Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Betty Freeman Papers, 1966‐2008
- Dates:
- 1966-2008
- Creators:
- Betty Freeman
- Abstract:
- This collection documents the activities of American philanthropist, arts patron, photographer, and film/record producer, Betty Freeman, from the early 1960’s to 2008.
- Extent:
- 66 linear feet
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
[Name of item], Betty Freeman Paper 1966-2008, Special Collections, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association Archives
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection documents the activities of American philanthropist, arts patron, photographer, and film/record producer, Betty Freeman, from the early 1960’s to 2008. The collection boasts the complete photographic prints and negatives of composers, conductors, and performers taken by Betty that were included in the more than 40 “Music People” exhibitions held in the U.S., Europe, and Japan from 1985 – 2006. In addition to these prints and negatives there is documentation including photos of the exhibitions. The collection contains the recordings, both on cassette and DAT, of Betty and Alan Rich’s Musicale (Salotto) series that featured contemporary composers and performers and took place at Betty’s house from 1981-1991 and then at the home of Judith Rosen from 1991 – 1994. All of Betty’s photographs of these events are also included. Lastly, this collection contains documents pertaining to Ms. Freeman’s patronage of more than 430 grants and commissions awarded to more than 80 composers between the years 1961‐2008, including personally inscribed CD’s, books, manuscript and published scores, and LPs. A complete set of the recordings Ms. Freeman produced for the Newport Classic label is part of this collection. An extensive correspondence between Ms. Freeman and the composers, conductors, musicians, and choreographers she supported and befriended rounds out this important collection.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Betty Freeman (June 3, 1921 – January 4, 2009) was an American philanthropist, arts patron, photographer, film/record producer, and impresario. As an individual patron of contemporary composers, she was perhaps the most generous and influential force during the second half of the twentieth century. Ms. Freeman (neé Wishnick) was born in Chicago and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, a chemical engineer, owned his own company, which was the source of her private wealth. Her mother was a math teacher. Ms. Freeman graduated from Wellesley College in Boston in 1942 with a major in English Literature and a minor in Music. She went on to study piano and music theory, first privately in New York, and then officially at both Julliard and the New England Conservatory. In 1950, Betty, along with her husband and four children, moved to Los Angeles, where she continued her piano studies with Joanna Graudan and Victoria Front. In the 1950’s, Ms. Freeman began to collect contemporary American art. She was one of the founders of the Contemporary Art Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and served as its secretary for ten years. Betty penned books on the artists Clyford Still and Sam Francis, and she was active for nine years with the contemporary music series “Encounters” at the Pasadena Art Museum (1964‐1973). Her career as a patron of new music began in 1965 when she was drawn to the music of American composers such as Harry Partch, John Cage, Morton Feldman and Steve Reich, and to European composers Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Between 1965-2008, Ms. Freeman provided more than 430 grants and commissions to more than 80 composers, some of whom she also subsidized. In addition to the grants, she helped produce records and promote concerts. In 1972, while involved with the production of the documentary film of Harry Partch, “The Dreamer that Remains,” Betty developed an interest in photography after taking a photo on the set of the film. She went on to study photography with Ansel Adams, Cole Weston, Bill Owens and others. Composers, conductors, and performers became her models for portraiture from the 1970’s into the new millennium. Betty showed her portraits at her self-created exhibit titled, “Music People,” which showed for the first time in 1985 at the Otis‐Parsons Art School in Los Angeles (1985). In total, Ms. Freeman’s “Music People” showed more than 40 times in the U.S., Europe, and Japan between 1985 and 2006. Between 1981 and 1991, Ms. Freeman, along with music critic Alan Rich, began to present a series of fifty‐nine Musicales (or “Salotto”) at her home in Beverly Hills. The purpose of the Musicales was to give space to the invited composers to present their works, either live or recorded, and give brief talks about them. Some of the composers invited to present were John Adams, Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Philip Glass, Mauricio Kagel, György Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski, and Steve Reich, to name a few. Betty recorded each Musicale with the intent of using the recordings for a future project. Betty served twice on the Inter‐arts panel of the N.E.A. (1983, 1984). She is a recipient of the Cunningham Dance Foundation award for “distinguished support of the arts” (1984); two awards from the American Music Center (1986 and 2003); the Gold Baton from the American Symphony Orchestra League (1987). She was most proud to be the dedicatee of John Cage’s violin solo “Freeman Etude” (1971) and John Adams’ opera “Nixon in China” (1987). Ms. Freeman served on the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association between March 1989 and November 1994.
- Acquisition information:
- In 2003, Betty Freeman donated her papers, photographs, negatives, recordings, correspondence and commercially produced LPs and CDs to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association (LAPA) Archives. The materials were transferred to the LAPA Archives after Mrs. Freeman's death in 2009.
- Processing information:
-
This manuscript group is arranged in 9 series and further arranged into subseries where applicable. Series 1: Photographic Works Subseries 1: Photographs, Portraits Subseries 2: Photographs, Oversized Subseries 3: Proof sheets, Negatives and Slides Series 2: Music People Subseries 1: Shows, Photographs and Correspondence, 1991‐1997 Subseries 2: Personal Photographs Series 3: Photographic Reproductions Series 4: Salotto Musicales (Music Room) Subseries 1: Correspondence Subseries 2: Photographs Subseries 3: Photographs and Record Book Subseries 4: Book Materials Subseries 5: Negatives and Proofs, Photographs Subseries 6: Cassettes and DATs of Lectures and Performances Series 5: Commissions and Grants Series 6: Festival Programs and Correspondence ‐ Ojai, Salzburg, Lucerne Series 7: Robert Wilson Papers and Correspondence Series 8: General Correspondence and Miscellany Series 9: Books, Scores, Audio and Visual Media
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- 1966-2008
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on Aug. 8, 2025, 4:34 p.m.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Materials are open to research without restriction except for portions designated as restricted, confidential, or sealed. Many photographs and Musicale (Salotto) recordings in this collection have been digitized and are available to the public for viewing/listening upon request. Many of the recordings included in this collection are recorded on Digital Audio Tape (DAT) and require playback on a DAT player. The Los Angeles Philharmonic Archives does not have a functioning DAT player. Permission to examine archival holdings that are not digitized will be granted to any researcher upon completion of an agreement form (available onsite). Please bring proper identification. Original documents do not circulate and may only be used in the Reading Room of the Archives. Requests for photocopies, digital scans, photographic prints, and other copies of archival material will be satisfied based on copyright restrictions and staff resources. Duplication fees apply to outside researchers. Please contact the Archivist for further details. There are materials in this collection that are held offsite and require additional time to access. If a researcher needs to access something that is offsite, please be aware that it will take additional time.
- Terms of access:
-
Los Angeles Philharmonic Archives © 2010
- Preferred citation:
-
[Name of item], Betty Freeman Paper 1966-2008, Special Collections, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association Archives
- Location of this collection:
-
151 South Grand AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90012-3034, US
- Contact:
- (213) 972-7689