Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Solomon Pimsleur Papers, 1918-1970
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Pimsleur, Solomon
- Title
- Solomon Pimsleur Papers
- Dates
- 1918-1970 (inclusive)19181970
- Quantity
- 7 containers., (8 linear feet of shelf space.), (4100 items.)
- Collection Number
- Cage 478
- Summary
- Correspondence and other papers, musical sketches and scores, recordings and microfilms, also paintings and drawings.
- Repository
-
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open for research use.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Solomon Pimsleur was born in Paris, France, in 1900 and emigrated to the United States with his parents at an early age. Completing both his undergraduate and graduate studies at Columbia University he was the recipient of a Julliard Fellowship in 1926 and studied at the Summer Institute of the Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria, in 1929. An honorary D. Mus. was awarded to him by the Boguslawski College of Music in Chicago in 1940. He died in New York City in 1962. With over 120 compositions to his credit, Pimsleur can be considered a prolific composer. His work aroused some early attention, but he gained little recognition later in his life. Nor did he ever succeed in securing an academic position. A performance of his Symphonic Ballade by the Philharmonic Society of New York at Lewisohn Stadium in 1933 marked the sole performance of any of his works by an established professional ensemble. Subsequent performances of his compositions were in large part due to his own persistent efforts. While his compositions drew praise for the craftsmanship they exhibited, Pimsleur's self-declared conservative style put his music outside the mainstream of contemporary development. A posthumous concert of his music was arranged by his wife Meira in 1965 and was presented in Carnegie Recital Hall, New York City.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Most of the correspondence is of a personal nature, primarily family material. Pimsleur's widow continued to add to it after her husband's death in 1962. The Press Book, included in the papers, contains clippings pertaining to Pimsleur's career as well as a few letters of interest, notably from Vincent d'Indy, Rubin Goldmark, Dmitri Mitropoulos and Willem Mengelberg. The musical sketches provide a mass of fragments and scraps of paper, with little apparent order or identification. There are virtually no complete scores in the second series, but a number of scores are included on microfilm in series III. Series IV encompasses a set of paintings and drawings by an unknown hand.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
[Item Description]. Cage 478, Solomon Pimsleur Papers . Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
As acquired, the collection had no inherent order. The current arrangement was imposed by the processor. The collection is arranged in four series: Correspondence and Papers, Sketches and Scores, Tapes and Microfilms, and Oversize.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Series 1: Correspondence and Papers, 1918-1970Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
Correspondence: |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1-2 | 150 |
1918-1939 |
| 1 | 3-4 | 150 |
1940-1949 |
| 1 | 5-6 | 150 |
1950-1959 |
| 1 | 7 | 70 |
1960-1970 |
| 1 | 8-9 | 150 |
undated |
Papers: |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 10 | 30 |
1918-1939 |
| 1 | 11 | 40 |
1940-1949 |
| 1 | 12-14 | 200 |
1950-1959 |
| 2 | 15 | 50 |
1960-1970 |
| 2 | 16 | College papers 50
|
undated |
| 2 | 17 | Papers 100
|
undated |
| 2 | 18 | Press Book 1
|
1920-1962 |
| 2 | 19 | Programs and
Reviews 70
|
1914-1962 |
| 2 | 20 | Posthumous concert 10
|
1965 |
| 2 | 21 | Catalogue of original
compositions 2
|
1974 |
| 2 | 22 | Catalogue of works at Columbia
University 1
|
1974-1975 |
| 2 | 23 | Poetry 30
|
1918-1928 |
| 2 | 24 | Poetry sketches 50
|
1960-1961 |
| 2 | 25-26 | Poetry sketches 150
|
undated |
| 2 | 27 | Photographs 30
|
1924; undated |
Series 2: Sketches and ScoresReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | |
|---|---|---|
Sketches: |
||
| Box | Folder | |
| 3 | 28 | Op. 2, op. 8 2
|
| 3 | 29 | Op. 3 10
|
| 3 | 30 | Op. 4, 28, 41, 53-56,
58 10
|
| 3 | 31 | Op. 4#3, 14#5, 36#1, 7 and
10 10
|
| 3 | 32 | Op. 5, 8, 9, 50 50
|
| 3 | 33 | Op. 6 20
|
| 3 | 34 | Op. 12, op. 13 5
|
| 3 | 35 | Op. 14, op. 36 30
|
| 3 | 36 | Op. 16 50
|
| 3 | 37 | Op. 19 50
|
| 3 | 38 | Op. 21 30
|
| 3 | 39 | Op. 22 50
|
| 3 | 40 | Op. 23 20
|
| 3 | 41 | Op. 24 30
|
| 3 | 42 | Op. 25 (earlier op.
22) 50
|
| 3 | 43-44 | Op. 30 40
|
| 3 | 45 | Op. 30 and 35 30
|
| 3 | 46 | Op. 31 30
|
| 3 | 47 | Op. 33 50
|
| 3 | 48 | Op. 35 50
|
| 3 | 49-50 | Op. 40 50
|
| 3 | 51 | Op. 42 50
|
| 4 | 52 | Op. 44 50
|
| 4 | 53-54 | Op. 45 100
|
| 4 | 55-56 | Op. 46 100
|
| 4 | 57-58 | Op. 48 and op. 52 100
|
| 4 | 59 | Op. 49 and op. 52 30
|
| 4 | 60-61 | Op. 50 150
|
| 4 | 62 | Op. 51 50
|
| 4 | 63 | Op. 59 30
|
| 4 | 64-65 | Op. 60 100
|
| 4 | 66-67 | Op. 61, #1 and #2 60
|
| 4 | 68 | Op. 62 30
|
| 4 | 69 | Op. 63, 66 and 71 10
|
| 4 | 70 | Op. 64 50
|
| 4 | 71 | Op. 66 50
|
| 4 | 72 | Op. 67 50
|
| 4 | 73 | Op. 68 50
|
| 4 | 74 | Op. 69 50
|
| 4 | 75-77 | Op. 70 100
|
| 5 | 78-79 | Op. 74 and 75 35
|
| 5 | 80 | Op. 77, 81-83, 86 and
88 5
|
| 5 | 81 | Op. 90, 95, 102,
106 5
|
| 5 | 82-88 |
Anne Frank (opera) 250
|
| 5 | 89 | Revisions of early piano
sonatas 30
|
| 5 | 90 | Songs: Sonnets of
Shakespeare 10
|
| 5 | 91-93 | Unidentified
Sketches 200
|
| 6 | 94-99 | Unidentified
Sketches 200
|
Scores: |
||
| Box | Folder | |
| 6 | 100 | Op. 24, Neo-classic Overture
(parts) 20
|
| 6 | 101 | Op. 32, Tone-poem
(parts) 20
|
| 6 | 102 | Photocopies and
fragments 10
|
| 6 | 103 | Meditative Nocturne,
photocopy 1
|
| 6 | 104 | Op. 75,
transparencies 1
|
| 6 | 105 | Piano Duet, MS
fragment 1
|
| 6 | 106 | Printed scores 6
|
Series 3: Tapes and Microfilms, 1956-1965Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
Tapes (reel-to-reel): |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 6 | 107 | Op. 1 and op. 7 |
|
| 6 | 108 | Op. 2 |
|
| 6 | 109 | Op. 5 |
|
| 6 | 110 | Op. 7 |
|
| 6 | 111 | Op. 15 |
|
| 6 | 112-113 | Op. 19 |
|
| 6 | 114 | Op. 20 and op. 29 |
|
| 6 | 115 | Op. 28 |
|
| 6 | 116-117 | Op. 29 |
|
Concerts: |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 6 | 118 | January 1, 1956; June 13, 1956 | |
| 6 | 119 | January 23, 1957 | |
| 6 | 120 | March 23, 1959 | |
| 6 | 121 | February 21, 1965 | |
| 6 | 122 | undated | |
| Box | Folder | ||
| 6 | 123-124 | Unidentified |
|
Microfilms: |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 7 | 125 | Op. 2, 34, 49, 76,
81-86 |
|
| 7 | 126 | Op. 12 and op. 28 |
|
| 7 | 127 | Op. 23 |
|
| 7 | 128 | Op. 26, 31, 37, 38, 39, 51-53,
57 |
|
| 7 | 129 | Op. 29, 32, 36, 48, 92,
96 |
|
| 7 | 130 | Op. 60 and op. 62 |
|
| 7 | 131 | Op. 70, 76, 77 |
|
| 7 | 132 | Op. 87, 89 |
|
| 7 | 133 | Op. 90 and op. 91 |
|
| 7 | 134 | Op. 90 and 100 |
|
| 7 | 135 | Opera, piano score |
|
| 7 | 136-137 | Opera, orchestral score, parts
I and II |
|
| 7 | 138 | Works without opus
number |
|
| 7 | 139 | Mournful Prelude |
|
Series 4: OversizeReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | |
| 7 | 140 | Paintings and drawings, artist
unknown 12
|
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Composers--United States--Correspondence
Personal Names
- Moldenhauer, Hans (donor)
- Pimsleur, Solomon, 1900-1962--Archives (creator)
Finding aid prepared by John
Mueter
2012
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
