Pimsleur, Solomon Papers, 1918-1970

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Cage 478
Solomon Pimsleur
Papers, 1918-1970

The papers of Solomon Pimsleur were placed by Dr. Hans Moldenhauer, of Spokane, in the Moldenhauer Archives at Washington State University Libraries in August 1982. They were arranged by John Mueter in December 1982 and January 1983.

Number of containers: 7
Linear feet of shelf space: 8
Approximate number of items: 4100

BIOGRAPHY

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.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION

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. 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.

SERIES LIST

Series	Folder
SERIES I: Correspondence and Papers, 1918-1970
Correspondence, 1918-1970	1
Papers, 1918-1970	1-2
SERIES II: Sketches and Scores
Sketches	3-6
Scores	6
SERIES III: Tapes and Microfilms
Tapes	6
Microfilms	7
SERIES IV: Oversize have not been renumbered.

CONTAINER LIST

Box	Folder	Description	No. of Items
Series I: Correspondence and Papers, 1918-1970
		Correspondence:
1	1-2	1918-1939	150
	3-4	1940-1949	150
	5-6	1950-1959	150
	7	1960-1970	70
	8-9	n.d.	150
		Papers:
	10	1918-1939	30
	11	1940-1949	40
	12-14	1950-1959	200
2	15	1960-1970	50
	16	College papers, n.d.	50
	17	Papers, n.d.	100
	18	Press Book, 1920-1962	1
	19	Programs and Reviews, 1914-1962	70
	20	Posthumous concert, 1965	10
	21	Catalogue of original compositions, 1974	2
	22	Catalogue of works at Columbia University, 1974-1975	1
	23	Poetry, 1918-1928	30
	24	Poetry sketches, 1960-1961	50
	25-26	Poetry sketches, n.d.	150
	27	Photographs, 1924, n.d.	30
Box	Folder	Description	No. of Items
SERIES II: Sketches and Scores
		Sketches:
3	28	Op. 2, op. 8	2
	29	Op. 3	10
	30	Op. 4, 28, 41, 53-56, 58	10
	31	Op. 4#3, 14#5, 36#1, 7 and 10	10
	32	Op. 5, 8, 9, 50	50
	33	Op. 6	20
	34	Op. 12, op. 13	5
	35	Op. 14, op. 36	30
	36	Op. 16	50
	37	Op. 19	50
	38	Op. 21	30
	39	Op. 22	50
	40	Op. 23	20
	41	Op. 24	30
	42	Op. 25 (earlier op. 22)	50
	43-44	Op. 30	40
	45	Op. 30 and 35	30
	46	Op. 31	30
	47	Op. 33	50
	48	Op. 35	50
	49-50	Op. 40	50
	51	Op. 42	50
4	52	Op. 44	50
	53-54	Op. 45	100
	55-56	Op. 46	100
	57-58	Op. 48 and op. 52	100
	59	Op. 49 and op. 52	30
	60-61	Op. 50	150
	62	Op. 51	50
	63	Op. 59	30
	64-65	Op. 60	100
	66-67	Op. 61, #1 and #2	60
	68	Op. 62	30
	69	Op. 63, 66 and 71	10
	70	Op. 64	50
	71	Op. 66	50
	72	Op. 67	50
	73	Op. 68	50
	74	Op. 69	50
	75-77	Op. 70	100
5	78-79	Op. 74 and 75	35
	80	Op. 77, 81-83, 86 and 88	5
	81	Op. 90, 95, 102, 106	5
	82-88	Anne Frank (opera)	250
	89	Revisions of early piano sonatas	30
	90	Songs: Sonnets of Shakespeare	10
	91-93	Unidentified Sketches	200
6	94-99	Unidentified Sketches	200
		Scores:
	100	Op. 24, Neo-classic Overture (parts)	20
	101	Op. 32, Tone-poem (parts)	20
	102	Photocopies and fragments	10
	103	Meditative Nocturne, photocopy	1
	104	Op. 75, transparencies	1
	105	Piano Duet, MS fragment	1
	106	Printed scores	6
Box	Folder	Description
SERIES III: Tapes and Microfilms, 1956-1965
		Tapes (reel-to-reel):
	107	Op. 1 and op. 7
	108	Op. 2
	109	Op. 5
	110	Op. 7
	111	Op. 15
	112-113	Op. 19
	114	Op. 20 and op. 29
	115	Op. 28
	116-117	Op. 29
		Concerts:
	118	January 1 and June 13, 1956
	119	January 23, 1957
	120	March 23, 1959
	121	February 21, 1965
	122	n.d.
	123-124	Unidentified
		Microfilms:
7	125	Op. 2, 34, 49, 76, 81-86
	126	Op. 12 and op. 28
	127	Op. 23
	128	Op. 26, 31, 37, 38, 39, 51-53, 57
	129	Op. 29, 32, 36, 48, 92, 96
	130	Op. 60 and op. 62
	131	Op. 70, 76, 77
	132	Op. 87, 89
	133	Op. 90 and op. 91
	134	Op. 90 and 100
	135	Opera, piano score
	136-137	Opera, orchestral score, parts I and II
	138	Works without opus number
	139	Mournful Prelude
Box	Folder	Description	No. of Items
SERIES IV: Oversize
	140	Paintings and drawings, artist unknown	12