Guide to the Karl Geiringer papers UArch FacP 46
Finding aid prepared by Sophia Campione and Anh Huynh, 2015.
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara 93106-9010
Business Number: Phone: (805) 893-3062
Fax Number: Fax: (805) 893-5749
special@library.ucsb.edu
2015 August 18
Title: Karl Geiringer papers
Identifier/Call Number: UArch FacP 46
Language of Material:
English,
German.
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Physical Description:
24.8 Linear Feet
(28 document boxes, 9 oversize boxes, 5 audiocassettes, 41 tape reels, 22 videocassettes)
Creator:
Geiringer, Karl, 1899-1989
Date (inclusive): approximately 1927-1989
Abstract: Papers of Austrian musicologist Karl Geiringer (1899-1989).
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
Access Restrictions
This collection may contain restricted materials. Please contact the Department of Special Collections at the UC Santa Barbara Library in advance to request access.
Use Restrictions
Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through
the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to
the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator
and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.
All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department
of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of
California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is
not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright
owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], Karl Geiringer papers, UArch FacP 46. Department of Special Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library,
University of California, Santa Barbara.
Acquisition Information
Gift of George Gardiner, 2007.
Biographical Note
Karl Geiringer (April 26, 1899–January 10, 1989) was an Austrian American musicologist, educator, and biographer of composers.
He was educated in Vienna but at the beginning of the Nazi years he emigrated to England and ultimately the United States,
where he had a lengthy and distinguished career at several universities. He was a noted authority on Brahms, Haydn, and the
Bach family, and a prolific author.
Geiringer was born in Vienna, the son of Louis and Martha (nee Wertheimer) Geiringer. He studied music history at the University
of Vienna under Guido Adler and Curt Sachs, and studied composition under Hans Gál. He also studied at the University of Berlin
under Curt Sachs. He received his Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Vienna in 1923.The topic of his doctoral thesis
was the musical instruments appearing in Renaissance painting. Following his degree he worked as an editor for Adler's journal
Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Österreich; he remained on the editorial board of this publication for the rest of his life.
In 1930 he won a top position in the musicological field, as the curator of the archives at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde,
a position previously held by his mentor Eusebius Mandyczewski and other distinguished scholars. The job gave Geiringer access
to much valuable primary source material on Western music, which he used extensively in his scholarship. An unusual responsibility
Geiringer bore at the Gesellschaft archives was the curatorship of Joseph Haydn's skull, which had been stolen from his grave
in 1809. In the first English edition of his Haydn biography (1946), Geiringer reminisced about bringing forth Haydn's head
to show to visitors.
In 1938, Austria was incorporated into Nazi Germany in the Anschluss. With the Nazi occupation, the Gesellschaft was closed.[4]
Geiringer, although he had been baptized a Roman Catholic, was the child of Jewish parents; hence he and his family were in
grave danger, and they fled the country. He first went to London, where he taught at the Royal Conservatory of Music and served
as a broadcaster for the BBC. He also worked extensively as an editor for the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians; according
to his later colleagues he was "in all but name a co-editor".
In 1940, Geiringer moved to America, becoming an American citizen in 1945. He taught first for a year as a visiting professor
at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. The following year he took up a professorial appointment at Boston University, where
he directed the graduate program and remained for 21 years. Among his students was H. C. Robbins Landon. His final academic
appointment began in 1962, when he moved to the University of California at Santa Barbara, in order to establish the graduate
program in musicology. Throughout this time, he continued to publish extensively.
In 1973 he became an emeritus professor, but continued to be very active: his colleagues said of him, "His 'retirement' ...
proved to be more of a technicality than a reality—his teaching and research continued unabatedly and were interrupted only
by death itself." He died in Santa Barbara at the age of 89 of complications from injuries sustained in a fall.
Geiringer was twice married. His first wife, and longtime coauthor, was Irene Geiringer (1899–1983).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Geiringer, accessed on 8/18/2015
Scope and Content
The bulk of this collection consists of documents, photographs, clippings, off-prints, manuscripts, scores and audiovisual
materials related to the musicological work and research of Karl Geiringer. In addition, the collection contains personal/biographical
materials related to Karl and Bernice Geiringer, music programs and magazines, and interview transcripts.
A large portion of the photographs are reprints used in Geiringer's publications and for teaching, mainly of composers and
musical instruments, though there are some personal photographs. Clippings, in English and German, range from the 1930s through
the 1990s. Some of the clippings folders include personal and work related items.
Personal materials include clippings of articles honoring Geiringer, awards, and manuscripts to Geiringer's unpublished memoir
This I Remember. Materials pertaining to Bernice Geiringer in this collection include correspondence, clippings, notes, and the manuscript
to her memoir
My Triumph Over Tragedy.
Correspondence includes personal correspondence with family, ranging from 1911 through the 1980s, correspondence with academic
colleagues and musicians, and editorial correspondence.
Audiovisual materials include recorded lectures by Geiringer, concerts, and tributes, including the dedication of Karl Geiringer
Hall at UCSB.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into the following series: Series 1. Work, Series 2. Photographs, Series 3. Clippings, Series 4.
Personal, Series 5. Correspondence, and Series 6. Audiovisual.
Related Material
Bernice Geiringer papers, PA Mss 40. Department of Special Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California,
Santa Barbara.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Musicologists -- United States -- Archives
Documentary photographs
Geiringer, Karl, 1899-1989 -- Archives
Work Series 1.
Other Descriptive Information
This series does not include correspondence.
Research Files Subseries 1.1.
Other Descriptive Information
Includes text of manuscript
Instruments in the Music History of the Occident Oversize Box 7.
box 1, folder 1
On Brahms and His Circle: Part I (Manuscript)
box 1, folder 2
On Brahms and His Circle: Part II (Manuscript)
box 1, folder 3
On Brahms and His Circle: Part III (Manuscript)
box 1, folder 5
Unbeachtete Kompositionen des Bückeburger Bach
box 1, folder 6
Mary Flagler Cary Music Collection
box 1, folder 9
List of Geiringer's Lectures
box 3, folder 1
Robert Schumann and Brahms
box 3, folder 3
Mstislav Rostropovich, Cellist
box 3, folder 4
The American Brahms Society Newsletters
box 3, folder 9
Thru [?] Bad Boys [?] - Ettlinger
box 3, folder 10
List of Works and Contacts
box 3, folder 12
Clippings on Beethoven, Wolf, Haydn
box 3, folder 14
Clippings on Karl Geiringer's Work
box 4, folder 2
La Canteria, Die Komodiantin
box 4, folder 3
Photographs of Instruments
box 4, folder 4
Enclosed Proofs from Tom McLonough
box 5, folder 2
Lecture - C.P.E. Bach and the Three Great Masters of Viennese Classical School of Music
box 5, folder 3
Gei[ringer] Section I and II Originals
box 5, folder 4
Gei[ringer] Section III and IV Originals
box 5, folder 5
Karl's Reviews from Notes - Haydn
box 5, folder 6
Gluck and Congress on the Enlightment
box 5, folder 7
The Impact of the Enlightment on the Artistic Concepts of Johann Sebastian Bach
box 5, folder 8
Haydn and his Viennese Background
box 5, folder 11
A Survey of Haydn's Compositions
box 5, folder 13
C.P.E. Bach in Geiringer; Haydn
box 5, folder 14
Haydn Celebration in Hungary
box 5, folder 17
Berlioz and Gluck's Viennese Operas
box 6, folder 1
Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach
box 6, folder 4
Guidelines from System Science
box 6, folder 5
Gluck Telemaco Lecture St. Louis
oversize 7
Instruments in the Music History of the Occident Manuscript
box 8, folder `
Concerto,Tommaso Albinoni Op. V, No. 8
box 8, folder 2
Photocopy of Music Scores
box 8, folder 5
Sections Missing from German Scores
box 2, folder 5
Works on Hector Berlioz and Gluck, Wiener
box 9, folder 7
Manuscript on Composers (Haydn, Wolf, Bach)
oversize 10-16
Oversize/Research Files Subseries 1.2.
Scope and Content
Conntains mixed, unfoldered materials transferred to 13" x 18" flat oversize boxes. Materials include scores, manuscripts
of papers, notes, clippings, offprints, and fliers.
Programs/Magazines Subseries 1.3.
box 17, folder 7
American Musciology Society
box 18, folder 1
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra Symphony Magazine 37th Season
1955-1956
box 18, folder 2
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra Symphony Magazine 38th Season
1956-1957
box 18, folder 3
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra Symphony Magazine 39th Season
1957-1958
box 18, folder 4
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra Symphony Magazine 40th Season
1958-1959
box 18, folder 5
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra Symphony Magazine 41th Season
1959-1960
box 18, folder 6
Osterreichische Musik Zeitschrift
1979-1988
Transcripts of Interviews Subseries 1.4.
box 19, folder 7
1984 July 25-1984 July 26
box 27-28
Offprints Subseries 1.5.
Scope and Content
Offprints, mainly by Karl Geiringer, on Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, and Schubert.
box 21, folder 5
Picture for Book on Musical Instruments (Not Chosen) #1
box 21, folder 6
Picture for Book on Musical Instruments (Not Chosen) #2
Clippings Series 3.
Other Descriptive Information
Clippings include personal and work related topics.
oversize 22, folder 1
In the Memory of Karl Geiringer
oversize 22, folder 2
Letters to Bernice in Memory of Karl
box 23, folder 1
Clippings in Memory of Karl Geiringer
box 23, folder 13
Vassily Primakov, Pianist
box 24, folder 1
Geiringer Award Recognition
box 24, folder 2
Handwritten Notes, Autobiography
box 24, folder 3
Works Related to/Mentioning Geiringer
box 24, folder 4
This I Remember Karl Geiringer Memoirs
box 24, folder 5
Photograph Section for Memoirs
box 24, folder 6
Research Work in Boston Manuscript
box 25, folder 1
Geiringer's Contributions Manuscript
box 25, folder 4
A Tribute to Karl Geiringer - Student Letters
box 26, folder 2
Personal Vignettes Manuscript - Epilogue
box 26, folder 3
My Triumph Over Tragedy: An Autobiography
box 26, folder 4
Handwritten Notes to Bernice
box 26, folder 5
Postcards and Letters
1987-1999
box 26, folder 6
Correspondence with Bernice
box 26, folder 7
Daniel and Daniel Publishers, Inc.
box 26, folder 9
Judith Anderson Clippings
box 26, folder 10
Nathan Pritikin Clippings
box 26, folder 11
Bernice Geiringer Clippings
Correspondence Series 5.
Other Descriptive Information
Incoming and outgoing
box 9, folder 8
Editorial Correspondence
1960-1964
box 9, folder 9
Editorial Correspondence
1967-1968
box 9, folder 10
Editorial Correspondence
1968-1969
box 9, folder 11
Editorial Correspondence
1970-1971
box 29, folder 4
1936-1999
Other Descriptive Information
Include photocopies of incoming correspondence from Pablo Casals, Kurt Weill, Leopold Stokowski, and Bruno Walter, Walter
Piston, Gian Carlo Menotti, Erich Leinsdorf, and Rudolf Serkin.
1955-1959
Other Descriptive Information
Bach, Haydn, Beethoven
Other Descriptive Information
Ernst
box 31
1963-1964
Other Descriptive Information
Ernst, Lucy
1967-1974
Other Descriptive Information
Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, W.W. Norton & Co, Neumann
1967-1974
Other Descriptive Information
Oxford University, Österreich, Oregon
box 33
Josef Haydn-Institut
1969-1974
Personal/Family (Janet, George, Grandchildren)
1973-1977
Family (Grandchildren: Karen, Erika, Kevin)
1977-1980
Includes Death & Birth Certificates
1979-1980
Letters from Colleagues
1988-1996
Audiocasette Subseries 6.1.
item A26664/CS
Karl Geiringer Talks About Early Days at UCSB
item A26665/CS
Karl Geiringer, Concluded
1984 May 31
item A26668/CS
Bach's Influence on Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
reel A26624/R7
Judith Davidoff - Baryton, Eleftherios - Viola, Virginia Eleftherakis - Cello
reel A26626/R7
Protagonist of the Enlightenment Illustrations
reel A26627/R7
Joh. Seb. Bach
1975 June 1
reel A26628/R7
UCSB Dorians - Michael Ingham
reel A26630/R7
Cambridge Society for Early Music/Iva Dee Hiatt
reel A26633/R7
Martin Boston WGBH
1961 May 19
reel A26635/R7
Telemaco Contralto Aria Anol Quartet
reel A26637/R7
Passacaglia in C Minor - J.S. Bach
reel A26638/R7
Finale Pasquale
1967 January 29
reel A26639/R7
Haydn: Orlando Paladino, Overture to Medero Aria
reel A26640/R7
Excerpts from St. Matthew Passion
1966 March 27
reel A26641/R7
Music Antiqua
1967 December 29
reel A26642/R7
Haydn: Orlando Paladino Act II
1962 March 27
reel A26643/R7
Joseph Haydn Orlando Paladino
1967 December 29
reel A26644/R7
Haydn: Orlando Paladino Act II
reel A26645/R7
Jospeh Haydn Concertantes Jupiter
reel A26648/R7
Return to the Preck Room
1967
reel A26650/R7
Schubert Arpeggione-Sonate
reel A26651/R7
J.S. Bach Four Christmas Pieces
1968
reel A26652/R7
Musica Antiqua
1958 November 21
reel A26654/R7
Untitled
1971 February 28
reel A26655/R7
Copy of Musica Antiqua Concert
reel A26657/R7
A Hadyn-Brahms Celebration
reel A26658/R7
Schumann, Grieg, Brahms, Wolf, J.P. Schulz, Mozart, R. Strauss, Bach
1976
reel A26662/R7
Hindemith - Cello - Bassoon
reel A26669/R7
Schubert Mass in E-Flat Major
Videocassette Subseries 6.3.
item V7070/VHS
Dr. Karl Geiringer Talk on Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Brahms
1986 May 20
item V7071/VHS
SB Music Club Installation of New Officers
1986 June 11
item V7072/VHS
Dr. Karl Geiringer - Bernice Shapiro Wedding Reception
1987 May 10
item V7073/VHS
Dr. Karl Geiringer Lectures on Young Brahms and the Schumanns
1987 May 21
item V7074/VHS
Dr. Karl Geiringer on Symbolism of Bach (UCSB)
1987 November 2
item V7075/VHS
A Tribute to Dr. Karl Geiringer at Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall
1987 December 3
item V7076/VHS
Introduction Dr. Karl Geiringer at SB Music Club
1988 November 9
item V7077/VHS
Sutherland Recital
1/3/1991
item V7078/VHS
Dedication of Karl Geiringer Hall
1991 March 16
item V7079/VHS
Dedication of the Karl Geiringer Lectures at UCSB
1994 February 8
item V7051/VHS
Vassily Primakov in recital at UCSB
1999 April 4
item V7080/VHS
Vassily Primakov in Recital UCSB
1999 April 24
item V7081/VHS
Arthur Rubinstein: A 100th Anniversary
item V7082/VHS
Chinese Prime Minister, Tribute to Judith, Bread
item V7083/VHS
Dame Judith: Elizabeth the Queen
item V7084/VHS
Dame Judith, Bernard, Clips, Misc., Bread
item V7085/VHS
Dr. Karl Geiringer Speaking on "Bach's Chamber Works for Voice" At UCSB
item V7087/VHS
"Medea": Dame Judith, Zae Caldwell
item V7088/VHS
Rubinstein Remembered: A 100th Anniversary
item V7089/VHS
"Salame" Judith, Rita Hayworth, Charles Laughton
