Description
This collection comprises the papers of Remi Gassmann, composer, critic, conductor, pianist and educator. The collection documents
all phases of Gassmann’s career, including his youth in Kansas, musical education in the United States, studies during the
1930s under Paul Hindemith at the Hochschule fur Musik in Berlin, work as music editor and critic for
The Chicago Daily Times during the 1940s, his direction of the University of Chicago’s Program for Composers Seminars from 1941-1947, and his lifelong
work in music composition.
Background
Remigius Oswalt Gassmann was an American avant garde composer and pioneer in electronic sound and music. Classically trained
under Paul Hindemith in composition and theory, Gassmann collaborated with choreographer Tatjana Gsovsky and premiered
Paean (1960), one of the first ballets set to electronic music. Later, along with partner Oskar Sala and the innovative electronic
instrument the Mixtur-trautonium, Gassmann composed and produced the soundtrack for Alfred Hitchcock's film
The Birds (1963).
Extent
24.1 linear feet
(44 boxes and 1 oversized folder)
Restrictions
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For persmissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Availability
The collection is open for research.