Rudolf Matz Musical Score and Personal Papers Collection

Collection

Identifier: SC 0003

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The musical score collection contains approximately 650 scores owned by or relating to cellist Rudolf Matz. The collection includes around one hundred manuscript compositions in Matz's hand. A notable portion of the collection extends beyond cello repertoire, including works for violin, piano, wind, and voice. The personal papers portion of the collection includes articles and papers by Matz, scattered holdings of journals, correspondence, photographs, clippings and newspaper articles, performance posters and programs, music and athletic awards and citations.

Dates

1919 - 1988
Other: Date acquired: 1986

Creator

Matz, Rudolf (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.

Collection Historical Note

Biographical Note

Described by Leonard Rose as "perhaps the greatest cello theoretician in the world," violoncellist, composer, and pedagogue Rudolf Matz was born in Zagreb, Croatia in 1901. When he attended the Lycee Classique at the age of ten, his mother also enrolled him in preparatory classes at the Zagreb Academy of Music. Matz began his study of the cello with Umberto Fabbri and later studied with Juro Tkalcic, but the teacher who most influenced his development as a cellist and who was crucial to the evolution of his ideas on cello technique was violinist Vaclav Huml. In addition to receiving cello instruction at the Academy, Matz also studied conducting and composition. At the time of his death in 1988 he had written more than 300 instrumental and vocal compositions.

Rudolf Matz devoted his life to the promotion and development of musical activity in his native country, organizing musical societies and a variety of performing groups, including the Musical Society of Intellectuals, the Zagreb Chamber Orchestra (later I Solisti di Zagreb), Sklad, and the Zagreb Chamber Choir. He was also popular as a teacher of cello master classes and served as a jury member at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1966, 1970 and 1974. Matz was also a pioneer in establishing the field of music therapy as a profession in Croatia.

Extent

78.00 Linear Feet (52 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Rudolf Matz (1901-1988) is remembered for his accomplishments as a cellist, as a composer, and as a teacher. Acquired in 1986, the Matz Collection was a gift of Rudolf and Margita Matz. Boxes 1-35 of the collection contain music scores; included are nearly 200 original manuscripts and published editions of Matz's own compositions, including Matz's 32-volume cello method, Prve Godine Violonvella (First Years of the Violoncello).

In addition to his works composed for the cello, a significant portion of Rudolf Matz's manuscripts consists of orginal compositions for a variety of instruments. The methods serises of the collection includes lesser known composers, such as Battanchon, Hessel, Kal'ianov, and Mokragnatz.

Arrangement Note

The collection is separated into 2 series: sheet music and personal papers. The sheet music is arranged into 18 sub-series. The first two sub-series consist of manuscript scores and works. Sub-series 3 through 18 are arragned by genre. The personal papers are divided into 14 sub-series.

Source of Acquisition

Rudolf Matz and Margita Matz

Method of Acquisition

The Rudolf Matz Musical Score and Personal Papers Collections were gifts of Rudolf and Margita Matz, donated in 1986.

Accruals and Additions

Additional material was donated to the collection from Elizabeth Cowling.

Related Publications

Enix, Margery. 1996.Rudolf Matz: cellist, teacher, composer. Ottawa: Dominis Pub.

Separated Materials

Bound material from the Rudolf Matz Cello Music Collection was separately cataloged into the Cello Books and Bound Scores Collection. This is searchable through the library catalog.

Processing Information

The collection was originally processed in 1988 by Special Collections staff and Slobodan Gospodnetic (a student of Matz). The collection was reprocessed in 2014 by Stacey Krim.