Description
Personal library of Hungarian violinist Joseph Szigeti (1892-1973, purchased from Szigeti at the suggestion of Professor Paul Rolland of the School of Music. Szigeti was a student of Jenő Hubay and Joseph Joachim and had an international performance and recording career. He championed new music works by Bartok, Berg, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky and was the dedicatee of many works by contemporary composers. Pieces written for him include Ernest Bloch’s Violin Concerto, Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1, and Eugène Ysaÿe’s Solo Sonata No. 1. Ferrucio Busoni served as his friend and mentor.
The Music Library received about 215 music editions and over 200 albums of 78 rpm records in 1960. This purchase was supplemented in 1967 by an additional 234 music editions and a collection of 51 manuscripts. Violin music predominates among printed music editions as well as recordings, but the collection also includes a few editions of piano music and nine songs by the Norwegian composer Sigurd Lie, among other materials. While there are relatively few bowings, fingerings, or other performance annotations in the violin music, many editions bear personal inscriptions to Szigeti from composers.
Location /Access
Music and Performing Arts Library
- Within the document boxes at call number Special Collections M5.S95, performing editions are arranged alphabetically by composer/title within several categories (violin music, piano music, etc.) The remainder of Szigeti’s library of performing editions has been dispersed within cataloged holdings in MPAL’s circulating collection or in Special Collections.
Index terms
- Manuscripts
- Violin music