Lukas Foss Papers
Catalog Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/2006579408
General International Standard for Archival Description
Music DivisionLibrary of Congress Washington, D.C.
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Music Division, 2012
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Lukas Foss Papers circa 1926-2000 1936-1995
Foss, Lukas, 1922-2009
Biographical History for: Lukas Foss Papers circa 1926-2000 1936-1995
Biographical Note Date Event 1922, Aug. 15 Born, Berlin, Germany 1929 Began piano and theory lessons with Julius Goldstein Herford 1933 Moved with family to Paris to escape Nazi persecution Studied piano with Lazare Lévy, composition with Nöel Gallon, orchestration with Felix Wolfes, and flute with Louís Moyse at Lyceé Pasteur, Paris 1937 Moved to New York City Studied piano with Isabelle Vengerova, composition with Rosario Scalero, orchestration with Randall Thompson, and conducting with Fritz Reiner at the Curtis Institute Composed Four Two-Part Inventions and Grotesque Dance 1940-1943 Studied composition with Paul Hindemith and conducting with Serge Koussevitzky at the Berkshire Music Center 1942 Became an American citizen Composed The Prairie 1944-1950 Named official pianist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra 1945 Became youngest recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship Composed Song of Songs 1946 Began teaching summer classes in composition at the Berkshire Music Center 1950 Received first Fulbright Scholarship 1951 Premiere of Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in Venice, with Foss as soloist Married Cornelia Brendel 1953-1962 Professor of composition and conducting, University of California, Los Angeles 1955-1957 Directed the Ojai Festival in Japan 1957 Formed Improvisation Chamber Ensemble with Charles DeLancy and Richard Dufallo 1959-1960 Composed Time Cycle 1960 Directed the Ojai Festival in Japan Received second Guggenheim Fellowship 1961-1963 Composed Echoi 1962 Moved to Buffalo, New York 1962-1968 Conductor and music director for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra 1963 Founded and co-directed with Allen Sapp the Center of Creative and Performing Arts at the State University of New York at Buffalo 1969 Composed Paradigm 1969-1971 Visiting professor, Harvard University 1970 Composed M.A.P. (Musicians at Play) 1971-1990 Conductor and music advisor of the Brooklyn Philharmonia 1972 Visiting professor, Manhattan School of Music 1972-1976 Conductor and music advisor of the Kol Israel Orchestra of Jerusalem 1975 Began residency at the University of Cincinatti Conservatory of Music 1981-1986 Music director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra 1986 Composed Three American Pieces 1989 Composed Elegy for Anne Frank 1991 Professor, music theory and composition, Boston University 1993 Composed Left Hand Piano Concerto 1998 Composed String Quartet No. 4 2002 Composed Symphonic Fantasy for Orchestra 2009, Feb. 1 Died, New York City
Scope and Content Note The Lukas Foss Papers span the period 1926 to 2000, with the majority of the materials dating from 1936 to 1995. The collection consists of holograph manuscript scores and parts, sketches, correspondence, business papers, programs, clippings, promotional materials, contracts, and financial documents. The Music series documents Foss' lengthy and experimental career as a composer, beginning with early opera sketches and piano pieces written before his tenth birthday. Later compositions, especially those which reflect his interests in twelve-tone and aleatory music, are accompanied by extensive supplementary notes, tone rows, mathematical charts, and performance instructions. Photocopied scores and parts often include annotations by Foss or various conductors and performers. Notable holograph scores include Night Music for John Lennon, Elegy for Anne Frank, Renaissance Concerto, The Prairie: Symphonic Suite, Three Airs for Frank O'Hara's Angel, Echoi, M.A.P. (Musicians at Play), and Tashi. Works are arranged categorically by instrumentation and alphabetically by title therein. The Correspondence series contains items to and from notable musical figures which are arranged alphabetically by last name. Included are letters from Luciano Berio, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, Paul Hindemith, Mauricio Kagel, Yehudi Menuhin, Olivier Messiaen, Eugene Ormandy, Krzysztof Penderecki, Mstislav Rostropovich, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Igor Stravinsky, Toru Takemitsu, Iannis Xenackis, and numerous other composers and performers. Correspondence with organizations and lesser known individuals is arranged by subject heading within the Business Papers series. These office files chiefly contain letters, programs, clippings, and legal or financial documents related to Foss' tenure with various orchestras in the United States and abroad, including the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Folders bearing general titles such as "England" or "Italy" contain assorted materials pertaining to the composer's conducting tours and side projects within these countries. Additional files consist of lecture notes and correspondence with universities, ideas for concert programming, writings by or about Foss, and miscellaneous documents for other topics of interest. The Musical Works Files series contains Foss' extensive file of correspondence, clippings, notes, programs, and promotional items related to specific musical works. These are arranged by title of composition and provide excellent contextual materials for research in musical analysis and performance history. The remaining collection materials can be found in the Miscellany series and consist of programs, articles, and a single writing by Louise Talma.
series
Music, circa 1926-2000
subseries
Orchestra, 1938-1998
file
2 symphonic pieces, 1939-1940
Holograph/copyist manuscript full score
Parts
3 pieces, 1938-1939
Holograph manuscript full score
Sketches
American fanfare, 1990
American landscapes, 1989
Holograph manuscript short score
Anniversary fanfare, 1996
Baroque variations. On a Bach prelude see Phorion
Capriccio (cello, orchestra), undated
Orchestral parts
Cello part
Celebration: for brass quintet and orchestra, 1998
Cello concert, 1966
Photocopied printed full score
Sketches and notes
Concerto for clarinet and orchestra no. 1, 1942
Clarinet part
Concerto for clarinet and orchestra no. 2, 1988 see also Tashi (clarinet, piano quintet)
Holograph manuscript piano-clarinet score
Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 2, 1949-1951
Concerto for solo percussion and orchestra, 1973-1974
Holograph manuscript score
Dissertation see Exeunt
Elegy (clarinet, orchestra), 1949
Elegy for Anne Frank, 1989 see also Symphony no. 3
2 holograph manuscript full scores
Embros, 1984-1985 see also Left hand piano concerto
Exeunt, 1980-1982 see also Night music for John Lennon
Fanfare, 1973
Sketches, notes, and program notes
Folksong, 1975-1976
For 200 cellos, 1982-1983
For Lenny (piano, orchestra), 1988
Piano part
For Toru, 1996
Geod, 1969
Left hand piano concerto, 1991-1993 see also Embros
Night music for John Lennon, 1980-1981
Orpheus, 1972
Viola, cello, and guitar parts
Orpheus and Euridice, 1983
Phorion, 1967
The prairie. Symphonic suite, 1942
Photocopied holograph manuscript full score
Quintets for orchestra, 1978
Photocopied holograph full manuscript score
Renaissance concerto, 1985-1986
Sketches and source materials
Salomon Rossi suite, 1975
Sketch
Symphony no. 3 (Symphony of sorrows), 1991 see also Elegy for Anne Frank
Symphony no. 4 (Windows to the past), 1995
Symphony of chorales, 1958
Three American pieces, 1986 see also Three pieces (violin, piano)
Dramatic, 1931-1949
Amphytrion, 1935-1936
The heart remembers, 1944
The jumping frog of Calaveras County, 1949
Photocopied holograph manuscript piano-vocal score
The tempest, 1940
Teufelchens Geburtstag, 1931
Untitled opera, 1933-1934?
We're with you, 1941
Script
Within these walls, 1944 see also The heart remembers
Typescript scenario
Vocal, 1926-1999
2 Rilke motets (voices), 1946
Holograph manuscript scores
6 patriotic songs (voice, piano), 1943
Photocopied holograph manuscript scores
American cantata (voices, speakers, double chorus, orchestra), 1976 see also Romance
Sketches, correspondence, and lyric sheets
Bunker Hill (voices, trumpets, percussion), undated
Photocopied holograph manuscript score
Celebration (chorus, band or orchestra), 1996
Congratulations (voice, piano), 1996
De profundis (chorus), 1983
For Julian's 10th anniversary at Marsh Chapel (voices), 1999
For Toru: a choral opening, 1990
Fragments of Archilochos (speakers, voice, choruses, instrumental ensemble), 1965
I speak, I tell you (chorus), 1941
Kafka Tagebuch (voice), 1990-1993
Part
Lamdeni (Teach me) (chorus, instrumental ensemble), 1973
Measure for measure (voice, orchestra), 1980
Motette: Der bist so gross (voices), undated
Nachtleid (voice, piano), circa 1933
Nachtleid (voice, orchestra), 1937
O Herr, gib jedem seinen eignen Tod (voices), circa 1926-1938
The prairie (voices, chorus, orchestra), 1942-1943
Romance (voice, violin, string orchestra), 1994 see also American cantata
Sanctus (chorus, orchestra), 1992
Die Teilung der Erde (voice, piano), 1937
Sketches for orchestration
Tell this blood (chorus), 1945
Thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird (voice, flute, piano, percussion), 1978
2 holograph manuscript scores
Three airs for Frank O'Hara's angel (speaker, voice, women's chorus, instrumental ensemble, tape), 1972
Three airs for Frank O'Hara's angel (voice, flute, piano, percussion, tape), 1974-1975
Three songs on texts by Goethe (voice, piano), 1938
With music strong (chorus, orchestra), 1998
Holograph manuscript/photocopied full score
Chamber and Solo Instrumental, 1930s-2000
3 pieces (clarinet, violin, viola, cello), 1939
4 etudes for organ, 1967
4 piano pieces, 1937
Air (violin, piano), 1938
Anne Frank: a brief tone poem about her life and death (cello, piano), 1999
Anniversary fanfare (brass, percussion), 1997
Appalachian birthday portrait (instrumental ensemble), undated
Capriccio (cello, piano), 1946 see Capriccio (cello, orchestra)
The cave of the winds (wind quintet), 1972
Central Park reel (violin, piano), 1987
Chaconne (guitar), 1987
Chamber music (tape), 1970-1973
Composer's nightmare (violin), 1941
Conductor's nightmare (violins, piano), undated
Violin parts
Curriculum vitae (accordion), 1977
Curriculum vitae. Tango (piano), undated
Curriculum vitae with time bomb (accordion, percussion), 1980
Divertissement pour Mica (String quartet no. 2), 1973
Duo (cello, piano), 1941
Echoi (instrumental ensemble), 1961-1963
Holograph and copyist manuscript scores
Eine kleine chance musik see Elytres
Elytres (instrumental ensemble), 1964
Sketches, charts, and notes
Fantasia (cello, piano), 1937
Focus on G/C (string quartet), 1996
For 24 winds, 1966
Printed score
For Roger (trumpets), 1998
Frühling (piano), 1936
Fugue in 3 parts (piano), 1946?
Fugue in 4 parts (piano), 1946
Grotesque dance (piano), 1938
Horn trio (horn, violin, piano), 1983
Horn and violin parts
M.A.P. (Musicians at play) (instrumental ensemble, tape, referee), 1970
Holograph manuscript tape operator's maps, game rules, and performance instructions
Photocopied tape operator's maps, game rules, and performance instructions
Sketches, notes, and correspondence
Maine fanfare (brass instruments), 1994
Music for six (unspecified instruments), 1977
Ni bruit ni vitesse (2 pianos, percussion), 1971
Paradigm (percussionist-conductor, instrumental ensemble), 1968
Percussion quartet, 1983
Prelude, fugue, and riffs (string quartet, horns, trumpets), circa 1997?
Round a common center (piano quartet/quintet, with optional voice or narrator), 1979
Saxophone quartet, 1985
Solo (piano), 1981
Solo observed (piano, instrumental ensemble), 1982 see Solo
Sonata for violin and piano, 1938
Violin part
Stillscape see For 24 winds
String quartet, 1936
String quartet no. 1, 1947
String quartet no. 2 see Divertissement pour Mica
String quartet no. 3, 1975
String quartet no. 4, 1998
String quartet no. 5, 2000
Tashi (clarinet, piano quintet), 1986 see also Concerto for clarinet and orchestra no. 2
Tashi. Rondo (clarinet, piano), 1999 see also Anne Frank
Three pieces (violin, piano), 1944 see also Three American pieces
Today see M.A.P.
Trio (flute, violin, piano), 1930s
Violin and flute parts
Trio for flute, clarinet, and bassoon, 1937?
Valentine (flute, piano), 1996
War and peace (organ), 1995
Miscellany, circa 1926-1980
Composition class assignments, undated
Composition exercises with Paul Hindemith, 1940
Manuscripts in the hands of Hindemith and Foss
Composition exercises with Rosario Scalero, 1937-1938
Holograph manuscript
Miscellaneous early works, circa 1926-1938
Holograph manuscript scores and sketches
Music composed for Lukas Foss, 1962, 1980
Manuscript score in the hand of Witold Lutoslawski
Photocopied manuscript violin cadenza in the hand of Albert Markov
Wanderer's song (voices), 1974
Manuscript score in an unidentified hand
Unidentified early works, circa 1926-1938
Scores, sketches, and fragments
Unidentified, undated
Fragments
Correspondence, 1929-1999
Anderson, Gillian B., 1981
Andriessen, Louis, 1964, 1989-1990
Babbitt, Milton, undated
Berio, Luciano, 1961-1966, 1989
Bernstein, Leonard, 1946, 1956-1958, 1967-1982, 1989
Bolcolm, William, 1984
Boulez, Pierre, 1963-1964, 1985
Brant, Henry, undated
Cage, John, 1971, 1978
Carter, Elliott, 1962, 1974
Castiglioni, Niccolo, 1967 and undated
Cohn, Arthur, 1982-1984
Copland, Aaron, 1943, 1962, 1970-1976, 1983
Corigliano, John, 1984
Corso, Gregory, undated
Cowell, Henry, 1964
Crumb, George, 1963-1964, 1979
Cunningham, Merce, 1965
Del Tredici, David, 1983 and undated
Dlugoszcwski, Lucia, 1966, 1979
Druckman, Jacob, 1964, 1988
Fleischmann, Ernest, 1980
Frankenthaler, Helen, 1987
Freier, Recha, undated
Ginsberg, Allen, 1986
Glass, Phillip, 1977
Gottlieb, Jack, 1973
Gould, Glenn, 1961-1962
Gould, Morton,
Hindemith, Gertrude, 1964
Hindemith, Paul, 1940
Isenberg, Ellin, 1985
Kagel, Mauricio, 1962-1971, 1990
Kaplan, Jacob, 1980
Kilar, Wojciech, 1964
Knussen, Oliver, 1989
Lachenmann, Helmut, 1990
Levine, James, 1980
Lutoslowski, Witold, 1964-1965
Maazel, Lorin, 1980, 1993
Menotti, Gian Carlo, 1971
Menuhin, Yehudi, 1982-1999
Meredith, William, 1980
Messiaen, Olivier, 1929, 1949, 1964-1965
Milhaud, Darius, 1973 and undated
Miscellaneous conductors, 1980-1996
Miscellaneous performers, 1979-1991
Moyse, Louis, 1994
Nono, Luigi, 1962
Nordheim, Arne, 1970, 1982
Orgad, Ben-Zion, 1990
Ormandy, Eugene, 1980-1982
Ornstein, Leo, 1982
Papaioannou, John, 1964
Penderecki, Krzysztof, 1971
Perlman, Itzhak, 1986
Pousseur, Henri, 1962-1968
Previn, André, 1980-1983
Reynolds, Roger, 1970
Rivers, Larry, undated
Rochberg, George, 1989
Rorem, Ned, 1996
Rosbaud, Hans, 1961
Rostropovich, Mstislav, 1966?, 1978, 1989-1994
Rudhyar, Dane, 1984
Sandburg, Carl, undated
Schat, Peter, 1964
Schickele, Peter, 1984
Schuller, Gunther, 1974
Schuman, Henry, 1978
Sessions, Roger, 1962 and undated
Smit, Leo, 1979-1982
Solti, Georg, 1980
Stern, Isaac, 1965, 1982
Stockhausen, Karlheinz, 1962-1969
Stoltzman, Richard, 1994
Stravinsky, Igor, 1961-1964
Szell, George, 1964
Takemitsu, Toru, 1970-1982, 1989-1993 and undated
Thomson, Virgil, 1974
Tower, Joan, 1981
Vonnegut, Kurt, 1987-1988, 1997
Wolpe, Stefan, 1961
Wuorinen, Charles, 1962-1969
Xenakis, Iannis, 1963-1967, 1979, 1987-1992 and undated
Young, La Monte, 1965
Zuckmayer, Carl, 1941
Business Papers, 1940s-2000
Aldeburgh Festival, 1978, 1986-1990
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, 1978, 1984-1992
American Academy in Rome, 1975-1991
American Center, Paris, 1980
American Composers' Alliance, 1982-1986
American Composers' Orchestra, 1982-1983, 1993
American Music Center, 1978-1989
American Music Festival, 1987-1988
Armando Verdiglione Foundation, 1984
Asian conferences and festivals, 1991-1992
Atlantic Center for the Arts, 1991
Awards, 1982-1995
Bach performances, 1987-1998
Baldwin Wallace College, 1996
Beethoven, 1964, 1983-1993
Bernstein, 1947, 1978-1998
Bogota conducting tour, 1979-1980
Boston Symphony Orchestra, 1948, 1970-1997
Boston University, 1998
Brazil, 1967
Brooklyn Music School, 1974-1988
Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, 1971-1992
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, 1963-1998
Carnegie Mellon University, 1988-1991
Center of the Creative and Performing Arts, 1963-1978
Chamber groups, 1979-1989
Chicago Symphony Orchestra residency, 1966, 1973-1974, 1982, 1989-1993
Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, 1975-1978
Cleveland Orchestra residency, 1979-1980
Commissions, 1981-1992
Committees, 1981-1982
Composer's Forum, 1979-1985, 1994
Composers Recordings, 1979-1984
Copland, 1983-1997
Curtis Institute of Music, 1975-1996
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, 1974-1976
Dorian Wind Quintet, 1978-1980
Experimental music technology, 1970-1971
Festival Casals, Puerto Rico, 1996
Foss Festival, 1989
France, 1990-1995, undated
French correspondence, 1968-1995
Fulbright Award, 1972
Germany, 1964-1998
Holland, 1964-1992
Hollywood Bowl marathons, 1971-1975, 1996
Hong Kong Philharmonic, 1980-1982
Improvisation Chamber Ensemble, 1957-1962
Israel, 1971-1994
Israel Chamber Orchestra, 1964, 1979-1985
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, 1973-1976, 1986
Istanbul, 1973
Italy, 1973-1993
Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, 1971-1990
John F. Kennedy Center, 1980-1981, 1986-1988
Korea, 1978-1984
Koussevitzky Music Foundation, 1973-1975, 1992, 1997
Lectures and residencies, 1980-1997
Letters of recommendation, 1975-1985
London Sinfonietta, 1985-1987
Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, 1974-1976, 1985-1987, 1996
Mahler, 1984-1993
Manhattan School of Music, 1972-1973, 1986, 1991
Messiah, Kleinhans Music Hall, 1974-1975
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, 1977-1994
Miscellaneous European concerts, 1965-1978, undated
Montreal Symphony Orchestra, 1969-1981
Musicians Against Nuclear Arms Inc., 1983-1984
National Endowment for the Arts, 1975-1992
National Institute of Arts and Letters, 1974-1976
New Music Concerts, Toronto, 1968-1978, 1985-1993
New World Symphony, 1991-1995
New York Philharmonic, 1964-1999
Norway, 1982-1990
Ojai Festival, 1962-1996
Opera, 1977-1990
Orchestras, 1974-1992
Oregon Symphony, 1991-1996
Orquestra sinfônica brasileira, 1967
Piccolo Spoleto performance, 1996
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, 1989
Poland, 1989-1992
Portugal residency, 1996-1999
Programming ideas, 1983-1984
Publishers, 1978-1987, 1993
Radio programming, 1982-1992
Recording companies, 1981-1995
Rockefeller Foundation, 1973-1991
Rushmore Festival, 1993-1994
Russia, 1991
Sacred Music Festival, 1983-1984
Spokane Symphony Orchestra, 1993
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, 1976
State University of New York at Buffalo, 1964-1970, 1982-1987, 2000
Stravinsky Festival, 1966
Tanglewood Music Festival, 1988-1997
Television appearances, 1982-1988
Thea Dispeker artist management, 1972-1987
Tokyo, 1970-1997
Turkey residencies, 1972-1973
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, 1973-1974
Works lists, 1974, undated
Yale University, 1980, 1985-1995
Musical Works Files, 1980s-1999
American cantata
American fanfare
American landscapes see Guitar concerto
Baroque variations
Behold! I build an house
Brass quintet
Capriccio (cello, piano)
The cave of the winds
Celebration (chorus, band or orchestra)
Cello concert
Central Park reel
Concerto for clarinet and orchestra no. 2
Concerto for oboe and orchestra
Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 2
Concerto for solo percussion and orchestra
Curriculum vitae
Curriculum vitae with time bomb
De profundis
Echoi
Elegy for Anne Frank
Elytres
Embros
Exeunt
Fantasy rondo
Folksong
For 24 winds
For 200 cellos
For Lenny
For Toru
Fragments of Archilochos
Geod
Griffelkin
Griffelkin suite
Guitar concerto
The impresario
Introductions and goodbyes
The jumping frog of Calaveras County
Kakfa Tagebuch
Lamdeni
Left hand piano concerto
M.A.P.
Measure for measure
Music for six
Ni bruit ni vitesse
Night music for John Lennon
Non-improvisation
Ode for orchestra
Orpheus
Orpheus and Euridice
A parable of death
Paradigm
Percussion quartet
The prairie
Psalms
Quintets for orchestra
Renaissance concerto
Round a common center
Salomon Rossi suite
Sanctus
Saxophone quartet
Set of three pieces for two pianos
Solo
Solo observed
Song of songs
String quartet no. 3
String quartet no. 4
Symphony no. 3 (Symphony of sorrows)
Symphony no. 4 (Windows to the past)
Tashi
... then the rocks on the mountains begin to shout
Thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird
Three airs for Frank O'Hara's angel
Three pieces / Three American pieces
Time cycle
Two-part inventions
Wanderer's Gemütsruhe
With music strong
Miscellany, 1940s-1999
Canticle of canticles, undated
Poetry, 1975 and undated
Programs, 1951, 1960-1999 and undated
Writings about Foss, 1940s-1990s
Writings by Foss, 1958, 1964, 1981 and undated