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COLLECTION Identifier: MS Am 2592

Richard Aldrich papers

Overview

Correspondence, compositions, and other papers of the music critic Richard Aldrich (1863-1937), including collected photographs and programs. Also includes collection of letters from Aldrich to Otto Dresel (1826-1890).

Dates

  • Creation: 1842-1956
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1883-1938

Language of Materials

Collection materials are primarily in English. Also includes materials in French and German.

Extent

9.5 linear feet (9 boxes)

I. Correspondence. The Correspondence series is organized alphabetically by name. Correspondence within this collection includes: letters to Richard Aldrich from family, social, and professional contacts (many connected to the world of music) and a collection of letters from Aldrich to Otto Dresel, German concert pianist and emigrant to the United States. Aldrich's compositions include manuscript and typescript essays by Aldrich and other musicologists, and some clippings of Aldrich's reviews for the New York Times.

II. Compositions. The Compositions series is organized alphabetically by title. This series includes manuscript and typescript essays by Aldrich and other musicologists. Also includes some clippings of Aldrich's reviews for the New York Times.

III. Compositions by Others. The Compositions by Others Series in arranged alphabetically by author. This series includes essays and other writings by colleagues of Aldrich. A few items include letters sent with composition.

IV. Biographical Materials on Richard Aldrich. The Biographical series is arranged by genre. It includes a large number of Aldrich's appointment books and a small number of family photographs.

V. Work Files. This series includes research materials related to the publication of Aldrich's A catalogue of books relating to music in the library of Richard Aldrich as well as numerous concert programs, a pair of subject file notebooks, and a scrapbook of clippings containing book reviews and research material.

VI. Materials Collected by Richard Aldrich. This series is arranged by genre and includes Aldrich's collection of cabinet photographs of prominent musicians. Also includes brochures and printed music.

Biographical / Historical

Richard Aldrich (1863-1937), a graduate of the Harvard University class of 1885, was the chief music critic for the New York Times ca.1902-1924. Aldrich also authored several books on music criticism and was an avid collector who put together one of the finest private music libraries, now a part of the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library at Harvard University.

Arrangement

Arranged into the following series:

  1. I. Correspondence
  2. ___A. Correspondence of Richard Aldrich
  3. ___B. Letters to Otto Dresel, 1826-1890, and family
  4. II. Compositions
  5. III. Compositions by others
  6. IV. Biographical materials on Richard Aldrich
  7. V. Work flies
  8. VI. Materials collected by Richard Aldrich
  9. Aldrich subject files

Physical Location

b

Immediate Source of Acquisition

93M-0224. Transferred from the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, Harvard University; received: 1970.

Related Materials

See also: Richard Aldrich Collection of Musical Autographs (MS Mus 108). Houghton Library, Harvard University.

The Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library at Harvard includes Aldrich's scrapbooks (Isham Lib. 3132.336.42, 1-7) .

Separated Materials

The Aldrich subject files contained clippings from newspapers and music magazines, programs, paraphernalia, and from American, British, French, and German publications. They were kept in envelopes inscribed by Aldrich. The clippings could not be saved due to their physical deterioration, but the texts from the inscriptions on the envelopes were retained and are listed below.

Bibliography

Aldrich, Richard. A catalogue of books relating to music in the library of Richard Aldrich. New York, 1931. Aldrich, Richard. Concert life in New York, 1902-1923. New York, G. P. Putnam's sons, 1934. Aldrich, Richard. Musical discourse : from the New York Times. London ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1928.
  • Aldrich, Richard. A catalogue of books relating to music in the library of Richard Aldrich. New York, 1931.
  • Aldrich, Richard. Concert life in New York, 1902-1923. New York, G. P. Putnam's sons, 1934.
  • Aldrich, Richard. Musical discourse : from the New York Times. London ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1928.

Aldrich subject files

These files contained clippings from newspapers and music magazines, programs, paraphernalia, and from American, British, French, and German publications. They were kept in envelopes inscribed by Aldrich. The clippings could not be saved due to their physical deterioration, but the text from the inscriptions on the envelopes were retained and are listed below. Entries in this list are often supplemented with first names taken from the clippings. Identification of persons were taken from the clippings as well. Entries are Aldrich's wording.

Organized: A. General subjects; B. Persons; C. Organizations; and D. Terms (same as subjects?)

Abbreviations for Persons: comp = composer; cond = conductor; crit = critic; ed = educator; org = organist; pia = pianist; sin =singer; vn = violinist.

  1. A. General subjects
  2. ___ American musical history [native]
  3. ___ American singers
  4. ___ Ballet
  5. ___ Berlin
  6. ___ Brass bands
  7. ___ Carols
  8. ___ Catholic church music (Pius X reform)
  9. ___ Chicago musical organizations and history
  10. ___ Christmas carols
  11. ___ Church music, New York
  12. ___ Conductors and conducting
  13. ___ Contrabass
  14. ___ Copyright
  15. ___ Critics and criticism
  16. ___ English church music
  17. ___ English composers
  18. ___ English opera
  19. ___ "Faust" in music
  20. ___ Festivals
  21. ___ Folk music
  22. ___ France: music in
  23. ___ French minor composers
  24. ___ Futurist music
  25. ___ Futurist music
  26. ___ Hebrew music
  27. ___ Holland
  28. ___ Incidental music
  29. ___ Italy
  30. ___ Japanese music
  31. ___ Libraries
  32. ___ Lied
  33. ___ London: opera and concert
  34. ___ Manhattan opera house
  35. ___ Marches
  36. ___ Metropolitan opera house
  37. ___ "Modern" in music
  38. ___ Music schools
  39. ___ National hymns
  40. ___ National theatre
  41. ___ Neo Russian [composers]
  42. ___ Norse composers
  43. ___ Opera bouffe
  44. ___ Opera in English
  45. ___ Oratorio
  46. ___ Orchestra organization and history
  47. ___ Organ music
  48. ___ Parsifal
  49. ___ Pianoforte
  50. ___ Pitch
  51. ___ Plagiarism
  52. ___ Polish Music
  53. ___ Popular songs
  54. ___ Prodigies. Infant
  55. ___ Professors of music
  56. ___ Programme music
  57. ___ Programmer & programme making
  58. ___ Russian music
  59. ___ Singing
  60. ___ Songs
  61. ___ State subventions
  62. ___ Strauss Richard: Salome, Elektra
  63. ___ Strauss, Richard: Rosenkavalier, Ariadne
  64. ___ Symphony
  65. ___ Translations
  66. ___ Violins
  67. ___ [Women in music]
  68. ___ Zurich
  69. B. Persons
  70. ___ Auer, Leopold (vn)
  71. ___ Balakireff, Mily (comp)
  72. ___ Beach, Mrs. H.H.A. [Amy] (comp)
  73. ___ Beecham, Thomas (cond)
  74. ___ Berlioz, Hector (comp)
  75. ___ Bourgault-Ducoudray (comp)
  76. ___ Brahms, Johannes (comp)
  77. ___ Breton, Thomas (comp)
  78. ___ Bruch, Max (comp)
  79. ___ Bruneau, Alfred (comp, crit)
  80. ___ Bungert, August (comp)
  81. ___ Busoni, Ferruccio (comp)
  82. ___ Caetani, Roffredo (comp)
  83. ___ Calve, Emma (sin)
  84. ___ Caetani, Roffredo (comp)
  85. ___ Calve, Emma (sin)
  86. ___ Carpenter, John Alden (comp)
  87. ___ Caruso, Enrico (sin)
  88. ___ Casazza, Gatti (cond)
  89. ___ Catalani, Alfredo (comp)
  90. ___ Chabrier, Emmanuel (comp)
  91. ___ Chadwick, George Whitefield (comp)
  92. ___ Chaminade, Cecile (pia)
  93. ___ Charpentier, Gustav(comp)
  94. ___ Chopin, Frederic (comp)
  95. ___ Cilea, Francesco (comp)
  96. ___ Clapp, Philip Greeley(comp)
  97. ___ Coleridge Taylor, Samuel (comp)
  98. ___ Colonne, Edouard(cond)
  99. ___ Conelius, Peter (comp)
  100. ___ Converse, Frederick S. (comp)
  101. ___ D'Albert, Eugen (comp)
  102. ___ D'Erlanger, Baron
  103. ___ D'Indy, Vincent (comp)
  104. ___ Dalmores, Charles (sin)
  105. ___ De Reszke, Jean
  106. ___ Debussy, Claude (comp)
  107. ___ Delibes, Leo (comp)
  108. ___ Delius, Frederick
  109. ___ Denza, Luigi (comp)
  110. ___ Dohnanyi, Ernst
  111. ___ Donizetti, Gaetano (comp)
  112. ___ Dubois, Th (comp)
  113. ___ Dukas, Paul (comp)
  114. ___ Dukas, Paul Abraham (comp)
  115. ___ Dvorak, Anton (comp)
  116. ___ Eames, Emma (sin)
  117. ___ Elgar, Edward (comp)
  118. ___ Elgar, Edward (comp)
  119. ___ Elman, Mischa (vn)
  120. ___ Enescu, Georges (comp, vn, ed)
  121. ___ Enna, August (comp)
  122. ___ Fanelli, Ernest (comp)
  123. ___ Farrar, Geraldine (sin)
  124. ___ Faure, Gabriel (comp)
  125. ___ Ferrata, Giuseppe (comp)
  126. ___ Ferrero, Willy (prodigy cond)
  127. ___ Fevrier, Henry (comp)
  128. ___ Fiedler, Max (cond)
  129. ___ Fielitz, Alexander v. (cond)
  130. ___ Franchetti, Alberto (comp)
  131. ___ Franck, Cesar (comp)
  132. ___ Fremstad, Olive (sin)
  133. ___ Fried, Oskar (cond)
  134. ___ Friskin, James (comp)
  135. ___ Galli-Curci, Amelita (sin)
  136. ___ Garcia, Manuel (sin, ed)
  137. ___ Gatty, Ivor (comp)
  138. ___ Gay, Maria (singer)
  139. ___ Gericke, Wilhelm (cond)
  140. ___ Gilbert, Henry F. (comp)
  141. ___ Gilbert, William S. & Sullivan. Arthur (comps)
  142. ___ Gilibert, Claude Charles Marie (sin)
  143. ___ Giordano, Umberto (comp)
  144. ___ Glazounow, Alexander (comp)
  145. ___ Glier, Reynogol'd Moritsevich (comp)
  146. ___ Gluck, Christoph Willibald von (comp)
  147. ___ Goetz, Hermann (comp)
  148. ___ Goldmark, Carl (comp)
  149. ___ Goring, Thomas A. (comp)
  150. ___ Gottschalk, Louis Moreau (pia, comp)
  151. ___ Gounod, Charles (comp)
  152. ___ Grainger, Percy (sin, pia)
  153. ___ Grau, Maurice (impresario)
  154. ___ Grieg, Edvard (comp)
  155. ___ Griffes, Charles T. (comp)
  156. ___ Hadley, Henry K. (comp)
  157. ___ Hahn, Reynaldo (comp)
  158. ___ Hall, Marie (vn)
  159. ___ Hammerstein, Oscar (comp)
  160. ___ Handel, George Frederick (comp)
  161. ___ Harrold, Orville (sin)
  162. ___ Hausegger, Siegmund von
  163. ___ Haydn, Joseph (comp)
  164. ___ Heifetz, Jasha (vn)
  165. ___ Heller, Stephen (comp)
  166. ___ Henderson, William J. (comp)
  167. ___ Henschel, Georg (cond)
  168. ___ Herbert, Victor (comp)
  169. ___ Hess, Willy (vn)
  170. ___ Hofmann, Josef (pia)
  171. ___ Holbrooke, Joseph (comp, pia)
  172. ___ Holst, Gustav (comp)
  173. ___ Hopekirk, Helen (comp, pia)
  174. ___ Huber, Hans (comp)
  175. ___ Huberman, Bronislav (vn)
  176. ___ Humperdinck, Engelbert (comp)
  177. ___ Hure, Jean (comp)
  178. ___ Jacques-Dalcroze, E (ed)
  179. ___ Joachim, Joseph(vn)
  180. ___ Joseffy, Rafael(pia)
  181. ___ Juon, Paul (comp)
  182. ___ Kaun,Hugo (comp)
  183. ___ Kelley, Edgar Stillman (comp)
  184. ___ Kienzl, Wilhelm (comp)
  185. ___ Kjerulf, Halfdan (comp)
  186. ___ Kneisel, Franz (vn)
  187. ___ Kodaly, Zoltan (comp)
  188. ___ Korngold, Erich (comp)
  189. ___ Kreisler, Fritz (vn)
  190. ___ Kubelik, Jan (vn)
  191. ___ Kuhe, Wilhelm (comp, pia)
  192. ___ Lalo, Edouard (comp)
  193. ___ Lancella (comp?)
  194. ___ Laparra, Raoul (comp)
  195. ___ Lara, Isidore De (comp)
  196. ___ Lazari, Silvio (comp)
  197. ___ Lehmann, Lilli (sin)
  198. ___ Lehr, Franz
  199. ___ Lekeu, Guillaume (comp)
  200. ___ Leoncavallo, Ruggiero (comp)
  201. ___ Leroux, Xavier (comp)
  202. ___ Levi, Hermann (cond)
  203. ___ Liapounoff, Sergius (comp)
  204. ___ Lipsius, Marie (La Mara) (crit)
  205. ___ Liszt, Franz (comp)
  206. ___ Litolff, Henry (comp)
  207. ___ Loeffler, Charles Martin (comp)
  208. ___ MacDowell, Edward (comp)
  209. ___ Mahler, Gustav (comp)
  210. ___ Melba, Nellie (sin)
  211. ___ Mendelsohn-Bartholdy, Felix (comp)
  212. ___ Messager, Andre (comp)
  213. ___ Meyerbeer, Giacomo (comp)
  214. ___ Montemezzi, Italo (comp)
  215. ___ Moor, Emanuel (comp)
  216. ___ Mottl, Felix (cond)
  217. ___ Musorgsky, Modest Petrovich (comp)
  218. ___ Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (comp)
  219. ___ Muck, Karl (cond)
  220. ___ Naylor, Edward Woodall (comp)
  221. ___ Nevin, Arthur (comp)
  222. ___ Nicolai, Otto (comp)
  223. ___ Nikisch, Arthur (cond)
  224. ___ Noren, Heinrich (comp)
  225. ___ Nouguess, Jean (comp)
  226. ___ Novak, Vitezslav (comp)
  227. ___ Offenbach, Jacques (comp)
  228. ___ Ornstein, Leo (comp)
  229. ___ Pachmann, Vladimir de (pia)
  230. ___ Paderewski, Ignace Jan (comp, pia)
  231. ___ Paine, John Knowles (comp)
  232. ___ Parker, Horatio W. (comp)
  233. ___ Parry, Hubert (comp)
  234. ___ Patti, Adelina (sin)
  235. ___ Paur, Emil (cond, pia)
  236. ___ Perabo, Ernst (pia, comp, ed)
  237. ___ Perosi, Lorenzo (comp)
  238. ___ Pfitzner, Hans (comp)
  239. ___ Philipp, Isidor (pia)
  240. ___ Pierne, Gabriel (comp)
  241. ___ Pizzetti, Ildebrando (comp)
  242. ___ Pizzi, Emilio (comp)
  243. ___ Poldini, Edward (comp)
  244. ___ Ponchielli, Amilcare (comp)
  245. ___ Powell, John (comp)
  246. ___ Puccini, Giacomo (comp)
  247. ___ Purcell, Henry (comp)
  248. ___ Rachmaninoff, Serge (comp)
  249. ___ Rameau, Jean-Philippe (comp)
  250. ___ Randegger, Alberto (sin, ed)
  251. ___ Ravel, Maurice (comp)
  252. ___ Reger, Max (comp)
  253. ___ Renaud, Maurice (sin)
  254. ___ Richter, Hans (cond)
  255. ___ Rimsky-Korsakoff, Nicolas (comp)
  256. ___ Ropartz, J. Guy (comp)
  257. ___ Rosenthal, Moriz (pia)
  258. ___ Rossini, Giacomo (comp)
  259. ___ Rubinstein, Anton (pia)
  260. ___ Rübner, Cornelius (comp)
  261. ___ Saint-Saëns, Camille (comp)
  262. ___ Santley, Charles (sin)
  263. ___ Sarasate, Pablo de (vn, comp)
  264. ___ Sauer, Emil (pia)
  265. ___ Scheel, Fritz (cond)
  266. ___ Schelling, Ernest (pia, comp)
  267. ___ Schmitt, Florent (comp)
  268. ___ Schoenberg, Arnold (comp)
  269. ___ Schubert, Franz (comp)
  270. ___ Schumann, Georg (comp)
  271. ___ Schumann, Robert (comp)
  272. ___ Schumann-Heink, Ernestine (sin)
  273. ___ Scriabin, M. Alexander (comp)
  274. ___ Seidl, Anton (cond)
  275. ___ Sembrich, Marcella (sin)
  276. ___ Sgambati, Giovanni (comp)
  277. ___ Sibelus, Jean (comp)
  278. ___ Sinding, Christian (comp)
  279. ___ Sinigaglia, Leone (comp)
  280. ___ Sjoegren, Emil (sin)
  281. ___ Smetana, Bedrich (comp)
  282. ___ Smith, David Stanley (comp)
  283. ___ Smyth, Ethel (comp)
  284. ___ Sommer, Hans (comp)
  285. ___ Spontini, Gaspare (comp)
  286. ___ Stanford, Charles Villiers (comp)
  287. ___ Stenhammar, Vilhelm (comp)
  288. ___ Stock, Frederick A. (comp)
  289. ___ Stradal, August (comp)
  290. ___ Strauss, Richard (comp)
  291. ___ Stravinsky, Igor (comp)
  292. ___ Strube, Gustav (comp)
  293. ___ Stucken, Frank van der (cond)
  294. ___ Suk, Josef (vn)
  295. ___ Sullivan, Arthur (comp)
  296. ___ Taneieff, Serge (comp)
  297. ___ Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilitsch (comp)
  298. ___ Tetrazzini, Luisa (sin)
  299. ___ Thomas, Ambroise (comp)
  300. ___ Thomas, Theodore (cond)
  301. ___ Tinel, Edgar (comp, pia)
  302. ___ Toch, Ernest (comp)
  303. ___ Toscanini, Arturo (cond)
  304. ___ Vecsey, Franz v. (vn)
  305. ___ Verdi, Giuseppe (comp)
  306. ___ Volbach, Fritz (comp)
  307. ___ Wagner, Richard (comp)
  308. ___ Wagner, Siegfried (comp)
  309. ___ Weber, Carl Maria von (comp)
  310. ___ Weingartner, Felix (comp, cond)
  311. ___ White, Richard Grant (crit)
  312. ___ Whitney, Myron (sin, author)
  313. ___ Wilhelmj, August (vn)
  314. ___ Williams, Vaughan (comp)
  315. ___ Witkowsky, G.M. (comp)
  316. ___ Wolf, Hugo (comp)
  317. ___ Wolf-Ferrari, Ermanno (comp)
  318. ___ Wolfrum, Philipp (comp)
  319. ___ Wolstenholme, William (comp, org)
  320. ___ Wood, Henry Joseph (cond, org)
  321. ___ Woyrsch, Felix (comp)
  322. ___ Ysaye, Eugene (vn)
  323. ___ Zandonai, Riccardo (comp)
  324. C. Organizations
  325. ___ Chicago Orchestra
  326. ___ Chicago Symphony
  327. ___ Cincinnati Festival and Orchestra
  328. ___ Handel and Haydn Society
  329. ___ Metropolitan Opera
  330. ___ Musical Protective Union
  331. ___ Opera Comique, Paris
  332. ___ Oxford [University] Press
  333. ___ Paris Conservatoire
  334. ___ Philadelphia Orchestra
  335. ___ Philharmonic, Berlin
  336. ___ Philharmonic Society, London
  337. ___ Philharmonic Society, New York
  338. ___ Pittsburg Orchestra
  339. ___ Prinzregenten Theater
  340. ___ Ricordi [Publishing house]
  341. ___ Symphonic Society, New York
  342. ___ Worcester, Mass, Festival
  343. D. Terms
  344. ___ The times; clippings on music
  345. ___Women in music
  346. ___"Faust" in music

Processing Information

Processed by: Alexis Dinniman and Barbara Wolff, with the assistance of Jennifer Lyons.

Title
Aldrich, Richard, 1863-1937. Richard Aldrich papers, 1842-1956: Guide.
Author
Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou01976

Repository Details

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