Apr.Richardson, A. MadeleyPresentation of the portrait of Dr. Frank Damrosch, 1929 Oct. 22Unidentified authorArticle "Frank Damrosch: A biographical sketch" from The Musical Times, 1904 Dec. 1Unidentified author, n.d.Damrosch, Hetty MosenthalDamrosch, Hetty MosenthalRough notes about summers abroad and elsewhere; also about various activities in New York, etc., n.d.Damrosch, Leopold100th anniversary of birthTypescript of WOR broadcast, 1932Four newspaper articles, 1932Damrosch, FrankDictations to Helen Tee Van in reply to questions asked about old times, n.d.Manuscript in pencil written by Frank Damrosch about various episodes left out of typed story, n.d.Short biography of Leopold Damrosch by Frank Damrosch, n.d.Damrosch, LeopoldAutobiography of Leopold Damrosch, written when he was eighteen years old as a graduation thesis from the high school in Posen, n.d. [translation]Lists of CompositionsCompositions of Dr. Leopold Damrosch, 1879List of the compositions of Dr. Leopold Damrosch for violin, n.d.Rice, Edwin T.Personal recollections of Dr. Leopold Damrosch, reprinted from The Musical Quarterly, 1942 JulyDamrosch, WalterGilbert, DouglasThree newspaper articles from the New York World-Telegram, 1946Seymour, Ellie DamroschSeymour, Ellie DamroschPapers of Leopold DamroschThe Papers of Leopold Damrosch series consist of correspondence (including a copy of a letter from Liszt,) a few examples of writings, four scores (including Leopold Damrosch's piano-vocal arrangement of the Berlioz Requiem), programs for concerts he conducted and attended, a scrapbook of clippings, and a few other miscellaneous items. This section of the collection is quite small, due in part to a fire in 1887 that destroyed many of Leopold's papers, including much of his correspondence with Liszt, Wagner, von Bülow, and others. Despite this fact, the collection contains important information on Leopold Damrosch. Arrangement within subseries is as follows: CorrespondenceBeaulieu-Marconnay, Baron von, 1856Heimburg, Marie von, 1874, 1883Lichtenberg, Theodor, 1871Liszt, Franz, 1857 [photographic reproductions and negatives of letter and translation]Miscellaneous, 1856-81 [typewritten transcript of handwritten letters in German; originals filed under author's name]New York Sun, 1876 [rolled]. Letters from Leopold Damrosch in Bayreuth [facsimiles from New York Sun, dated 1876 Aug. 13, 18, 23, 26, and Sept. 3)Philharmonic Society of New York, 1875-1877, n.d.[Praller, Friedrich?], 1870Ritter, F. L., n.d.Unidentified, 1857-1871WritingsManuscript notebook, 1862 [Poetry for possible settings; some notes on music]On Beethoven's Egmont overture, n.d.MusicBerlioz, HectorRequiem Piano-vocal score with Leopold Damrosch's annotations (G. Schirmer, 1880)Damrosch, LeopoldBar not up the heart too closely Piano-vocal score (G. Schirmer, 1876)Melodie für Franz Holograph sketch, 1869Mother dear, this cavalier Piano-vocal score (G. Schirmer, 1876)FinancialReceipts [3 items]ProgramsArion Society of New York, 1879Beethoven's grosses Musikfest, 1870Breslauer Orchester, 1871The Damrosch Concert, St. Joseph Gazette, 1883 May 26Scrapbooks"Nachlass" scrapbook, 1871-1879, n.d.Loose clippings from "Nachlass" scrapbook, 1876-1879, n.d.MiscellanyEnvelopes with notes on materials [copies of these are in corresponding folders]Lock of Leopold's hairObituary notice of Leopold Damrosch, 1885Papers of Frank Damrosch and other Damrosch FamilyA large part of the collection consists of the papers of Frank Damrosch and other Damrosch family members. The correspondence comprises several hundred letters, with some of the more important correspondents being Harold Bauer, Andrew Carnegie, Edward Elgar, Percy Grainger, Josef Hofmann, Gustav Mahler, and Sergei Rachmaninov. Many of the letters of Frank Damrosch to his family were destroyed in the 1887 fire, mentioned above; there are, however, a long series of letters to his wife Hetty from Europe in 1891. Any letters to or from correspondents who wrote to both Frank Damrosch and other family members are filed together with Frank's correspondence. Arrangement within subseries is as follows: Correspondence of Frank Damrosch"A-C" miscellaneousAuer, Leopold, 1927-29Barrymore, Ethel, n.d.Bauer, Harold, 1923-37Bispham, David, 1901, n.d.Bloch, Ernest, 1917.Budanzky, Artur, n.d.Boericke & Tafel see People's Choral UnionBonci, Alessandro, 1910Brandt, Marianne, 1889-1921Brewer, Horatio, 1905Brockway, Howard, 1912Bülow, Marie von, 1930Campanini, Italo, 1888Carl, William C., 1929Carnegie, Andrew, 1892-1912, n.d.Chadwick, George Whitefield, 1929Christians, Rudolph, 1914Cooper Union, 1893-1900"D-G" miscellaneousDalmores, Charles, 1918Damrosch, Clara, 1929Damrosch, Helene, 1893-1904Damrosch, Hetty Mosenthal, 1887, 1891, 1901Damrosch, Jeannette, n.d.Damrosch, "Uncle Juju," 1887Damrosch, Walter, 1936Dessoff, Margarete, 1929Dickinson, Clarence, 1917Dippel, A., 1901, n.d.[Dunham?], 1913Elgar, Edward, 1904-17, n.d.Elwes, Gervase and Winifred, 1914, n.d.Erskine, John, 1935-36Feurstel, Meta, 1888Finley, John H., 1907Fischer, Emil, 1908Fischer, Karl, 1901Flagler, Harry Harkness, 1906-42, n.d.Friedberg, Carl, 1929-1934Frohman, Daniel, 1933Gabrilowitsch, Ossip, 1908-29Ganz, Rudolph, 1929Gericke, Wilhelm, 1920-25Gifford, R. Swain, 1897Glazunov, Alexander, 1929Gluck, Alma, n.d.Goetschius, Percy, 1934-37Goodale, John M. see People's Choral UnionGoodson, Katharine see Hinton, Arthur and KatharineGordon, Jacques, 1929Gorgoza, Emilio de, 1899Grainger, Percy, 1914-38, n.d.Greene, Plunket, 1901-05Grenfell, Wilfred, n.d."H-M" miscellaneousHadley, Henry, n.d.Hadow, William Henry, n.d.Hampton, Wade, 1927Hanna, C. Augustus, n.d.Henderson, William James, 1933Henschel, George, 1905Hewitt, Abram S. see Cooper UnionHigginson, Henry L., 1896Hinton, Arthur and Katharine, 1908-09Hofmann, Josef, 1908-18Hoover, Herbert, 1921Hutcheson, Ernest, 1929-36Indy, Vincent d', 1921Joachim, Joseph, 1898, n.d.Johnson, Edward, 1935Juilliard School of Music, 1929Kennedy, Edith Wynne see Matthison, EdithKilpatrick, William D. see People's Choral UnionKipling, Rudyard, 1896Knott, Stuart, 1892, n.d.Lehmann, Lilli, 1881-26, n.d.Loeb, James, 1900-29MacDowell, Edward, 1896, n.d.Mackintosh, Sarah May see People's Choral UnionMail and Express, 1897-98Mahler, Gustav, n.d.Mannes, David and Clara, 1929Marteaux, Henri, n.d.Matthison, Edith Wynne Kennedy, 1917Melba, Nellie, n.d.Mendelssohn Glee Club, N.Y., 1904Mosenthal, Joseph, 1891Moszkowski, Moritz, n.d.Mottl, Felix, 1903-04Muck, Karl, 1908"N-R" miscellaneousNansen, Fridtjof, 1917New York City, 1889-1912Nikisch, Arthur, n.d.Nordica, Lillian, 1898, n.d.Parker, Horatio, 1913Peabody, George Foster, 1900People's Choral Union, 1895-1937People's Singing Classes see People's Choral UnionPhilipp, Isador, 1915Pierné, Gabriel, 1906-30Poincaré, Gustave, 1904Prince, Benj[amin] see Mendelssohn Glee ClubRachmaninoff, Sergei, n.d.Randolph, Harold, 1905, n.d.Riddle, George, 1901Röntgen, Julius, 1904-05Rooy, Anton Van, 1906"S-V" miscellaneousSafonoff, Wassily, 1905Schumann-Heink, Ernestine, 1920, n.d.Scotti, Antonio, 1929Seymour, Charles see Yale UniversitySgambati, Giovanni, n.d.Sousa, John Philip, 1907Spalding, Albert, n.d.Sternberger, Maurice, 1929Stock, Frederick A., 1929Stokes, Anson P. see Yale UniversityStokowski, Leopold, 1929Swift, Samuel see Mail and ExpressTalbot, Horace, 1927Tee Van, Helen Damrosch, 1929Ternina, Milka, 1910, n.d. (includes etching by A. Siebert, München Alterhof)Thomas, Blanche K., 1928Thompson, Randall, 1937-42Thun-Hohenstein, Marie, 1936-37Tiffany, Louis, 1900UnidentifiedUnited States, 1910-1934"W-Z" miscellaneousWanamaker, Thomas B., n.d.Warburg, Felix M. see Juilliard School of MusicWarburg, Nina, n.d.Warburg, Paul M. see Juilliard School of MusicWashington, Booker T., 1904Webb, Creighton, 1912Weir, J. Alden, 1912Wells, Carolyn, n.d.Weiner, Edward F., 1879-81Werle, Katherine see People's Choral UnionWiggin, Kate Douglas, 1909Wolf-Ferrari, Ermanno, 1908Wolle, J. Fred, 1900Wüllner, Franz, 1908Yale University, 1904-37Ysaÿe, Eugène, n.d.Correspondence of other Damrosch FamilyAdams, Frank S. see New York TimesAiken, Robert, 1919Aldrich, Markska, 1908Alten, Bella, 1905Barrère, Georges, n.d.Bornn, Hugo, 1937Carreño, Teresa, 1910Casals, Pablo, n.d.Chiang Kai-Shek, Madame, 1947Clark-Kerr, Archibald, 1947Damrosch, Frank Jr., 1912Damrosch, Helene, 1888, 1889, n.d.Damrosch, Hetty Mosenthal, n.d.Damrosch, Walter, 1929-34, n.d.Dethier, Edouard, 1937Engel, Carl, 1937Fremstad, Olive, 1910, n.d.Goodrich, Wallace, n.d.Heimburg, Marie von, n.d.Koussevitzky, Serge, 1942Krehbiel, Henry Edward, n.d.Leschetizky, Theodore, 1906Mannes, Clara Damrosch, 1888-89, n.d.Mason, Daniel Gregory, 1937Mitchell, Grant, n.d.New York Times, 1959Paderewski, Ignacy Jan, 1908Pendleton, Lillian Blauvelt, 1903Powell, John, 1915Pratt, Waldo Selden, 1937Reese, Gustave, 1939Reszke, Jean de, n.d.Rockefeller, John D. Jr., 1910-37Rodin, Auguste, 1901Scharwenka, Xaver, 1910Schuman, William, 1946Seymour, Elizabeth Damrosch, 1888-89, 1929Sheridan, Frank 1937Thompson, Oscar, 1937Unidentified, n.d.Westminster Choir College, 1942Williamson, John Finlay see Westminster Choir CollegeWritingsDamrosch, FrankHail orpheus... [poem]Some essentials in the teaching of musicDamrosch, WalterScarlet Letter [libretto] (Transatlantic, 1906)MusicDamrosch, FrankHer answer Piano-vocal score, holograph, 1887Right makes might (mixed voices, 4 parts) Chorus score (G. Schirmer, 1939)Right makes might (women's voices, 3 parts) Chorus score (G. Schirmer, 1939)Sea, mountain, and prairie (mixed voices, 4 parts) Chorus score (G. Schirmer, 1900)Song of New York (unison voices, optional second part) Chorus score (G. Schirmer, 1903)Guilmant, AlexTrope ou séquence en l'honneur de Ste. Cecile Piano-vocal score, holograph, n.d.FinancialReceipt, Museum of the City of New York (1 item)Legal PapersBirth certificate, Helene Damrosch, 1836Colorado National Guard certificate, 1885Passport: Damrosch, Frank, 1897Passport: Damrosch, Frank and Walter, 1891Passport: Damrosch, Helen, 1914Wedding announcement, Frank and Hetty Damrosch, 1888ProgramsChamber Orchestra of Boston, 1931Walter Damrosch, Golden Jubilee, 1935Denver Chorus Club, 1883Dinner given in honor of Signor Giulio Gatti-Casazza and Signor Arturo Toscanini, 1908Festival of the Trinity Choirs, 1867Fourth Symphony Concert for Young People, 1906Kneisel Quartet, 25th anniversary supper, 1885Kreisler's fiftieth birthday dinner, 1925Mendelssohn Glee Club, 1906Metropolitan Opera House, The man without a country, 1937New York Symphony, n.d.Oratorio Society of New York, 90th anniversary dinner, 1963People's Choral Union of New York, 1908, 1917, 1928 [Reunion dinner], 1929, 1941Seidl, Anton, memorial services, 1898Sembrich, Marcella, 25th anniversary dinner, 1909ScrapbooksFrank Damrosch scrapbook [fragments and loose clippings], 1904-1935, n.d.Obituary scrapbook [fragments and loose clippings], 1937Artwork by Frank DamroschCentral Park, n.d. (pencil sketch)City of Chicago, n.d. (ink sketch)Unidentified, 1874 (pencil sketch)PhotographsAdams, Maude, 1906Bohemians' New York Musician's Club Dinner for Frank Damrosch, 1929 [rolled]Burgstaller, Alois, n.d. (reproduction on postcard)Damrosch, Frank, California, 1895Damrosch, Frank, Leopold, and Walter, n.d. (reproduction)Damrosch, Frank (portraits), 1884, n.d. [6 items]Damrosch monument, Woodlawn Cemetery, n.d.Institute of Musical Art, n.d.Hofmann, Josef, reception by Frederick T. Steinway, 1925 [rolled]Jever - Einst und jetzt - Schloss und Markplatz mit Hof von Oldenburg, n.d. (reproduction on postcard)Launching of the Liberty Ship Leopold Damrosch, n.d. [3 items]Mozart, n.d. (reproduction on postcard)St. Cecilia dinner, n.d. (positive and negative)Seal Harbor, Maine, n.d. (reproduction on postcard)Visit to Andrew Carnegie in Scotland, 1891 [3 items]Subject FileCalling card, Damrosch, Frank, n.d.Damrosch Park, dedication, 1959-1969New York Symphony Society, n.d.Parnassus Club, 1940Peoples' Singing Classes, article in Harper's Weekly, 1892 Nov. 5Wagner and our mentors in music, article in The Illustrated American, 1895 Mar. 2Papers of the Institute of Musical ArtThe Baton, 1922-30Catalogs, 1906, 1927Dinners, 1926-30Programs, 1937, 1939MiscellanyReturn to the Table of Contents |
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