Typed letter signed to music critic Lawrence Gilman
1 page. Folio. Signed in full in blue ink and dated February 7, 1936. On letterhead of the Westminster Choir School, Princeton New Jersey.
Regarding the preparation of program notes for the Philadelphia Orchestra's performance of Harris's Prelude and Fugue scheduled for February 28th and 29th under the direction of Werner Janssen which he hopes Gilman can attend; a proposed pre-performance meeting with the critic to discuss the work; his ideas regarding the future of music, etc.
"As you observed in your review of "Johnnie", I am interested in polyphony and feel that the future of music lies in that field, so that I am extremely anxious that you should see the nature of this new work." Harris goes on to comment briefly on his Prelude and Fugue and to say "As you know, the more serious endeavors in composition need the support of distinguished critics much more than those works which wear their appeal on the surface." He hopes to see Gilman "when the Roth Quartet are doing some of the Art of the Fugue, as well as my quartet and that of Quincy Porter."
Slightly creased at folds; pencilled address "75 Stockton St., Princeton" to blank upper right corner.
"[Harris] was one of the most important figures in the establishment of an American symphonic music. His works reflect a broad historical and international frame of reference while also conveying a strongly nationalist stance through the influence of Anglo-American folk tunes and other materials relating to the American ethos." Dan Stehman, revised by Beth E. Levy in Grove Music Online
Gilman (1878-1939) was an important American writer on music and music critic. "[His] criticism was rooted in the tradition that holds that music is ideally a vehicle for the expression of philosophical ideas: he was a champion of Wagner, the impressionists (especially Debussy and Loeffler) and MacDowell. Although he published no essays on the course of music after 1914 he remained a sympathetic and intelligent critic of later musical developments. Devotees of opera considered him to be particularly gifted in describing the individual styles of singers." Wayne D. Shirley in Grove Music Online.
Item #39026
Price: $175.00 other currencies