This collection of papers was received from Leo Smit in 1998 before he moved from Buffalo, N.Y. to California. It has been supplemented with more materials by Music Library staff and Nils Vigeland, executor of the Smit estate. Much of the supplementary material consists of photocopied materials.
The small number of personal documents include a curriculum vitae dating from 1980 and a works list compiled by Smit in 1995. Also included are notification of and receipt for an inheritance from the estate of Aaron Copland.
The 21 writings by Leo Smit in the collection include published articles about Aaron Copland, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Cole Porter. Also included are unpublished writings, program notes and libretti for his own works.
The correspondence in the collection consists chiefly (more than 90%) of photocopies of letters from Aaron Copland to Leo Smit. They reveal the affection Copland held for Smit and contain details of their many musical collaborations.
Clippings and reviews (27), programs (21), and promotional material (4) provide some details about Leo Smit's career. Four of Smit's lecture-recitals on American piano music, the music of Franz Liszt, American songs, and the life and music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky are documented by compilations of music used for the programs.
The principal collection of Leo Smit materials is held by New York Public Library.
| August 2003 Music Library Staff musique@acsu.buffalo.edu http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/music/spcoll/smit/papers/scope.html |
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