Related Special Collections

The Music Division holds more than 500 named special collections in music, theater, and dance, varying in size from fewer than a dozen items to more than half a million. Every special collection is unique and includes its own array of materials; generally speaking, however, special collections provide researchers with primary source material such as music sketches and manuscripts, correspondence, writings, business contracts, photographs, and more.

There are two important gateways to discovering the Music Division's special collections and their contents:

Alphabetical List of Special Collections in the Music Division
The Performing Arts Reading Room website provides an alphabetical list of the Music Division's special collections with links to finding aids that describe the background and content of those collections.
Search Finding Aids Database
The Search Finding Aids Database allows you to keyword search across all of the Library's published finding aids. To limit your search to the Music Division's collections, select "Performing Arts" from the drop-down menu when searching. Keep in mind, however, that there may be relevant special collections to consult in the Library's Recorded Sound Research Center, Moving Image Research Center, Rare Books and Special Collections Reading Room, Prints & Photographs Reading Room, and other reading rooms.

Select Special Collections Relevant to Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein's collaborations, network of friends and acquaintances, and musical influence are so great and far-reaching that to list all special collections that reference him would be unhelpful. Keyword search "Bernstein" across all finding aids in the Performing Arts Reading Room using the Search Finding Aids Database described above to search exhaustively.

In addition to searching "Bernstein" across all finding aids, it can be helpful to search specific titles across all finding aids as well. For example, West Side Story materials can be found in the Arthur Laurents Papers, Roger L. Stevens Collection, Harold Prince Papers, and Oliver Smith Collection; additionally, the Peggy Clark Papers are particularly rich in materials related to On the Town.

The following list features select special collections with particularly rich material related to Bernstein:

Mildred Spiegel Zucker Collection of Leonard Bernstein Correspondence and Related Materials [Finding Aid]
Music teacher Mildred Spiegel Zucker was a childhood friend of Leonard Bernstein's, with whom she maintained a lifelong friendship. The collection mostly consists of correspondence that Bernstein sent to Zucker dating from his time as a counselor at Camp Onata, as a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, and during the beginning of his career in New York.
Jack Gottlieb Papers [Catalog Record]
Jack Gottlieb (1930-2011) was an American composer and authority on the influence of Jewish popular, folk, theatrical, and even liturgical music traditions on the rise of American popular music. From 1958 to 1966 he was Leonard Bernstein's assistant at the New York Philharmonic. From 1970 to 1977 Gottlieb concentrated on composing and teaching, and in 1977 he returned to Bernstein, becoming a publications director of Amberson Enterprises. Recognized as a leading authority on Bernstein's music, Gottlieb was the editor of Bernstein's books, including Young People's Concerts, and also edited Prelude, Fugue & Riffs, the Bernstein newsletter. The Gottlieb Papers include Bernstein's holograph short score for the Kaddish Symphony. Bernstein had it bound with a gold inscription on the cover expressing his gratitude to Jack Gottlieb, and gave it to him as a gift.
Serge Koussevitzky Archive [Finding Aid]
Bernstein studied conducting with renowned conductor, composer, and double-bassist Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951). Koussevitzky was Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924-1949 and established the Koussevitzky Music Foundation in 1942 to commission new works. The Foundation commissioned two works from Bernstein: Serenade in 1951, and Symphony No. 3 "Kaddish" in 1954.
Lukas Foss Papers [Finding Aid]
Bernstein met composer Lukas Foss (1922-2009) while studying conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Foss and Bernstein also studied together under Koussevitzky at Tanglewood and developed a lifelong friendship.
Aaron Copland Collection [Finding Aid]
Bernstein met composer Aaron Copland (1900-1990) while a college student at Harvard and formed a fast friendship. Copland played a mentor role in Bernstein's career, offering feedback on his compositions as well as professional support. The Copland Collection includes writings about Bernstein, correspondence from Bernstein, and photographs of Copland and Bernstein together.
Arthur Laurents Papers [Finding Aid]
Playwright, screenwriter, and director Arthur Laurents (1917-2011) wrote the book for West Side Story. Bernstein and Laurents also collaborated on a project called Alarms and Flourishes that never came to fruition. The Laurents Papers include project files for both works as well as correspondence from Bernstein to Laurents.
David Diamond Papers [Finding Aid]
20th-century composer David Diamond (2015-2005) was a close friend of Leonard Bernstein. The Diamond Papers include correspondence from Leonard Bernstein and the Bernstein family and journals that detail various aspects of Diamond's personal life, including reflections on his friendships with Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and Ciro Cuomo.
Andre Kostelanetz Collection [Finding Aid]
Conductor, arranger, and pianist Andre Kostelanetz (1901-1980) was long-time conductor of the New York Philharmonic Promenade concerts (or Pops concerts). Bernstein composed A Musical Toast: A Salute to Kosty "Dedicated to the Memory of Andre Kostelanetz." The Kostelanetz Collection includes correspondence from Bernstein as well as photographs of him.
David Oppenheim Papers [Finding Aid]
David Jerome Oppenheim (1922-2007) was an American clarinetist and classical music and television producer. In the 1960s, he worked for the television production company under Robert Saudek, and helped produce "Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic." He produced the Omnibus TV series, and worked as a writer and producer for CBS from 1962 until 1967. The Oppenheim Papers include letters from Bernstein.

Leonard Bernstein: A Guide to Resources at the Library of Congress

Performing Arts: Ask a Librarian

Related Special Collections

Select Special Collections Relevant to Leonard Bernstein