Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Preferred Citation
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biographical / Historical
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Joseph Rumshinsky papers
Creator:
Rumshinsky, Joseph
Identifier/Call Number: PASC-M.0027
Physical Description:
23.5 Linear Feet
(47 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1917-1956
Abstract: Joseph Rumshinsky was known as one of the founders of the American Yiddish musical stage. The collection predominantly consists
of original and reproduced manuscripts of scores and parts of stage shows and operettas, songs, dance music, and religious
pieces. Additionally there are clippings and typescript materials, including synopses, scripts, obituaries, and testimonials.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Murray Rumshinsky, 1974.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Joseph Rumshinsky Papers (Collection PASC-M 27). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, UCLA.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biographical / Historical
Joseph Rumshinsky was born in Vina, Luthuania in 1881. He was a child prodigy cantorial meshoyrer (apprentice) and by the
age of 17 had conducted his first Yiddish theater production. He moved to America in 1904. After being invited to New York
by the theater impresario and star Boris Thomashefsky in 1908, Rumshinsky helped upgrade the structure of Yiddish musical
theater from a series of vaudeville-type skits linked by songs into a true operetta form. His first solo production, Dem Rebins
Nigun (the rabbis melody), in 1920 established him as Yiddish Americas preeminent theater composer.
He was a partner in production with Molly Picon from 1922to 1931 and also worked with Menasha Skulnik. During his career he
wrote more than 100 operettas for the Yiddish stage and also composed cantorial hymns and concert and specialty numbers. He
was a member of the Board of Directors of the Yiddish Theatrical Alliance and a president of the Society of Jewish Composers
and Song Writers. His opera in Hebrew titled, Ruth, was to have been produced in Israel, but Rumshinsky died in Kew Gardens,
NY, February 6, 1956.
(from Oxford Music Online)
Scope and Content
The collection consists of material related to the career of Yiddish theater composer Joseph Rumshinsky. The bulk of the collection
is original and reproduced manuscripts of scores and parts of stage shows and operettas, songs, dance music, and religious
pieces. Also includes clippings and typescript materials, including synopses, scripts, obituaries, and testimonials related
to Rumshinsky's career.
Titles romanized as in the originals; YIVO-style transcription followed for Yiddish only titles. English titles (in brackets)
are as given.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in the following series:
- Series 1. Operettas
- Series 2. Religious works and arrangements
- Series 3. Orchestral and other works
- Series 4. Libretti and radio scripts
- Series 5. Published songs
- Series 6. Manuscript songs
- Series 7. Rumshinskiana
- Series 8. Added material
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Songs, Yiddish
Jewish composers -- United States -- Archives
Rumshinsky, Joseph -- Archives