DVORAK/THURBER MSS.
The Dvořák/Thurber mss., ca. 1885–1937, consist of documents, correspondence and ephemera relating to Antonín Dvořák, Jeanette M. Thurber, and the history of the National Conservatory of Music in America (NCMA). These materials were collected by Prof. Robert Aborn, whose dissertation "The Influence on American Musical Culture of Dvořák's Sojourn in America," may be read in its entirety at: https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/3462.
Jeanette M. Thurber founded the National Conservatory of Music in 1885, which was based on the Paris Conservatoire model. In addition to replicating the European Conservatories to which American students had been turning in order to obtain a first class musical education, she also hoped to train as yet untrained students, the handicapped, and blacks as well as to encourage an indigenous music culture in the United States. Antonin Dvořák was the director from1892–1895. Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer of Romantic music. During his time in America, among other compositions, Dvořák wrote Symphony No.9 "From the New World," String Quartet in F (the "American"), and the String Quintet in E flat, as well as a Sonatina for violin and piano.
Acquired: 2008, 2009
Collection size: 150 items
NOTE: Access to this collection requires advance notice. Please contact the Curator of Manuscripts for additional information.