The following is a guest post from Senior Music Reference Specialist Dr. Paul Allen Sommerfeld.
The Music Division is pleased to announce the publication of a new research guide outlining the Library’s rich primary and secondary sources concerning the Damrosch family. Although based primarily in New York City, the Damrosch family left an enduring legacy on American musical life writ large.
This research guide brings together materials scattered amongst numerous collections that document the Damrosch family’s rich engagement in American musical life. These materials include music manuscripts, published and/or edited music, arrangements, correspondence, manuscript and published writings, newspaper clippings and periodical articles, concert programs, sound recordings and other biographical materials. Together, these materials paint a rich portrait of how the Damrosch family shaped music education in the United States as well as what music we listen to and how we consume it.
To facilitate research on specific members of the Damrosch family as well as to minimize confusion, descriptions of specific collections and other resources on each page are tailored to the individual on whom the page is focused.
Leopold Damrosch (1832–1885) emigrated with his wife, Helene von Heimburg (1835–1904), and children to New York City in 1871. There he founded the Oratorio Society of New York and the New York Symphony Society, and in 1884 became the chief conductor of the Metropolitan Opera. An opera singer, Helene continued to sing in the choral ensembles Leopold directed, and both fostered a love of music in their children, with singing and musical performance a key part of their education.
Although today Walter Damrosch is by far the most well-known member of the family through his conducting and educational efforts, his siblings remained devoted to music—albeit to varying degrees. He served as music director of the New York Symphony Society and, briefly, the New York Philharmonic. While leading the New York Symphony he conducted the U.S. premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony. Frank Damrosch spearheaded music education developments and reforms throughout the first four decades of the twentieth century, and founded what became The Juilliard School. Clara Damrosch, a gifted pianist, married the violinist David Mannes; together they founded the Mannes School, a prominent music conservatory also based in New York, now part of The New School.
We hope you enjoy diving in and learning more about the Damrosch family and the resources available at the Library of Congress. The Music Division offers over 50 research guides to the Music Division’s collections, all designed to help researchers understand and connect with our tremendous collections in music, theater, and dance. Stay tuned for more research guides coming soon.