Egon Wellesz Contemporary Music Collection
Scope and Contents
The Egon Wellesz Contemporary Music Collection consists of published sheet music and scores by numerous contemporary composers, notably Wellesz himself, as well as Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schoenberg. Also included are books, programs and other printed material, and correspondence, most of it between Wellesz and his friend and collaborator Albi Rosenthal.
Dates
- 1892 - 1975
- Other: Date acquired: 01/00/2009
Creator
- Wellesz, Egon, 1885-1974 (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.
Biographical or Historical Information
Egon Wellesz (1885-1974) was an Austrian-born British composer, tecaher, and musicologist who composed over 125 works in a variety of perfomance media. He was also a scholar who specialized in Byzantine music and taught at Oxford. Wellesz was a student of composer Arnold Schoenberg and his collection contains many of Schoenberg's published works.
Wellesz was born in Vienna on 21 October 1885 and began the study of music at age seven. He initially entered Vienna University in 1904 to study law, but later changed his major to musicology. After studying privately with Arnold Schoneberg in 1905 and 1906, he received his Ph.D. in 1908. That same year, Wellesz married Emmy Stross, with whom he had one child, Elisabeth, in 1912.
The first performance of Wellesz's opera Princess Girnara was in 1921 at Frankfurt/Main. Wellesz joined the faculty of the University of Vienna in 1929 and also continued to compose operas and ballets as well as participating in several lecture series. He was awarded an honorary doctorate at Oxford in 1932. In 1938, he moved to Oxford full time, emigrating from Austria at the time of the Nazi German occupation. He was a fellow at the University of Oxford in 1939.
Wellesz continued to compose until suffering a stroke in 1972. He also served as a lecturer at Oxford and received numerous awards including Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1957 (he had become a British citizen in 1946) and the Great Australian State Award in 1961.
Wellesz died 8 November 1974 at the age of 89.
Extent
13.80 Linear Feet (13 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Egon Wellesz (1885-1974) was an Austrian-born British composer, tecaher, and musicologist who composed over 125 works in a variety of perfomance media. He was also a scholar who specialized in Byzantine music and taught at Oxford. Wellesz was a student of composer Arnold Schoenberg and his collection contains many of Schoenberg's published works.
Arrangement Note
The collection is arranged by catalog number. Oversize materials are housed in box 10. Uncataloged manuscript materials are housed in box 13.
Method of Acquisition
Gift of Harold Schiffman, Jane Perry-Camp, and Julia Rosenthal in January, 2009
Offensive Language Statement
The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.
Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.
Processing Information
Processed by Jennifer Motszko, May, 2010 Encoded by Jennifer Motszko, April, 2011
- Title
- Egon Wellesz Contemporary Music Collection
- Author
- Jennifer Motszko
- Date
- 2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- eng
Repository Details
Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository