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The Moldenhauer Archives at the Library of Congress is a collection of original music, unique documents and manuscripts within the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

, the

national library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, o ...

of the United States. The Moldenhauer archives contains many thousands of unique original documents of historical significance. Part of the collection was bequeathed to The Moldenhauer Archives at Harvard University, located in the Houghton Library at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Significance

The archives were founded through a donation of documents and funds by the German collector, historian and musicologist Hans Moldenhauer, in honour of his wife Rosaleen Moldenhauer. The original bequest, consisting of over 3,500 documents, constituted the most comprehensive collection of original musical manuscripts ever accumulated. The collection spans musical periods from the Middle Ages through the 20th century, and includes original musical manuscripts by 57 of the foremost western composers, from

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, Bartók,

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

, via

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, to

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

, Schoenberg and

Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...

. Since 1987, the Moldenhauer Archives have grown to many thousands of items that are now housed in nine institutions around the world: in the United States, at the Library of Congress, Harvard University,

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

, and

Whitworth College Whitworth University is a Private university, private, Christianity, Christian university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Spokane, Washington. Founded in 1890, Whitworth enrolls nearly 3,000 students and offers more t ...

; in Basel, Switzerland, at the

Paul Sacher Paul Sacher (28 April 190626 May 1999) was a Swiss conductor, patron and billionaire businessperson. At the time of his death Sacher was majority shareholder of pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche and was considered the third richest person i ...

Foundation; in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Zentralbibliothek; in Munich, Germany, at the

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the bigg ...

; and in Vienna, Austria, at the Stadtarchiv und Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek.

About the benefactor

Hans Moldenhauer was born in 1906 in Germany, but emigrated to the United States in 1938 to escape

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

in his native country. He lived and worked in the United States until his death in 1987.

Literature

* John Y. Cole: ''Encyclopedia of The Library of Congress''. Washington, D.C. 2004. * Jon Newsom, Alfred Mann: ''The Rosaleen Moldenhauer Memorial: Music History from Primary Sources : a Guide to the Moldenhauer Archives''. Washington, D.C. 2000, Library of Congress.

External links

* Online collection at Library of Congress
The Moldenhauer Archives - The Rosaleen Moldenhauer Memorial
* Finding aid to th
Moldenhauer archives at the Library of Congress, circa 1000-circa 1990
* Article

at the

(English)
www.loc.gov: Website Library of Congress
(English)
Online-Katalog
(English)
Library of Congress Authorities
(English)
Moldenhauer Archives at Harvard University

References

* * * * * {{Authority control Library of Congress Music archives in the United States