Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/perform.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2013568045
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
Gift; June K. Lewin; 2005.
No further accruals are expected.
The David Lewin Papers were processed by Paul Sherrill, Andrew Chung, and Nancy Seeger from 2008-2014. Nancy Seeger coded the finding aid for EAD format in 2014.
Selected scores by others, and books, newsletters, and journals in David Lewin's personal library have been cataloged and transferred to the Library of Congress Music Division's general collections. Audiovisual materials were transferred to the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. Inventories of the scores, print and audiovisual materials are available in the Library of Congress Music Division's collection file.
David Lewin Collection of Musical Scores, Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University.
Materials from the David Lewin Papers are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.
The David Lewin Papers are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Music Division prior to visiting in order to determine whether the desired materials will be available at that time.
Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.
Digital files were received as part of the David Lewin Papers. Access to digital content is available onsite only in the Performing Arts Reading Room and requires advance notice. Consult Music Division reference staff for more information.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], David Lewin Papers, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of David Lewin (1933-2003) span the years 1945-2011 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1960 to 2003. The collection is the result of Lewin's career as a teacher, writer and scholar of music theory; and of his activities as an adviser, composer and musician. Extensive course materials from his tenures at the University of California at Berkeley, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Yale University, and Harvard University document Lewin's analyses of the construction of musical compositions and the evolution of his theories, which revolutionized the discipline of music theory. His writings and interactions with students and colleagues, which span his entire career, illuminate his work to construct a mathematical theory of musical composition, often drawing on fields in higher mathematics.
The collection is arranged in seven series: Writings (1952-2003), Course Materials (1966-2002), Music (1945-1991), Correspondence and Other Papers (1961-2011), Computer Music Materials (1967-1992), Biographical Materials (1952-2007), and Conference Materials (1983-2001).
Lewin often used the classroom to work out theories and ideas that he would later write about or discuss with colleagues. Certain areas of his research and study will thread through the collection with the same topics appearing across series. For instance, Lewin's Schoenberg analysis materials appear in the Writings, Course Materials, and Music series, as well as in his correspondence with Schoenberg scholar Oliver Neighbour, which is found in the Correspondence and other Papers series. There may also be duplication of materials across series.
The Writings series contains a wide variety of Lewin’s published and unpublished work and ranges from his student days in the early 1950s to his death in 2003. Early documents include his undergraduate thesis and his own student notes from Harvard that show his mulling over of issues that would flower in his later years. “An approach to classical 12-tone music” is a set of notes for a 1960 lecture which summarizes his conception of what dodecaphonic music is and how it works. Lewin’s frequent contributions to scholarly journals are here, sometimes accompanied by drafts, correspondence and other materials that show the progression of Lewin’s thoughts. The materials relating to his influential books on transformational theory and analysis:
The bulk of the materials in the Course Materials series are arranged in four subseries according to the four main topics that Lewin taught: Counterpoint, History of Tonal Theory, Math and Music, and Texts and Musical Structure. Within the subseries, items are arranged by school and course number; and by subject when it was impossible to determine such information. Lewin reused materials over his academic career and it was sometimes difficult to ascertain to which school and course the materials belonged. Course materials include Lewin's lecture notes, assignments, exams, assigned readings, essay prompts, exercises, and handouts. One of his readings is a discussion of "Morgengruss" from
The Music series contains Lewin's holograph manuscript and photocopied scores and sketches, as well as printed scores and librettos by others that contain Lewin's notes and annotations. Lewin was less well-known as a composer, and his output is small. His compositions generally date from the earlier part of his career and include,
Lewin was a teacher and mentor who was generous with his time, knowledge and advice; and the quantity and scope of materials in the Correspondence and Other Papers series attests to this fact. It contains correspondence between Lewin and his students, friends, colleagues, family and organizations, as well as materials sent to Lewin for his comments and advice. The correspondence is chiefly professional, and often delves into theoretical detail. The print materials by students, colleagues and friends include published articles, typewritten papers and essays, dissertations and theses, project descriptions, prospectuses and journal submissions. Many items contain Lewin’s annotations and are accompanied by additional materials and notes. A particular highlight of this series is the correspondence between Lewin and Schoenberg scholar Oliver Neighbour. In these letters, which provide a glimpse into Lewin's theoretical workings, he lays out his ideas regarding three of the Schubert songs and his critical views about many major composers of the German tradition. Other correspondents of note include Milton Babbitt, Anton Vishio, Greg Dorter (on z-pairs), Rick Cohn (on Bartok’s octatonic strategies), Carl Schachter (on his Phrygian interpretation of the Schumann song "Auf einer Burg"), and Curtis Roads (description of his work at Bell Labs in computer generated sound experiments). In addition, there are materials from organizations, including the American Brahms Society of which Lewin was a founding member.
Lewin experimented with computer music and became the first professional musician to compose a computer-generated piece at Bell Laboratories. The Computer Music Materials series includes computer and programming printouts with annotations and handwritten notes by Lewin, Computer Music Association printed materials, reference manuals for computer music language, a computer music tutorial, project proposals, compositional sketches, digital files, and an orchestra program for Barry Vercoe, from 1974. Sound recordings containing Lewin's computer music have been transferred to the Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Division. For information, contact a reference librarian in the Recorded Sound Reference Center, Library of Congress.
The Biographical Materials series contains items relating to Lewin personally as well as professionally, such as clippings, curricula vitae, honorary degrees, and remembrances from friends and colleagues. Of particular interest are programs and flyers that document the performance history of Lewin's compositions. These also include programs from concerts and events at which Lewin performed or was honored.
The Conference Materials series contains items relating to conferences and meetings that Lewin attended as a participant or registrant. Several meetings of the Society for Music Theory and the New England Conference of Music Theorists are represented, as well as single events, such as the 1983 International Festival and Conference on the Occasion of the Sesquicentenary of the birth of Johannes Brahms, at the Library of Congress. In addition to programs, handouts, and abstracts, materials include draft papers with Lewin’s annotations and his handwritten notes.
The David Lewin Papers are organized in seven series:
Published and unpublished writings by Lewin. They include articles, essays, drafts, proofs, lectures, reviews, bibliographies, Lewin's own student notes, and his undergraduate thesis. Many items are annotated and may be accompanied by materials such as correspondence, handwritten notes, abstracts, scores, and handouts. Boxes 15-16 contain miscellaneous fragments, notes, sketches, scores, handouts, pages from essays and articles, loose sheets, scraps, and doodles that Lewin kept in envelopes or bound together by rubber bands. Their source is not always apparent, but most relate to Lewin’s courses, his writings, conferences, or exchanges with colleagues. A significant amount of these materials consist of mathematical or musical analyses and the working out of problems.
Arranged alphabetically by title or topic.
Lewin's teaching materials from his courses at State University of New York at Stony Brook, Yale University, Harvard University, and other educational venues, such as conferences and seminars. Since Lewin reused his materials over the years and it wasn't always clear to which university a given set of items belonged, most of the materials are arranged under the four main topics that Lewin taught: counterpoint, history of tonal theory, application of math to music, and text and musical structure. The materials include lecture notes, handouts, assignments, scores, syllabi, bibliographies, exams, student work and presentations, copies of articles and chapters from books, including Lewin's own work, correspondence, administrative materials, and notes and writings in which Lewin is working out an issue, problem or example for class.
Arranged alphabetically by course name.
A selection of administrative items, chiefly from Harvard University. Most of the materials relate to Lewin, his students, and classes; however, there are a few items of a more general nature. Materials include course lists, doctoral exams for five students, a financial report, and graduate program information. There are also section rosters from Yale University and a theory placement exam from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Arranged alphabetically by name of university.
Materials relating to both counterpoint courses that Lewin taught: modal, or species counterpoint; and tonal counterpoint. The modal courses include various versions of Lewin's main text for teaching species counterpoint: the Led Zeppelin Fake Book, which Lewin supplemented over the years with examples, notes and elaborations. There are assignments and exercises using compositions by Lasso, Palestrina and others, which may contain Lewin's formal descriptions of the assignments and his handwritten notes. The tonal counterpoint materials mostly contain Lewin's assignments, which contain detailed instructions and musical examples for writing chorale preludes, inventions and a fugal exposition. Both courses contain typewritten and handwritten lecture notes, printed and handwritten scores, copies of articles and textbook chapters, and administrative materials.
Arranged by type of counterpoint and alphabetically by topic or university therein.
The materials primarily focus on the teachings of theorists François-Joseph Fétis, Moritz Hauptmann, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Hugo Riemann, Heinrich Schenker, and Gioseffo Zarlino. They include Lewin's lecture notes, writings that accompany and explain assigned readings, scores, bibliographies, reading and listening lists, miscellaneous handwritten notes by Lewin, exams, copies of printed articles and chapters from books, lists of essay topics, and administrative materials.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or university.
Materials from Lewin's courses on probability and communication theory. Includes handwritten lecture notes and exercises, copies of articles, student work and presentations, assignments, handouts, scores, and administrative materials. Throughout this subseries there are several incomplete copies of a set of mathematical exercises (numbers 1-16) that develop various mathematical skills, through the application of composition. Four incomplete copies of Lewin's typewritten textbook that applies the ideas of probability and communication theory to the study of music are also present.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or university.
The materials focus primarily on the following works:
Arranged alphabetically by topic or university.
Materials from other courses that Lewin taught primarily at Harvard University, State University of New York at Stony Brook, and Yale University. Course titles are supplied if they could be discerned from the materials; otherwise general topics are used in folder titles. Includes lecture notes and handwritten analyses, scores, course descriptions, syllabi, printed articles, music samples, reading lists, and handouts.
Arranged alphabetically by university.
Articles and essays that Lewin put on reserve for Harvard University courses 230 and 230ar.
Arranged alphabetically by author.
Printed, copied and manuscript scores by David Lewin and other composers.
Arranged in two subseries and alphabetically therein.
Printed, copied and holograph manuscript scores by David Lewin. Some items are accompanied by additional materials, including performance instructions, programs, program notes, correspondence, and analytical notes.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Scores by others that are annotated by Lewin and/or accompanied by Lewin's notes, analyses, music examples, or other materials. Contains chiefly printed scores, a small amount of photoduplicated manuscript scores, and one holograph score. Some pieces lack full scores, and instead contain photocopied title pages and a few pages of the score accompanied by Lewin's annotations and notes. Additional information is provided here for scores by Lewin's contemporaries.
Arranged alphabetically by composer.
Correspondence from and other written documents by Lewin’s colleagues, students, friends, family and organizations. These materials are chiefly professional with a small amount of personal correspondence. Some items contain Lewin’s annotations. In addition to correspondence (letters, emails, postcards, greeting cards and invitations) this series contains printed articles, typewritten papers and essays, dissertations and theses, proposals, prospectuses, project descriptions, journal submissions, drafts, proofs, chapters from books, reviews of Lewin’s books, curricula vitae, bibliographies, catalogs, programs, and accompanying materials and notes.
Arranged alphabetically by personal or corporate name.
Includes computer and programming printouts with annotations, articles, papers, tutorials, research paper, project proposals, digital files, and reference manuals.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material or topic.
Digital files are currently unprocessed and not available
Clippings, curricula vitae, honorary degrees, memorials and remembrances, and programs from Lewin's concerts, at which Lewin performed, and/or his music was played.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Materials relating to conferences and meetings that Lewin attended as a participant or registrant. Includes programs, handouts, abstracts, correspondence, attendee lists, agendas, minutes, by-laws, reports, biographical information, draft papers with Lewin’s annotations, his notes, bibliographies, articles, emails, promotional handouts, newsletters, and Lewin’s registration and travel papers.
Arranged chronologically.