From: kos@cunyvms1.gc.cuny.edu (Bob Kosovsky)
Subject: Arthur Abell
Reply-To: kos@cunyvms1.gc.cuny.edu
Organization: Computer Center, CUNY Graduate School, New York NY 10036
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 13:32:58 GMT

Despair, despair.  What's happened to r.m.c.?  Where are all those postings
of Glass, opera, Yoder's empire, etc.?  Seems like inspiration has run
dry -- and the level of discussion on the bitnet list CLASSM-L@Brownvm 
is so low.

As a reaction to this lack of discussion, I thought I would post another
description of an archival collection on which I've recently worked here
at the New York Public Library.

I would suspect that most people have never heard of Arthur Abell.Born
in 1868, he studied violin with the eminent teacher Carl Halir.   But his
violin career never seemed to have taken off;  rather, he became a music
critic.  He began writing for the Musical Courier in 1890 from Hamburg,
then moved to Berlin in 1894 and stayed there until the outbreak of World
War I.  Moving back to the United States he was a critic for several
periodicals, most notably the New York Times until his death in 1958.

The thing that differenciates him from most critics is his intimate 
relationships with other musicians.  Like those in a particular strata of
society, Abell maintained a "parlor" which many of the most famous musicians
attended.  One group photo of a reception given in honor of Engelbert
Humperdinck shows Abell posing with Emil von Reznicek, Conrad Ansorge
(pupil of Liszt), Giovanni Batista Lamperti (famous singing teacher), 
Humperdinck, Leopold Godowsky, Xaver Scharwenka, Fritz Kreisler, Alberto
Jonas, Etelka Gerst and others.

Unfortunately Abell was not a very deep thinker, so that most of the
unusual pieces of correspondence in the collection are exchanges of
courtesies rather than of substantive matters.  Nevertheless, there are
groups of letters from famous musicians that do reveal some insight.
There are many letters from Leopold Auer, Serge Koussevitzky, Isidore
Philipp, Xaver Scharwenka and many other performers, pedagogues and
teachers.  There are over 70 letters from Max  Bruch, some of them
discussing the creation of various pieces he was working on.  Abell
was on good terms with Richard Strauss, so there are letters from
before, during, and after World War II.  There are kind letters from
Winifred Wagner, who, despite her banishment from Bayreuth, found a
sympathetic friend in Abell.

Photographs form a significant part of the collection.  Many of the 
luminaries of the earlier part of this century are represented in
unique photographs -- and Abell was particular in have them autograph
their poses.  As a kind of footnote, there are well over a hundred
calling cards of not only musicians but of society in general (the
daughter of General William Tecumseh Sherman (who was the wife of
the American Ambassador to Germany) comes to mind.

Though not directly part of the collection, Abell's book, "Talks with
Great Composers" is something to look through.  Abell was obsessed with
how a composer composed music, and he discusses this by recalling his
talks with many of the great composers.  (Though much of what is said
is very interesting, it is hampered by what I mentioned above, Abell's
inability to penetrate deeply into this topic.)  Doubtless, the strangest
recollection is with Brahms and Joseph Joachim.  Over the course of a
few days, Abell, Brahms, Joachim, and a stenographer went on a wild
discussion, in which Brahms supposedly described what went on in his
head while composing.   The result is quite phantasmagorical.  Brahms
allowed Abell to transcribe the conversations under the condition that
he would not published it until 50 years after Brahms's death.  To
preclude doubt, Abell had Joachim sign an affirmation that the conversations
did indeed take place.  So the book was published in 1955, but seems to
be rarely cited (well, I can understand that, after reading the Brahms
chapters).  

Anyway, it was fun to look through this stuff.  It conveyed a very vivid
picture (figuratively and literally) of musical life in pre-war Berlin.
The collection is accessible to all (classmark:  job 88-4).  A finding
list is available for perusal.

Bob Kosovsky
Graduate Center -- Ph.D. Program in Music(student)/ City University of New York
New York Public Library -- Music Division
bitnet:   kos@cunyvms1.bitnet        internet: kos@cunyvms1.gc.cuny.edu
Disclaimer:  My opinions do not necessarily represent those of my institutions.
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical