George Antheil Correspondence with Mary Louise Curtis Bok
Catalog Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/2010561030
General International Standard for Archival Description
Music Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C.
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Music Division, 2010
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
George Antheil Correspondence with Mary Louise Curtis Bok 1921-1940
Antheil, George, 1900-1959
Zimbalist, Mary Louise Curtis Bok, 1876-1970
Biographical History for: George Antheil Correspondence with Mary Louise Curtis Bok 1921-1940
Biographical Note Mary Louise Curtis Bok, founder of the Curtis Institute of Music, served as patron to George Antheil throughout much of his career. Antheil first made the acquaintance of Bok in 1921 through former theory and composition teacher Constantin von Sternberg. Despite her generous financial support, Bok was not, as she wrote in a letter to Antheil dated April 13, 1931, "in sympathy with the so-called modern trend," and generally disapproved of Antheil's music. Antheil dedicated a number of his musical works to Bok, including Night Piece, Six Little Pieces for String Quartet, and Symphonie in Fa.
Scope and Content Note The George Antheil Correspondence with Mary Louise Curtis Bok spans the period 1921-1940. The primary series consists chiefly of letters and telegrams between the composer and his patron. Correspondence between Bok and others regarding Antheil, namely Ezra Pound, Donald S. Friede, and Constantin von Sternberg, is arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Clippings and other enclosures are scattered among these materials. Additional items of note include a letter from Pound to Antheil and a telegram from Igor Stravinsky to the composer. "Writings" contains two substantive, titled works by Antheil. Antheilcized Notation, or, Music for everybody who can tell one from two and two from three provides an explanation of the composer's intriguing "See-Note" method of piano pedagogy. This subject is described at great length in the George and Böske Antheil Papers, as well. The second work, Many Thoughts to M.L.B. and a Key to My Music (To Be Remembered While Listening to It), is a reproduction of a lengthy piece enclosed in Antheil's February 1926 letter to Bok. "Miscellany" comprises assorted newspaper clippings, promotional materials, and photographs of the Transatlantic sets by Ludwig Sievert. These items are arranged alphabetically by subject.
series
Correspondence, 1921-1940
file
Antheil, George
Erskine, John
Erskine to Antheil, 1929-1932
Friede, Donald S.
Friede to Antheil and Bok, 1927
Graf, Herbert
Hammer, Mrs. William C.
Hammer to Antheil, Bok, and John Erskine1932,
Hanson, Martin H.
Hofmann, Josef
Konzertdirektion Leonard
Lucas, Clarence
Pound, Ezra
Pound to Bok and Antheil, 1923-1927
Reiner, Fritz
Robinson, Lennox
Robinson to Antheil, 1928
Sternberg, Constantin von
Stokowski, Leopold
Stokowski to Antheil and Bok, 1927-1929
Stravinsky, Igor
Stravinsky to Antheil, 1922, undated
Writings, undated
Antheilcized notation, or, Music for everybody who can tell one from two and two from three, undated
Many thoughts to M.L.B. and a Key to my music (to be remembered while listening to it), undated
Miscellany, 1927-1930
Clippings, 1927, undated
Programs, 1927
Transatlantic, undated