Alexander Smallens papers

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Description: Alexander Smallens was a Russian-born American conductor. He accompanied the Anna Pavlova Ballet Company on a tour to South America (1915-1916) and worked on the staffs of the Boston Opera, Chicago Opera, Philadelphia Opera, and Philadelphia Orchestra. From 1947 to 1950 he was music director of Radio City Music Hall, New York. For many summers he conducted concerts at Lewisohn Stadium, New York. He conducted the premiere of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in Boston in 1935 and later took it on tour in the United States and Europe. Papers relating to Smallens' career as a conductor include correspondence, programs and flyers, photographs, clippings, complete issues of Broun's Nutmeg 1939 May 27-Sept. 30, and musical scores including arrangements by Smallens and scores with performance markings. Some scores have also been cataloged separately in the Scores file. Correspondents include Marc Blitzstein, Frederick Jacobi, and Leopold Stokowski (each represented by 20 or more letters); George Antheil, Norman Bel Geddes, Alfredo Casella, Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, Olin Downes, Ira Gershwin, Morton Gould, Werner Josten, Darius Milhaud, Serge Prokofieff, Pitts Sanborn, William Schuman, Roger Sessions, Virgil Thomson, Eugen Zador, and Maria Gay Zenatello (each represented by 5 or more letters); and many other composers and conductors; there is 1 letter from Anton Webern. Series III has been cataloged separately in the VIM file as Photographs from the Alexander Smallens papers.
Names: Smallens, Alexander, 1889-1972 (Creator); Antheil, George, 1900-1959; Blitzstein, Marc; Casella, Alfredo, 1883-1947; Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990; Downes, Olin, 1886-1955; Gay, Maria, 1879-1943; Geddes, Norman Bel, 1893-1958; Gershwin, George, 1898-1937; Gershwin, Ira, 1896-1983; Gould, Morton, 1913-1996; Jacobi, Frederick, 1891-1952; Josten, Werner, 1885-1963; Milhaud, Darius, 1892-1974; Pavlova, Anna, 1881-1931; Prokofiev, Sergey, 1891-1953; Sanborn, Pitts, 1879-1941; Schuman, William, 1910-1992; Sessions, Roger, 1896-1985; Stokowski, Leopold, 1882-1977; Thomson, Virgil, 1896-1989; Webern, Anton, 1883-1945; Zádor, Eugene, 1894-1977; American Music Collection; Lewisohn Stadium (New York, N.Y.); Philadelphia Orchestra
Dates / Origin: Date Created: 1900 - 1970 (Approximate)
Library locations: Music Division; Shelf locator: JPB 89-88
Topics: Broun's Nutmeg; Conductors (Music)
Genres: Clippings; Correspondence; Newspapers; Photographs; Portraits; Programs; Scores
Notes: Biographical/historical: Alexander Smallens was a Russian-born American conductor. He accompanied the Anna Pavlova Ballet Company on a tour to South America (1915-1916) and worked on the staffs of the Boston Opera, Chicago Opera, Philadelphia Opera, and Philadelphia Orchestra. From 1947 to 1950 he was music director of Radio City Music Hall, New York. For many summers he conducted concerts at Lewisohn Stadium, New York. He conducted the premiere of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in Boston in 1935 and later took it on tour in the United States and Europe.
Physical Description: Extent: Ca. 6 cu. ft.
Type of Resource: Text; Still image
Identifiers: NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b11652193; MSS Unit ID: 20093; Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): e8e2c740-8eda-0137-7c0b-1563d5d2c59a

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Duncan, Todd

The New York Public Library

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Alexander Smallens papers

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