A Guide to the Letters of Nicolas Nicolaeff 1949-1950 Nicolaeff, Nicolas Letters, 1949-1950 11380

A Guide to the Letters of Nicolas Nicolaeff 1949-1950

A Collection in
The Special Collections Department
Accession number 11380


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Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Processed by: Sharon Defibaugh

Repository
Special Collections, University of Virginia Library
Accession number
11380
Title
Letters of Nicolas Nicolaeff 1949-1950
Physical Characteristics
10 autograph letters, 6 with envelopes.
Language
French

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

The collection is without restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Nicolas Nicolaeff Letters, 1949-1950, Accession #11380, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

These letters were purchased by the University of Virginia Library from Scott Petersen, Kenilworth, Illinois, on January 28, 1999.

Scope and Content Information

This collection consists of ten autograph letters, six with envelopes, written in French, 1949-1950, from the prominent Russian pianist and musician, Nicolas Nicolaeff, to his friend and colleague, Dr. Arthur Briskier of New York City. Also present are typescript translations of the letters into English. Nicolaeff was the Director of the Moscow Conservatory during the reign of the Czar, but following the Russian Revolution, he moved to the United States and resided in New York City.

In his letters, Nicolaeff discusses his admiration for Johann Sebastian Bach and the way in which Briskier played Bach's music; the musician, Anthon Rubinstein, and his own professor, Theodore Stein; his composition for cello The Symphonic Adagio performed by his friend, Fausto Esteves; sending a copy of his "musical sketches" to Briskier; he also bemoans the lack of culture in the United States where Americans do not appreciate good music, contrasting them with the very cultured Ambassador from Great Britain to Persia, whom he met while living in Persia; complains that "I find New York the most boring and least civilized city of the entire globe!!!"; mentions Gertrude Stein, his dislike of the music of Tchaikovsky, and his age of eighty-one.