Restrictions on Access
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Preferred Citation
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Biography/History
Scope and Content
Organization and Arrangement
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Title: Eric Simon correspondence
Collection number: PASC-M 128
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1.2 linear ft.
(3 boxes)
Date: 1927-1985
Abstract: Eric Simon was an Austrian-born American clarinetist, conductor, music editor, teacher, and composer. He was a prolific correspondent
regarding both business and personal matters. The collection consists of 300-plus letters to and from Simon and various composers,
performers, conductors, musicologists, and publishers.
Language of Materials: Mostly English and German, with a small amount in French and Spanish.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary 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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Eric Simon Correspondence (Collection PASC-M 128). Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, UCLA.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Purchase, 1995.
Biography/History
Eric Simon was born in Vienna on October 2, 1907. He began studying piano when he was 8 years old, playing the clarinet at
14 and conducting in his 20s. While studying for his doctorate in law and economics he studied clarinet, piano, and music
theory. He was closely associated with the Schoenberg circle and frequently performed with Rudolf Kolisch and Eduard Steuerman.
He worked for the Vienna music publisher, Universal-Edition.
Simon emigrated to the United States in 1938 where he became the assistant of conductor Fritz Stiedry. During the 1940s he
worked as a music editor with Edward B. Marks, published arrangements and transcriptions of music for clarinet, and taught
at Mannes College of Music and other schools. He also taught/advised Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. During the 1950s and 1960s
he organized a series of contemporary music concerts in New York City, which brought him in contact with many composers and
performers. During his career, Simon played clarinet for orchestras led by Leonard Bernstein, Pablo Casals and Leopold Stokowski.
Upon his retirement he devoted himself to composition. Eric Simon died on October 8, 1994 in Connecticut.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of correspondence related to the career of musician, composer, and conductor Eric Simon. Included
are 300-plus letters to and from Simon and various composers, performers, conductors, musicologists, and publishers, including,
but not limited to, Ernst Krenek, Erich Leinsdorf, Darius Milhaud, Rudolf Serkin, Roger Sessions, and many others. A small
number of files contain correspondence about a particular individual, and do not include letters from that individual. The
correspondence documents the contemporary music scene in New York, during the postwar years. The bulk of the collection represents
composers and performers. Letters are largely written in English and German, with a small amount in French and Spanish. Additionally,
a small number of files contain ephemera.
Organization and Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following series: Series 1. Composers; Series 2. Performers; Series 3. Conductors; Series
4. Musicologists, Critics, and Writers; Series 5. Music Publishers; Series 6. Unidentified Correspondence; Series 7. Ephemera.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Musicians--Archives.
Musicians--Correspondence.