Nikolay Karlovich Medtner Papers
Catalog Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/2011570510
General International Standard for Archival Description
Music Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C.
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Music Division, 2011
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Nikolay Karlovich Medtner Papers 1826-1954 (bulk 1914-1954)
Medtner, Nikolay Karlovich, 1880-1951
Biographical History for: Nikolay Karlovich Medtner Papers 1826-1954 (bulk 1914-1954)
Biographical Note Date Event 1872 Ėmiliĭ Karlovich Metner (Nikolay Medtner's brother) born 1877 Anna Mikhaĭlovna Bratenskaya Medtner (Nikolay Medtner's wife) born 1880, Jan. 5 Nikolay Karlovich Medtner born, Moscow, Russia 1890 Entered Moscow Conservatory 1897 Completed Acht Stimmungsbilder, op. 1 (published 1903) 1900 Graduated from Moscow Conservatory with small gold medal 1902 Ėmiliĭ and Anna married 1903 Composed Piano Sonata no. 1, F minor, op. 5 (published 1904) 1909 Appointed Professor at Moscow Conservatory 1911 Composed Piano Sonata in E minor, op. 25, no. 2: Night wind (published 1912) 1918 Composed Piano Concerto no. 1, C minor, op. 33 (published 1921) 1919, June 21 Nikolay married Anna Medtner (formerly wife of Ėmiliĭ Karlovich Metner) 1921 Moved to Berlin 1922 Composed Sonata in A minor, op. 38, no. 1: Reminiscenza 1924 Moved to Paris 1927 Composed Piano Concerto no. 2, C minor, op. 50 (published 1928) 1935 Publication of Nikolay Medtner's treatise Muza i Moda, in Russian (English translation, 1951) Moved to London 1936 Ėmiliĭ Karlovich Metner died 1943 Composed Piano Concerto no. 3, E major, op. 60: Ballade (published 1951) 1946 Met Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur (the last Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore); the Maharaja financed the recording of a large number of Medtner's works 1948 Composed Piano Quintet in C major, op. posth. (published 1955) 1949 Medtner Society founded by Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur 1951, Nov. 13 Died at Golders Green, London 1965 Anna Medtner died
Scope and Content Note The Nikolay Karlovich Medtner Papers contain letters, programs, clippings, photographs, scores, books, realia, and other items related to Medtner's family life and career as a concert pianist. These materials date from 1826-1954, with the majority dating from 1914-1954. The Correspondence series takes up nearly half the collection and consists of family and general correspondence written between 1914 and 1954, containing over 1,900 letters in Russian, German, English, and French. Family correspondence (1914-1936) consists of approximately 500 letters by Nikolay and/or wife Anna to Ėmiliĭ Karlovich Metner with over 400 letters in reply. The general correspondence (1921-1954) contains significant letters and transcripts to and from Sergei and Nataliia Rachmaninoff, Leon and Olga Conus, Sofiia Aleksandrovna Satina, Konstantin Klimov, Madeleine Laliberté (Mrs. Albert Laliberté), Bernard and Cecile Pinsonneault, Abbé J.G. Turcotte, and smaller holdings of letters by other musicians and admirers. This series also contains condolence letters sent to Anna upon Nikolay’s death and a large quantity of unidentified letters. The Programs series largely documents concerts given by Medtner in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Russia between 1907 and 1946. There are also programs featuring Medtner’s works, presumably collected by the family. The Articles series (1910-1952) consists chiefly of newspaper clippings (often collected in scrapbooks, transcribed, and occasionally translated) and several longer articles written about Medtner. In addition, there is a brief article written by Medtner on the topic of musical inspiration. Aside from one photograph of Medtner himself, the Photography series is confined mostly to inscribed photographs of various musicians presented to Medtner, including two by Rachmaninoff. The Miscellany series includes analytical notes, advertisements, and reviews pertaining to the Medtner Society's recordings; catalogues from Ėmiliĭ's publishing house Musaget' dating from 1912-1913; a 1927 address (with English translation) signed by 111 Moscow musicians and given to Medtner upon his visit to Russia; a diploma (1928) from the Royal Academy of Music; and a humorous scroll dated 1936. A bronze bust of Medtner executed by Karen Vogel and a posthumous plaster cast of Medtner's hands are included in this collection. Among the books are poetic works by Pushkin and Tiutchev, with Medtner's annotations, Medtner's personal copy of Muza i moda, and a copy of Ėmiliĭ's Modernizm’ i Muzika. The Music series consists of printed scores and three manuscripts in Medtner's hand: Russian Round Dance, op. 58, no. 1; a 1896 work entitled Prelude, piano, E♭ minor, dedicated to Anna (possibly reworked as Op. 14/1); and an early vocal piece entitled Romance, also dedicated to Anna (possibly reworked as Op. 3/1). Among the printed music holdings is a bound volume containing musical settings to Pushkin's texts by various composers compiled by V.A. Kiselev as well as a printed score to Arthur Lourié’s Formes en l’air, with a written dedication to Medtner initialed by Rachmaninoff. A few explanatory words regarding transliteration of the composer's surname: although the correct transliteration of the Russian-born composer's surname would be more precisely rendered according to the Library of Congress's transliteration system as "Metner," the composer himself favored the Germanic spelling of his name, "Medtner," in Roman script; the latter form, through which the composer gained renown in the West, has therefore been retained within this document. Conversely, the Library of Congress transliteration system has been adhered to in transliterating the name of the composer's brother, Ėmiliĭ Metner (who neither cultivated a career in the West, nor adopted the Germanic spelling of his surname). Alternate spellings for Russian names and titles that appear in this finding aid--including those defined by convention as well as standardized transliteration--have been included in an appendix to facilitate searching. A modified Library of Congress transliteration system, excluding ligatures and accent marks, has been adopted in this finding aid.
series
Correspondence, 1914-1954
Letters by Nikolay and/or Anna Medtner and Ėmiliĭ Karlovich Metner (Nikolay's brother) to one another, condolence notes/letters written by others to Anna Medtner at the time of Nikolay's death in 1951, and correspondence by friends and colleagues of Nikolay Medtner.
subseries
Medtner Family, 1914-1951
file
Ėmiliĭ to Nikolay and Anna, 1917-1936
Anna to Ėmiliĭ, 1914
Anna and Nikolay to Ėmiliĭ, 1914-1936, undated
Condolence letters/notes to Anna Medtner, 1951, undated
General, 1921-1954
Alexander, Arthur, 1928-1951, undated
Armin, George, 1926-1938, undated
Arnson, Lyuta, 1928-1930
"A" miscellaneous, 1926-1949
Bax, Arnold, undated
Bentner, Marie Auguste, 1932-1945
Bernhard, Isolda, 1928
Binstead, S.T. and Ann, 1947-1951
Bloch, J. H., 1928-1933
Blom, Eric, 1948-1952
Braithware, Sam Hartley, 1930-1944
Braunstein, Albert, 1951
Bühler, Lenox, 1945-1951
"B" miscellaneous, 1928-1952
Catterall, Yvonne and Hugh, 1950-1951 and undated
Chamberland, Albert, 1927-1951
Chekhova, Vseniya, 1931-1934
Cloutier, Leo, 1947-1952
Conus, Leon and Olga, 1936-1945
Conus, Olga, 1946-1952 and undated
Conus, Sergei, 1947-1951
Conus, Tatiana, 1931-1951
"C" miscellaneous, 1921-1943
Décarie, Annette, 1927-1934
Decaux, Abel, 1927-1928
De Jersey, Everal, 1928
Denissoff, J., dobrowen 1933
Dhami, Sadhu Singh, 1944-1948
Dobrowen, Issay, 1948-1951 and undated
Dobuzhinsky, Mstislav, 1948-1951 and undated
Dupré, Marcel, 1926-1951
"D" miscellaneous, 1928-1950
"E" miscellaneous, 1939
Fortier, Florestine, 1930-1932
"F" miscellaneous, 1928-1953 and undated
Gedike, Aleksandr Fedorovich, 1926
Gélinas, Rosaire, 1936
Godowsky, Leopold, 1926
"G" miscellaneous, 1928-1934
Harrison, Eric, 1944
Hervé, Henriette, 1922
Hill, Valentina, 1951
Holt, Richard, 1948-1951
"H" miscellaneous, 1927-1949
Iles, Edna, 1954
Jacobson, Myron, 1931 and undated
Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar (Maharaja of Mysore), 1946-1951
"J" miscellaneous, 1937
Kedroff, Nikolai, 1938-1952 and undated
Klimov, Konstantin, 1932-1939 and undated
Klimov, Konstantin, 1940-1953
Knatchbule, Dora, 1942-1944 and undated
"K" miscellaneous, 1923-1948 and undated
Laliberté, Madeleine, 1950-1951
Langlet, Nina Nikolaevna, 1948-1950
Legge, Walter see Box 5, Schwarzkopf, Elizabeth
"L" miscellaneous, 1928-1952
Marie-Stéphanie, Sœur, 1928-1951
Marx, Joseph, 1949-1951
Menzel, Richard, 1948
Mettsel, Vladimir, 1943-1947
Moiseiwitsch, Benno, 1943-1951
Mutch, Isabel, 1934-1936 and undated
"M" miscellaneous, 1927-1948 and undated
Newman, Ernest, 1932
"N" miscellaneous, 1932 and undated
Olenina-d'Alʹgeĭm, M. A. (Mariia Alekseevna), undated
Orlov, G., 1929-1951
Paĭchadze, Gavril Gregorevich, 1951
Patience, Ernest, 1923 and undated
Pinsonneault, Bernard, 1949-1952
Pinsonneault, Cécile, 1950-1951
"P" miscellaneous, 1928-1950
Rachmaninoff, Natalie, 1922-1949 and undated
Rachmaninoff, Sergei, 1912, 1921-1939 and undated
Includes transcriptions of letters, undated letters, notes.
Randle, Maud, undated
Ritchie, Margaret, 1948-1952
"R" miscellaneous, 1944-1951
Sabaniev, Alyota, 1937-1950 and undated
Sabline, E., 1942-1944
Samofnikova, Natasha, 1924-1928
Satin, Vladimir Alexandrovich, 1921 and undated
Satina, Sofiia Aleksandrovna, 1945-1953 and undated
Schwarzkopf, Elizabeth, 1951
Segovia, Andrés, 1923 and undated
Smith, Cyril, 1945-1948
Sorabji, Kaikhosru Shapurji, 1946-1952
Stegmann, G. F., 1949
Stone, Christopher, 1948-1951 and undated
Swan, Alfred J., 1948
"S" miscellaneous, 1928-1952
Thompson, J. Antonio, 1933-1934
Turcotte, J. G., abbé, 1929-1951
"T" miscellaneous, 1927-1952
"V" miscellaneous, 1928-1934
Wolfman, J., 1931-1934
Wolkonsky, Irina Rachmaninoff, 1930-1952
Wood, Henry J., 1944
Wüllner, Ludwig, 1927-1928
"W" miscellaneous, 1928-1950 and undated
Yasser, Joseph, 1927-1952
Zernova, Militsa, 1944-1948
Zhorzh, Sasha (?), 1927-1937 and undated
"X - Z" miscellaneous, 1952 and undated
"Constance" (unidentified surname), 1952
"Lelya (Lelia)" (unidentified surname), undated
Unidentifed (miscellaneous correspondence), 1912-1952 and undated
Unidentified (multiple signatures), 1946 and undated
Unidentified (miscellaneous - various addresses), 1921 and undated
Unidentified (notes by Nikolai or Anna Medtner) 1954 and undated
Unidentified (letters written in a similar hand), 1923 and undated
Unidentified (with attributive annotations by Anna Medtner?), 1924-1951 and undated
Programs, 1907-1953
Programs for concerts given by Medtner in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Russia, as well as programs featuring performances of Medtner's works by others.
Concerts given by Medtner, 1907-1946 and undated
1907-1946 and undated
March 13, 1930 program autographed by Sir Dan Godfrey, conductor.
Concerts of Medtner's works given by other musicians, 1920-1953 and undated
1920-1953 and undated
Articles, 1910-1952
Newspaper clippings (often collected in scrapbooks, transcribed, and occasionally translated) and several longer articles written about Medtner. Includes a brief article written by Medtner on musical inspiration.
Alexander, Arthur. "Nicolas Medtner: an appreciation," Tempo, no. 22 (Winter 1951-1952)
Armin, George, editor. [Several articles featuring Medtner] Der Stimmwart, 2-4, 6. Jahrgang, (1926-1930)
Clippings, 1910-1950 and undated
Clippings. Unbound book of transcripts, 1924-1940 and undated
Clippings album, 1932
Clippings. Preservation photocopies, 1929-1946
Gestlé, Henry S. "The Piano music of Nicolai Medtner," Musical Quarterly, 10, no. 4 (October 1924)
Il'in, Ivan. [Unidentified article], [Unidentified journal], no. 7 (1929)
Medtner, Nikolai. "Opinions: On Inspiration," The Chesterian, 10, no. 73 (September-October 1928)
Miller, Sidney. "Medtner's Piano Music," The Musical Times, 82, nos. 1184-1185 (October-November 1941)
Riesemann, Oskar von. "Nikolai Medtner," The Sackbut, (May 1925)
Riesemann, Oskar von. "Nikolai Medtner," Rheinische Musik- und Theater Zeitung, XXV. Jahrgang, nr. 41-42, November 22, 1924
Swan, Alfred J. "Medtner," The Musical Times, 955, no. 63 (September 1, 1922)
Swan, Alfred J. "Medtner and the Music of our Time," Music and Letters, January 1927
Swan, Alfred J. "Nicholas Medtner," The Chesterian, 10, no. 75 (December 1928)
Swan, Alfred J. [Unidentified article] [Unidentified journal], (1945)
Swan, Alfred J. and Katherine. "Rachmaninoff: Personal Reminiscences - Part I," Musical Quarterly, 30, no. 1 (January 1944)
[Unidentified]. [Unidentified article], Cahiers Periodiques, (1949)
Photographs, 1922-1951, undated
Chiefly photographs of various musicians inscribed to Nikolay Medtner. Included are two inscribed photographs of Rachmaninoff and a photograph of Medtner.
Armin, George, undated
Armin, George and Ludwig Wüllner, July 26, 1934
Decaux, Abel, undated
Dobrowen, Issay, June 8, 1947
Dupré, Marcel, October 7, 1935
Dusseau, Jeanne, undated
Fortier, Florestine, December 1929
Fortier, Florestine and Leopold, December 1929
Katuar, G. (Georgiĭ), undated
Laliberté, Alfred, 1927, 1931 and undated
Makushina, Tatiana, 1929
Marx, Joseph, 1951
Medtner, Nikolay, 1922
Rachmaninoff, Sergei, 1925
Rachmaninoff, Sergei, 1930
Santagano, Elisabeth, 1926
Turcotte, J. G., abbé, undated
Wüllner, Ludwig, July 1934
Zimmermann, Wilhelm, undated
Miscellany, 1912-1951, undated
Analytical notes, advertisements, and reviews pertaining to the Medtner Society's issued recordings; catalogues of 1912-1913 of Ėmiliĭ Metner's publishing house Musaget'; a 1927 address (with English translation) signed by 111 Moscow musicians given to Medtner upon his visit to Russia; a diploma (dated 1928) from the Royal Academy of Music on the occasion of Medtner's election as an honorary member; and a humorous banner given to Medtner from Russian friends soon after his arrival in London in 1936. A bronze bust of Medtner executed by Czech sculptor Karen Vogel and a posthumous plaster cast of Medtner's hands are also included in this collection.
Address presented to Nikolay Medtner upon his return to Russia, 1927
The original address was signed by 111 musicians.
Includes the original copy with signatures and a typed translation.
Humorous scroll, July 11, 1936
Medtner Society publications, 1947-1949
Musaget' catalogues, 1912-1913
Royal Academy of Music. Diploma, June 28, 1928
Plaster cast of Medtner's hands, ca. November 1951
Bronze bust of Medtner executed by Czech sculptor, Karen Vogel, undated
Books, 1826-1948
Eleven items, including two volumes of Pushkin's poems, single volumes of Lermontov and Tiutchev, all with Medtner's marginalia and musical sketches, as well as Medtner's personal copy of Muza i moda (Paris: Navarre, 1935) with autograph emendations, and Ėmiliĭ Karlovich Metner's Modernizm i muzyka (Moskva: Musaget', 1912).
Drinker, Henry Sandwith. English texts for the songs of Nicholas Medtner. n.p., 1946.
Gebhard, Friedrich Albert. Dramatische Spiele. Queblinburg and Leipzig: G. Basse, 1826.
Holt, Richard. Medtner and his music: a tribute to a great Russian composer. London: Rimington, Van Wyck Ltd., 1948
IAkovlev, Vasiliĭ. [Nikolaĭ̆ Karlovich Metner]. Moscow: [Musik Sektion, Staats verlag], 1927.
Lermontov, Mikhail IUrʹevich. Lirika. n.p., 1921.
Medtner, Nikolay Karlovich. Muza i moda. Paris: Navarre, 1935.
Metner, Ėmiliĭ Karlovich. Modernizm i muzyka. Moskva: Musageť, 1912.
Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeevich. [Unidentified collection of poems]. n.p., 1896.
Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeevich. [Unidentified collection of poems], volume 2. n.p., 1921.
Tiutchev, F. I. (Fedor Ivanovich). Stikhotvorenīi︠a︡. [Moskva: n.p., 1899.
Urania : Tiutchevskiĭ al'manakh, 1803-1928 . Leningrad: Priboĭ, 1928.
Music, 1896-circa 1940
Three holograph scores and two printed music items. The holographs include: an undated score titled Romance, the first fair copy with composer's emendations for the Russian round dance, op. 58, for two pianos, and the Prelude, piano, E♭ minor, dated 1896. Printed music includes a printed score of Formes en l'air by Arthur Lourié (Paris: A. Gutheil, 1923), inscribed by Rachmaninoff, and a bound compilation by Kiselev of musical settings (by various Russian composers) to Pushkin's texts.
Kiselev, V. A. (Vasiliĭ Aleksandrovich), comp. Pushkin v romansakh i pesniakh ego sovremennikov. Moskva: Muzyka, 1936.
Lourié, Arthur. Formes en l'air. Paris: A. Gutheil, 1923.
Medtner, Nikolay Karlovich. Prelude, piano, E♭ minor.
Holograph manuscript score, in ink, 2 p., 35 cm.
holograph manuscript score, in ink, 2 p., 35 cm.
Medtner, Nikolay Karlovich. Romance.
Holograph manuscript score, in ink, 1 p., 35 cm.
holograph manuscript score, in ink, 1 p., 35 cm.
Medtner, Nikolay Karlovich. Russkiĭ khorovod = Russian round dance, op. 58, no. 1, for two pianos.
Holograph manuscript score, in ink, 27 p., 34 cm.
holograph manuscript score, in ink, 27 p., 34 cm.