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Piatigorsky Archives at the Colburn School 2016.GP.CS
2016.GP.CS
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Contributing Institution:
The Colburn School
Title: Piatigorsky Archives at the Colburn School
creator:
Piatigorsky, Gregor, 1903-1976
source:
The Colburn School
Identifier/Call Number: 2016.GP.CS
Physical Description:
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30 boxes of published and unpublished scores;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
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")
Date (inclusive): 1900-1999
Date (bulk): 1930-1976
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.
Language of Material: Primarily English with many materials in Russian and French. Also includes materials in German, Italian, Hungarian, Polish,
and Spanish.
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.
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.
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).
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.
For permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the archives at piatigorskyarchives@colburnschool.edu.
Item name, item date, unique identifier, box # : folder #. Piatigorsky Archives at the Colburn School, Los Angeles, CA (date
accessed).
Collection processed by Clarice De Veyra (archivist), Meagan Mason and Alison Butler (musicologists, archives assistants),
and Carol Merrill-Mirsky (archives consultant), 2014-2016.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Piatigorsky, Gregor (1903-1976) -- Archival resources
Cellists
Cellists -- California -- Los Angeles
Music -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Musicians -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Musicians -- Classical music -- 20th century
Piatigorsky, Gregor, 1903-1976
The Colburn School