Historical/Biographical Note:
Marion Eugenie Bauer (1887-1955) was the first woman faculty member of the Music Department at New York University. She was born on August 15th, 1887 in Walla Walla, Washington. Miss Bauer was educated at St. Helen's Hall in Portland, Oregon, where she studied music under several famous musicians. She received her Master of Arts (hon.) from Whitman College in 1932 and her Doctor of Music (hon.) from the New York College of Music in 1951.
Marion Bauer initially held the position of Instructor in Music from 1926 to 1928 in the Washington Square College Music Department at New York University; in 1928 she was appointed Assistant Professor of Music and she maintained this title until 1930, when she was appointed Associate Professor of Music. Miss Bauer's tenure at New York University lasted until August, 1951. Among other professional organizations, she belonged to the Society of American Women Composers. Marion
Bauer was not only a gifted composer, but she was also a lecturer, editor, critic and writer. The collection of papers that have survived from these years, document Marion Bauer's career as a professional musician.
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Scope and Content Note
The Marion Bauer Papers were acquired by the New York University Archives in two installments. Professor Frederic Stoessel, who had been a close friend and colleague of Marion Bauer during her tenure at New York University, donated the first set on January 19, 1976. An additional set of Miss Bauer's papers was donated to the Archives in August 1982 by Professor Harrison Potter of South Hadley, Massachusetts.
The Bauer Papers contain some biographical information on Marion Bauer as well as some complete manuscripts and several partial manuscripts of her proposed works. The biographical information (folder 1) includes a tribute, "In Memory of Marion Bauer," by her colleague Frederic Stoessel, along with a special issue of the Town Hall publication, Keynotes, regarding a concert held at the Town Hall on May 8, 1951, honoring Marion Bauer and presenting her works.
Among the collection of documents that have been acquired are manuscripts of four proposed books, which were presumably never published. The working ideas for Titans of Music (folder 2) include manuscripts and typewritten proposals, miscellaneous notes and a letter from an editor offering suggestions for the book. The rest of the papers in connection with Titans of Music include the proposed "Preface" or "Introduction" (folder 3), a chapter dealing with Monteverdi (folder 4), Beethoven (folder 5) and Brahms and the Schummans (folder 6), of which not all the manuscripts are complete.
On the proposed book "Modern Creators of Music: A Survey of Contemporary Music and its Makers," the documents that have survived are the proposed "Contents" Bauer Mss.-2
(folder 7), and three chapters from the first part of the book in which she discusses the nineteenth century precursors; the first chapter (folder 8) introduces the subject which she intends to examine; the second is on Berlioz (folder 9); and the third is on Liszt and Wagner (folder 10). All these chapters appear to be complete.
Manuscripts pertaining to yet another proposed book, "Some Social Aspects of .Music: Its Purpose and Place" include the "Contents" and "Title Page" (folder 11) as well as chapters on various functions of music (folder 12), the nature of music as a common language which creates a bond between nations (folder 13), the function of music in therapy and in industry (folder 14) and on religion's influence on music (folder 15). These manuscripts are also assumed to be complete.
Finally, in the manuscript "Who Was Monteverdi?" (folder 16) Marion Bauer writes about Monteverdi's life, his music and his influence on the world of music. Although this document appears to be complete, there is no indication that it was published.
The remainder of the papers include various manuscripts of articles and. speeches, some of which are incomplete and others which may be presumed to be complete. Of these manuscripts the only one that is known, with any certainty, to have been published is "The Literary Liszt" (folder 17); this publication appears in the July 1936 issue of the Musical Quarterly. "The Virtuoso: Franz Lisz--The Indefatigable Vagabond"(folder 18) is an undated, incomplete manuscript.
Two additional manuscripts, lacking titles as well as pagination, also form a part of the Bauer Papers. One of these manuscripts regards the subject of music through the ages (folder 19); it is incomplete and also not dated. Here Marion Bauer treats the development of music from about the ninth century onwards through the twentieth century. She considers a variety of subjects including forms of music (part music, motets and madrigals, the birth of the opera and new instrumental forms); types of musicians (troubadours, minnesingers, etc.); particular composers (Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Mozart and others); and she also discusses the development of music in relation to Classicism, Romanticism, Nationalism and Impressionism. The second manuscript concerns the National Federation of the Music Clubs (folder 20); this document is presumably complete and the contents pertaining to the Young Composers Contest of 1947 suggest that it may have been a speech that Marion Bauer gave in 1947. "Contemporary Trends in 'Choral Compositions" (folder 21) is apparently the complete manuscript of a talk for the New York Federation of Music Clubs, which took place in Binghamton, New York, on April 20-23, 1938. "A List of Contemporary Piano Music: Grade II and Grade III" (folder 22) and "American Piano Music" (folder 23) are two manuscripts in the collection, which appear to be complete, although there is no indication that some of these manuscripts were actually published.
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Arrangement |
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| Folders are arranged in the sequence dictated by the manuscripts. | ||
| The files are grouped into one series. | ||
Separated Material
No documentation of anything separated from the collection.
Return to topRestrictions
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
Use Restrictions
There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. Appointments are necessary for use of manuscript and archival
materials. For more information, contact
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-2646
Fax: (212) 995-4070
Email: university.archives@library.nyu.edu
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Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift of Harrison Potter via Frank Walker, Fales Library
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The Marion Bauer Papers; MC 3 ; box number; folder number; New York University Archives
, New York University Libraries.