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International Schenker Symposium records

 Collection
Identifier: MA-03-02-01

Abstract

The International Schenker Symposium, a conference dedicated to furthering the study of the system of music theory developed by Heinrich Schenker, was held at the Mannes School of Music septennially from 1985 to 2013. The collection contains papers presented and administrative files primarily from the first symposium in 1985, and the fourth symposium in 2006. Audio recordings of portions of the 1985, 2006, and 2013 symposia are also included.

Dates

  • 1985-2013

Creator

Extent

1.38 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

24.8 Gigabytes (71 files)

6 Analog Recordings (6 reels)

Language of Materials

English

Scope and Contents

This collection contains administrative files and academic paper drafts largely from the 1985 and 2006 International Schenker Symposia held at the Mannes School of Music. Some papers from the 1992 symposium are included, as well as conference programs for all the symposia held between the first symposium in 1985 and the fourth symposium in 2013. Audio recordings of the 1985, 2006, and 2013 symposia are also included. Recordings of the 2006 and 2013 have been converted to digital audio files.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use, and the event recordings made in 2006 and 2013 have been digitized and are available. Existing audio reels of the 1985 symposium may be digitized at the researchers' expense. Please contact archivist@newschool.edu for details.

Conditions Governing Use

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

In 1906, Austrian music theorist Heinrich Schenker (born 1868, Wiśniowczyk, Austrian Galicia; died 1935, Vienna, Austria) published the first volume of his series developing a new theory of music analysis, entitled, Neue musikalische Theorien und Phantasien (New Musical Theories and Phantasies). By 1931, Schenker was teaching his method of analysis to students in Vienna in weekly seminars. Hans Weisse, a student of Schenker’s who immigrated to the United States in 1931, began teaching music theory at the David Mannes Music School in New York City, where he established Schenkerian analysis as part of the fundamental curriculum of the school and arranged for the school’s publication of Five Analyses in Sketchform, a graphical record of the work of Schenker’s weekly seminars.

The association between the Mannes School of Music and Schenkerian analysis was later expanded upon by noted music theory faculty member (and student of Weisse and Schenker) Felix Salzer in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as by Carl Schachter, a student of Salzer’s with whom he wrote Counterpoint in Composition: A Study of Voice Leading, an important text in the teaching of music theory and composition.

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Heinrich Schenker’s death, the Mannes College of Music held its inaugural Schenker Symposium from March 15 to 17, 1985. The event was comprised of presentations by leading Schenkerian scholars, including Carl Schachter, a concert which included works composed by Schenker, and a discussion of existing archival material related to Schenker. Possibly due to the interest generated by the first symposium, much of the material in the Oster Collection of Heinrich Schenker’s papers, held by the New York Public Library, was made accessible by the time of the second symposium, held at Mannes in 1999. The Schenker Symposia were subsequently held at Mannes septennially until 2013, each time consisting of the presentation of scholarly papers, a concert, and discussion of historical Schenker materials.

References

Alpern, Wayne, Ian Bent, William Drabkin, and Lee Rothfarb. “Heinrich Schenker.” Schenker Documents Online. Accessed September 29, 2023. https://schenkerdocumentsonline.org/colloquy/heinrich_schenker.html.

Drabkin, William. “Hans Weisse.” Schenker Documents Online. Accessed September 29, 2023. https://schenkerdocumentsonline.org/profiles/person/entity-000951.html.

“Programs.” 1985-2013. Schenker Symposium records, MA.03.02.01, box 1, folder 8, New School Archives and Special Collections, The New School, New York, New York.

Siegel, Hedi. “Felix Salzer.” Schenker Documents Online. Accessed September 29, 2023. http://www.schenkerdocumentsonline.org/profiles/person/entity-000754.html.

Arrangement

Files in this collection are arranged alphabetically by subject, with chronological series for the three symposia represented in the collection.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred from the Harry Scherman Library of Mannes School of Music to the New School Archives and Special Collections, 2015.

Related Materials

The New School Archives holds the Arthur Waldeck papers related to Heinrich Schenker (MP.0008.01) which includes correspondence with Schenker and draft translations of his works; the Victor Hammer collection (MP.0009.01) contains a book by Schenker and manuscripts of Schenker's student, Hans Weisse; the New York Public Library holds the Oster collection (20057) which includes Schenker's correspondence and drafts of his written work; and Schenker Documents Online (https://schenkerdocumentsonline.org/index.html) contains transcriptions of correspondence, diaries, and other documents relating to Heinrich Schenker.

Title
Guide to the Schenker Symposium records
Status
Completed
Author
Jason Adamo
Date
August 23, 2024
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin