Access to Collection
Preferred Citation
Biographical note
Acquisition Information
Scope and Contents
Conditions Governing Use
Language of Material:
Multiple languages
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Mario Paci papers
creator:
Paci, Mario
source:
Zaharoff, Floria Paci
source:
Zaharoff, Alex
Identifier/Call Number: M1917
Physical Description:
3 Linear Feet
: 2 manuscript boxes, 3 flat boxes, 1 map folder
Date (inclusive): 1897-2002
Language of Material: Languages in the collection include in English, Italian, Dutch, French, German, and Chinese.
Abstract: Articles, correspondence, photographs, drawings, programs, newspaper clippings, and musical scores and compositions related
to the pianist and conductor Mario Paci (1878-1946), who founded the Shanghai Symphony orchestra.
Access to Collection
The materials are open for research and must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Mario Paci papers (M1917). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University
Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Biographical note
Mario Paci was born in Florence on 4 June 4, 1878. He studied piano at the Conservatorio di Musica S. Pietro a Majella in
Naples, under the tutelage of Giovanni Sgambati in Rome, and conducting and composition at the Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe
Verdi in Milan. After winning the Franz Liszt Prize in 1895 he performed frequently on piano throughout Europe. In 1918 on
an Asian tour, he arrived in Shanghai, where he remained several months due to a severe illness. He eventually was approached
to form an orchestra to perform European works for the large community of Western businessmen and government officials living
in Shanghai at the time. He reorganized the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in 1919, augmented by players whom he recruited primarily
from Italy with the support of the Shanghai Municipal Council. The orchestra was the first major introduction of Western music
into the cultural life of China. The audiences and the orchestra were both composed entirely of Europeans, but Paci gradually
opened up membership in the orchestra, and eventually the audience, to native Chinese despite considerable opposition from
local authorities and officials.
Paci also taught music to Chinese living in Shanghai, and also aided Cai Yuanpei to establish the National School for Music
in 1927, which became the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1956. When the Japanese occupied China in World War II, Paci was
forced to resign as conductor, which eventually led to the dissolution of the orchestra. Paci was unable to continue his career
as a musician in China and died on August 3, 1946. Paci was a tyrannical conductor known for his temper in rehearsals, but
he is credited with raising the level of musical performance to a high degree in Asia, where Western music had no tradition
and was generally not known or practiced except by foreigners.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Floria Paci Zaharoff and Alex Zaharoff, 2012-2017.
Scope and Contents
The collection includes correspondence to and from Paci and his family, including his first wife, soprano Elizabeth Mackenzie,
his second wife Sara (Hillen) Paci, and his daughter, Floria (Paci) Zaharoff. There are also articles, concert programs, documents,
photographs, drawings, newspaper clippings, manuscript compositions by Paci, and published musical scores dedicated to Paci
by fellow musicians. There are also drafts for Floria Paci Zaharoff's book "The daughter of the maestro: life in Surabya,
Shanghai and Florence."
Conditions Governing Use
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Conductors (Music) -- Italy -- Biography.
Conductors (Music) -- China -- Biography.
Conductors (Music) -- Biography.
Zaharoff, Floria Paci
Paci, Mario
Shanghai jiao xiang yue tuan
Zaharoff, Floria Paci
Zaharoff, Alex