Mannes School of Music clippings and scrapbook collection
Online Access
Available digital items: https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/collections/MA030101
Summary
This collection consists of news clipping files and scrapbooks that document Mannes from its founding through the early 1990s. The scrapbooks, which cover the school's early history through the 1960s, contain concert programs, advertisements, and news articles. Other scrapbooks, some from before the establishment of Mannes, document the activities of the school's founders, David and Clara Mannes, in their work as musicians and educators.
Dates
- 1910 - 1994
Creator
- Mannes College The New School for Music (Compiler, Organization)
Extent
11.7 Cubic Feet (11 boxes, 1 oversize box)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Content of Collection
The Mannes School of Music clippings and scrapbook collection consists of newspaper clippings related to David and
Clara Mannes and the Mannes School of Music, as well as programs for concerts given by
David and Clara Mannes and Mannes student recitals. The majority of the collection consists of news clippings collected by clipping services. The clippings in Series I, which cover 1959-1994, are organized into files by subject. Earlier clippings (through 1964) are pasted into scrapbooks, these are found in Series II. The collected articles range from reviews and notices of Mannes-related performances, to profiles of Mannes musicians, interviews,
and editorials mentioning or pertaining to the Mannes family or the Mannes School of Music.
The collection also includes concert programs for David Mannes’s Metropolitan Museum of Art orchestra
concerts, New York Symphony Orchestra concerts, conducted by Walter Damrosch (Clara Mannes's brother), and newspaper and magazine items regarding notable Mannes alumni and
faculty, including Julius Rudel, Eve Queler, George Szell, Murray Perahia, Frederica von Stade, and Burt
Bacharach. Also included are clipped advertisements for Mannes School of Music, reviews of New Songs for New Voices, a book of children’s songs co-edited by David and Clara Mannes and published in 1928, and articles about the Music School Settlement, a music school for Black children
that David Mannes directed prior to founding Mannes in 1916.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research use. Please contact archivist@newschool.edu for appointment.
Use Restrictions
To publish images of material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from The New School Archives and Special Collections. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu.
Historical Note
Mannes School of Music was established in 1916 by David and Clara (Damrosch) Mannes, professional musicians and educators. Prior to establishing Mannes, David founded one of the first music schools for Black children, the Music School Settlement for Colored People in Harlem.
In 1940, David and Clara's son Leopold, a pianist who was also one of the inventors of Kodachrome film, became first the director and then president of the school. In 1953, the school was granted a charter from the State of New York and became a degree-granting college. The name of the institution was changed to the Mannes College of Music.
In the 1950s and '60s, Mannes became known for its signature curriculum, the "Techniques of Music." During this time, many eminent faculty and students passed through the school's doors. In the 1970s, the school suffered a financial crisis that brought it to the brink of collapse. Under the leadership of Charles Kaufman, the school survived this crisis. In 1989, Kaufman negotiated the merger of Mannes with The New School, in large part to gain greater tuition revenue through access to The New School's continuing education program. Kaufman served as dean until 1996.
In 2005, the school was renamed Mannes College The New School for Music. In 2015, as part of a university-wide reorganization, Mannes became a division of The New School's College of Performing Arts and the name changed to Mannes School of Music. From 1996-2011, Mannes was led by Joel Lester. As of 2018, the dean of Mannes is Richard Kessler, who has served in that role since 2011.
Sources:
Grimes, William. "Mannes School Says Thank You." The New York Times, April 17, 1995.
The New School. "History." Mannes. Accessed October 25, 2018. http://www.newschool.edu/mannes/history/
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically in 2 series: 1. News clipping files, 1946, 1959-1994 2. Scrapbooks, 1910-1964
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transferred from the Harry Scherman Library of Mannes College of Music to The New School Archives and Special Collections, 2015.
- Clippings (information artifacts) (Type of Material) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Concert programs (Type of Material) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Conservatories of music (Subject) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Mannes, Clara, 1869-1948
- Mannes, David, 1866-1959
- Music -- Instruction and study -- United States (Subject) (Places) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Scrapbooks (Type of Material) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Title
- Guide to the Mannes School of Music clippings and scrapbook collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jason Adamo
- Date
- February 26, 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin