The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Ernst Levy Papers 1919-2004
© 2008 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Levy, Ernst. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1919-2004 |
| Size: | 9.75 linear feet (8 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Ernst Levy (1895-1981), composer and professor of music at the University of Chicago (1951-54). Papers include musical scores and many significant written academic works, including a French manuscript of his book A Theory of Harmony. Public and biographical items include an extensive radio broadcast interview, late interest and news articles mentioning Levy and significant correspondence, biographical information, catalogs of released recordings and copies of catalogued records from European libraries. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Levy, Ernst. Papers, [Box#, Folder#], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Ernst Levy was a prolific composer and arranger of music, author and piano virtuoso. He served on the faculty at the University of Chicago from 1951 to 1954. .
Levy was born in Basel, Switzerland November the 18th, 1895. He studied with Raoul Pugno, Egon Petri and Basel Conservatory mentor and colleague Hans Huber. In Basel Levy taught extensively, becoming Huber's successor of the virtuoso class at the Conservatory in 1917.
Moving to Paris in 1925, Levy continued to teach and perform, and in 1928 founded the first major chorus in Paris, the Choeur Philharmonique, who premiered performances and recordings of notable works by Brahms and Liszt.
For political reasons, Levy moved to Boston in 1941, teaching at the New England Conservatory of Music until 1945. The next twenty five years were spent teaching piano and composition, conducting choral and orchestral works, all the while composing an impressive amount of work, many included in this collection. In addition to his time in Boston and Chicago; he spent time at Bennington College in Vermont (1946-51), at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1954-59) and the Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (1959-66). Levy then retired from teaching, returning to Switzerland in 1966.
Levy became well known and is remarkable in his innovative approach and interpretations of musical works, in addition to his integration of art, science and philosophy into the performance and composition of musical works.
Levy died on April 19th, 1981 in Morges, Switzerland at the age of eighty-five.
Series I of the Ernst Levy papers contain public and biographic items, including correspondence and an interview during his final years (1979-81), biographical notes and essays, and copies of French and German catalogues of his works.
Levy's academic career produced a number of writings and lectures, many of which are collected in Series II. An original and copy of one of his major publications in French – A Theory of Harmony, published posthumously in 1985, is also included here.
Series III of the Ernst Levy papers consist of a significant number of musical compositions, mostly in original score format, from his first string quartet in 1919 to his final sonatas in 1980. Many works contain notes by the composer - typed and attached to the inside front or back cover of the work, usually discussing the nature of the work or performance notes. Most works are original, bound scores kept as reference copies by the composer. A few are published copies, a few appear as copies or photocopies of originals, and a few are handwritten original scores.
Series I: Public and Biographical |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Public and biographical documents
|
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Interview with Bernard Falciola, 1980 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Public and biographical documents
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| Box 1 Folder 4 | Public and biographical documents
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| Box 1 Folder 5 | Public and biographical documents
|
Series II: Writings and Lectures |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Notes on the 10th and 11th symphonies, 1944, 1949 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | "A New Pythagorean Investigation of Harmony", 1944 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | "How A Composer Works" (multiple drafts), 1944 |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | "The Elizabethan Ayre", 1949 |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | "Medieval Proportion Canons" (draft), 1954 |
| Box 1 Folder 11 | "The Birth, Growth and Shaping of Musical Ideas" (draft and final), 1954 |
| Box 1 Folder 12 | "Changes of Style Since Bach", 1954 |
| Box 1 Folder 13 | "Formative Forms and Forming Principles", 1957 |
| Box 1 Folder 14 | Writings, 1965, undated
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| Box 2 Folder 1 | A Theory of Harmony, 1985
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Series III: Musical Compositions |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | String Quartet One, 1919 |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Compositions, 1918-1948
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| Box 3 Folder 3 | Eleventh Symphony, 1949 |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Cantata No. 3, 1950 |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | Twelfth Symphony, 1951 |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Compositions, 1952
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| Box 4 Folder 2 | First Trio for Violin, Viola and Violoncello (2 copies), 1953 |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | Sonata for Violoncello and Piano, 1953 |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | Sonata for Horn and Piano, 1953 |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Dreizehnte Symphony, 1955 |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | Suite for Viola or Violoncello, 1956 |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Third Suite for Orchestra, 1957 |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | Compositions, 1957-1958
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| Box 5 Folder 3 | Compositions, 1959-1960
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| Box 5 Folder 4 | Second Trio, 1960 |
| Box 5 Folder 5 | Compositions, 1960
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| Box 5 Folder 6 | Compositions, 1961-1962
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| Box 6 Folder 1 | Compositions, 1962
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| Box 6 Folder 2 | Fourteenth Symphony, 1962 |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | Compositions, 1963
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| Box 6 Folder 4 | "Gandamus" including premiere program, 1964-65 |
| Box 6 Folder 5 | Compositions, 1964-1965
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| Box 6 Folder 6 | Compositions, 1966-1968
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| Box 7 Folder 1 | Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, 1968 |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | A Musical Gathering, 1969 |
| Box 7 Folder 3 | Second Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano (2 copies), 1970 |
| Box 7 Folder 4 | Sonata Strofica, 1970 |
| Box 7 Folder 5 | Compositions, 1971
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| Box 7 Folder 6 | Compositions, 1974
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| Box 7 Folder 7 | Compositions, 1975
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| Box 8 Folder 1 | Compositions, 1977
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| Box 8 Folder 2 | Compositions, 1978
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| Box 8 Folder 3 | Compositions, 1978
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| Box 8 Folder 4 | Compositions, 1979
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| Box 8 Folder 5 | Compositions, 1980
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| Box 8 Folder 6 | Compositions, undated
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