Metadata: Latvian Music Society (Riga)
Collection
- Country:
- Latvia
- Holding institution:
- Latvian State Historical Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- Latvijas Valsts vēstures arhīvs
- Postal address:
- Slokas iela 16, Rīga, 1048
- Phone number:
- +371 20 017 505
- Reference number:
- 6202
- Title:
- Latvian Music Society (Riga)
- Title (official language):
- Latvijas mūzikas biedrība (Rīga)
- Creator/accumulator:
- Latvian Music Society (Riga)
- Date(s):
- 1938/1941
- Language:
- Latvian
- Extent:
- 70 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains documents of the Latvian Music Society, including its charter, minutes of general meetings, reports about working conditions of professional musicians and salary rates, annual reports on the work of the company, minutes of meetings of the sections of music educators and composers, reports on income and expenses; profiles of members of the society, lists of members of the society, lists of musicians and orchestra leaders in cafes and restaurants; lists of musicians of opera, philharmonic and radio; biographies of musicians; requests for support from musicians, labour agreements of musicians; programmes of jazz, symphony and philharmonic orchestras; an agreement on the unification of the Latvian Society of Music and the Latvian Society of Musicians, correspondence about this association with the Ministry of Public Affairs; a registration book for membership dues, correspondence with the Latvian SSR Arts Department about the repertoire of songs and dances, correspondence with the Liepaja branch of the company, cash books, incoming and outgoing documents, membership cards etc.
The fonds contains documents related to the activities of many Jewish musicians, such as composer Oscar Strok, pianist and teacher Herman Braun, violinist and conductor Israel Abramis, singer and cantor Mikhail (Misha) Aleksandrovich, violinist Markus Kremer (father of Gidon Kremer) and others. In the questionnaire filled out upon entry into the Music Society, musicians indicated the year and place of birth, marital status and address, general and musical education, specialisation, how long and where he or she worked as a musician, and additional information. The collection also has a number of more detailed autobiographies. For example, Herman Braun writes on 24 July 1940 about his career - after graduating from the Latvian Conservatory he continued his musical education in Paris with Professor Lazar-Levy and pianist and composer Robert Casadesus. Braun was a soloist at concerts in Paris, performed on radio, went on a concert tour in Europe, etc.
- Archival history:
- After World War II materials from the interwar period, along with earlier materials, were part of the Central State Archive of the Latvian SSR. In 1962 it was decided to reorganise the archive and it was renamed the Central State Historical Archives of the Latvian SSR. The materials predating the period of Soviet rule were deposited in this archive, predecessor of the current State Historical Archive.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Latvian Music Society was established in 1938. Its goal was to contribute to the creation and dissemination of music and music education. The society brought together musicians from all over Latvia and strove to provide psychological and financial support to its members. On 5 October 1939 the Latvian Society of Music merged with the Latvian Society of Musicians, which has existed since 1922.
- Access points: persons/families:
- Abramis, Israel
- Aleksandrovich, Mikhail
- Braun, Herman
- Kremer, Markus
- Strok, Oscar
- Subject terms:
- Art
- Music
- Music--Musicians
- Vital records
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Jana Makarova, Riga