Piatigorsky Archives at the Colburn School, 1900-1999, bulk 1930-1976

Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Creators:
Piatigorsky, Gregor, 1903-1976 and The Colburn School
Abstract:
The Piatigorsky Archives consists of 19,000 items documenting the life and career of cellist Gregor Piatigorsky (1903-1976). The collection includes musical scores and manuscripts, papers, correspondence, clippings, concert programs, photographs, sound and video recordings, books, and ephemera. The majority of the materials in the archives consists of Piatigorsky’s personal collection, but it also includes items collected by or given to him by composers, colleagues, and friends. The collection was donated to the Colburn School, a music conservatory in Los Angeles, in 2014.
Extent:
154.90 Linear Feet 151 boxes, approximately 19,000 items: 30 boxes of published and unpublished scores; 3 boxes of handwritten music manuscripts; 6 boxes of personal and work papers; 5 boxes of correspondence; 1 box of book manuscripts; 6 boxes of clippings; 1 box of ephemera; 5 boxes of concert programs; 10 boxes of photographs; 29 boxes of sound recordings in 7", 10", and 12" sound discs and reel tapes; 4 boxes of video recordings in film and reel tapes; 16 boxes of books, journals, and catalogs; 17 boxes of supplemental collection materials; 2 boxes of realia and textiles; 5 boxes of presentation materials; 4 boxes of duplicate materials; 1 box of 'treasure box' materials
Language:
Primarily English with many materials in Russian and French. Also includes materials in German, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, and Spanish.
Preferred citation:

Item name, item date, unique identifier, box # : folder #. Piatigorsky Archives at the Colburn School, Los Angeles, CA (date accessed).

Background

Scope and content:

The Piatigorsky Archives were accessioned by the Colburn School through the Piatigorsky family in January of 2014. The collection consists of musical scores and manuscripts, papers, correspondence, clippings, ephemera, concert programs, photographs, sound recordings (interviews, test pressings, commercial recordings, personal record collection), video recordings (performances, home movies, commercial films, biographies), and books. The materials came from Piatigorsky's personal collection at his home in Los Angeles, CA. Additionally, the collection includes supplemental materials donated to, or acquired by the Archives. A portion of the collection has been digitized, including photographs, music manuscripts, recorded audio interviews, and selections of concert programs and correspondence.

Biographical / historical:

Gregor Piatigorsky was among the most celebrated cellists of the twentieth century. At age 15 he was principal cellist of the Bolshoi Orchestra in Moscow and at 18 he was principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic. From the mid-1920s through the 1950s he toured as a soloist and recorded extensively. In the 1960s he performed often with his close friend, the violinist Jascha Heifetz.

Gregor Piatigorsky was born in 1903 in Ekaterinoslav, Ukraine. Coming from very humble beginnings, by the age of eight he was already a professional cellist, playing in restaurants and theaters. At fifteen he joined the Bolshoi Orchestra in Moscow as principal cellist. At eighteen, he escaped from Communist Russia and at twenty-one he was principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Beginning in the mid-nineteen-twenties, Piatigorsky had an extensive career as a cello soloist, performing with the great orchestras and conductors of the day and playing chamber music with the most illustrious musicians of the twentieth century. He toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He made hundreds of recordings and appeared on radio, television, and film.

Piatigorsky was known as a great musician, raconteur, art collector, and a man of great warmth and generosity. In January 1937, Piatigorsky married Jacqueline de Rothschild in Ann Arbor, Michigan while on an American tour. During World War II, Piatigorsky was forced to leave Europe with his family, settling first in upstate New York. When Piatigorsky was appointed to the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1941 the family moved to Philadelphia. Finally, Piatigorsky settled in Los Angeles in 1949, for a short time teaching at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and later teaching master classes at the University of Southern California (USC) from 1962 to 1976.

The last concert Piatigorsky played was on June 15, 1976 opening the new Robin Hood Dell Series with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy, in the Brahms Double Concerto with Isaac Stern and Don Quixote by Richard Strauss, a work with which he had been associated throughout his career. A few months later, Piatigorsky died of lung cancer on August 6, 1976 at his home in Los Angeles.

Processing information:

Collection processed by Clarice De Veyra (archivist), Meagan Mason and Alison Butler (musicologists, archives assistants), and Carol Merrill-Mirsky (archives consultant), 2014-2016.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in 6 series with sub-series:

Series 1. Scores and Manuscripts: published scores, unpublished scores, music manuscripts (27.99 linear feet). Series 2. Papers: personal and work papers, correspondence, book manuscripts, clippings, ephemera, concert programs (27.11 linear feet). Series 3. Photographs: family, general, performance and rehearsals, portraits (6.38 linear feet). Series 4. Sound and Video Recordings: interviews, test pressings, commercial recordings, record collection, audio tape reels, video recordings (27.26 linear feet). Series 5. Books, Journals, and Catalogs: books, journals, music catalogs (15 linear feet). Series 6. Supplemental Collections: Adele Freedman Siegal collection, Margaret Bartley collection, Piatigorsky scores collection, CD collection (15.05 linear feet).

Physical facet:
39 storage cartons, 31 periodical boxes, 19 record boxes (12"), 16 document boxes, 14 print boxes, 9 CD boxes, 6 newspaper boxes, 4 multipurpose boxes, 2 record boxes (45 rpm), 1 record box (10"), 2 textile storage boxes (40")
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research by appointment. Material must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Contact the archives at piatigorskyarchives@colburnschool.edu.

Terms of access:

For permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the archives at piatigorskyarchives@colburnschool.edu.

Preferred citation:

Item name, item date, unique identifier, box # : folder #. Piatigorsky Archives at the Colburn School, Los Angeles, CA (date accessed).

Location of this collection:
200 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012, US