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Title: Ernest Schelling papers
Date (inclusive): 1867-1994
Collection Number: 2012C39
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In English, French, and German
Physical Description:
9 manuscript boxes, 4 oversize boxes
(9.6 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The Ernest Schelling papers largely consist of printed matter, photographs, and memorabilia, much of it relating to Schelling's
service as a major in the United States Army during World War I and as an assistant military attaché in Switzerland during
and immediately after that war. The papers also contain materials pertaining to Schelling's long career as a classical pianist
and conductor, and especially to his friendship with the Polish musician and statesman, Ignace (Ignacy) Paderewski. There
is some personal correspondence in the collection, as well as correspondence belonging to Lucie (Lucy) Schelling (Ernest Schelling's
first wife) and Helen "Peggy" Schelling (his second wife and widow).
Creator:
Schelling, Ernest, 1876-1939
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Boxes 5-6 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials
must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection,
they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2012 from the family of Schelling's second wife, Helen "Peggy" Marshall,
later Mrs. Helen Scholz, with incremental material received later.
[Identification of item], Ernest Schelling papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Known affectionately by his youngest fans as "Uncle Ernest," Ernest Schelling was an American pianist and composer, the founder
and for sixteen years the conductor of the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Young People's concerts until his untimely death
in 1939. Born in New Jersey in 1876 to a Swiss father and an English mother, Schelling was a child prodigy. His father, Dr.
Felix Schelling, a physician and a musician, was his first teacher. Ernest made his piano debut at the age of four-and-a-half
at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia; at the age of seven, he entered the Paris Conservatory, the youngest pupil ever accepted.
In 1896, Ignace Paderewski accepted the young American as his student. Schelling visited Paderewski during the summer months
in Zakopane, high in the Tatra Mountains of southern Poland, as well as in the Paderewskis' palatial villa of Riond-Bosson
in Morges, above Lake Geneva. Schelling's 1900 London and 1905 New York debuts brought him musical acclaim and fame, in no
small measure a tribute to Paderewski. The mentorship soon turned into a friendship that lasted a lifetime. Schelling had
a summer home on Lake Geneva, only a few miles from the Paderewskis', and they spent much time together. In fact, Schelling
and his wife were the organizers of the great pageant in honor of Paderewski on his name day of July 31, 1914, the eve of
the outbreak of World War I, an event movingly described in Paderewski's own memoirs.
The tragic course of World War I on the continent he considered his second homeland and his close association with Paderewski,
who soon became the leader of humanitarian relief and political information work on behalf of Poland in Allied Europe and
in the United States, were important factors in Ernest Schelling's decision to become an active participant. The event that
likely influenced his decision to enlist was the sinking of the Sussex in the English Channel by a German U-boat. Among the
eighty passengers who died were friends of both Schelling and Paderewski, the renowned Spanish pianist and composer Enrique
Granados and his wife, Amparo, orphaning six children. In the spring of 1917, Schelling took a leave from his musical career
and joined the US Army. With his intimate knowledge of European cultures and fluency in several languages, he was sent to
the Army War College and, after completing a crash course, was given a captain's commission and assigned to the military intelligence
branch of the General Staff. From September 1917 until October 1919, Schelling served as assistant military attaché at the
American Legation in Bern, Switzerland. Much of what Schelling did involved translation and analysis, but he also provided
some services for the French government, earning him the French Legion of Honor. Schelling advanced to the rank of major while
still in Europe, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal after the war. Immediately after the November 1918 armistice,
he was sent by the Army into German-occupied area to monitor troop withdrawal and by the American Red Cross to assist with
the release and repatriation of American prisoners and civilians. He then was sent into Poland to liaison with his old friend,
Ignace Paderewski, now the prime minister of the newly reestablished Polish state. Schelling's work in Poland earned him one
of Poland's highest decorations, the Order of Polonia Restituta.
| 1876 July 26 | Born, Belvedere, New Jersey |
| 1888 | Began studying piano with Ignace Paderewski |
| 1917 | Commissioned as major in the United States Army |
| 1917-1919 | Served as assistant military attaché, American Legation, Berne, Switzerland |
| 1924-1939 | Conductor, Young People's Concerts of the New York Philharmonic Symphonic Society |
| 1936-1938 | Music director, Baltimore Symphony |
| 1939 | Died |
Scope and Content of Collection
The Ernest Schelling papers largely consist of printed matter, photographs, and memorabilia, much of it relating to Schelling's
service as a major in the United States Army during World War I and as an assistant military attaché in Switzerland during
and immediately after that war. The World War I materials include copies of American government publications relating to military
affairs, clippings, serial issues, and numerous photographs depicting soldiers of the American Expeditionary Forces in action
in France and Germany. There are also copies of proclamations issued by the German military in occupied Belgium. In addition,
the papers contain Schelling's translation of one volume of the official German history of World War I. Official and personal
correspondence, memoranda, reports, printed matter, and other materials relating to Schelling's service as an assistant military
attaché can also be found in the Incremental Materials (Boxes 8-13).
Also included in the collection are materials pertaining to Schelling's long career as a classical pianist and conductor,
and especially to his friendship with the Polish musician and statesman, Ignace (Ignacy) Paderewski. There are photographs
of Paderewski, including ones from his childhood, as well as programs relating to concert performances by Paderewski.
There is also some personal correspondence in the collection, as well as correspondence belonging to Lucie (Lucy) Schelling
(Ernest Schelling's first wife) and Helen "Peggy" Schelling (his second wife and widow). The collection also contains significant
memorabilia, including various awards received by Schelling, as well as his World War I army uniform.
Related Archival Materials note
Ernest Schelling collection, International Piano Archives, University of Maryland
Orders, Decorations and Insignia, Military and Civil; With the History and Romance of Their Origin and a Full Description
of Each
, Robert Wyllie, 1921, given to Hoover Library.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns
Military intelligence -- United States
Paderewski, Ignace Jan, 1860-1941
United States. Army