Leo Smit papers 1905-1998 | WorldCat.org (original) (raw)

Summary:The Leo Smit Papers document the professional musical career of the distinguished pianist and composer. The collection is divided into nine series: Correspondence, Writings, Presentations and lectures, Clippings and programs, Dickinson materials, Librettos, Scores, Photographs, and Oversized materials. Correspondence includes letters between Smit and his friends and colleagues, including Aaron Copland, Harold Shapero, and Leonard Bernstein. The Emily Dickinson materials are also noteworthy, and include research and notes on Dickinson, her life, and her poetry. Smit devoted a large portion of the late 1980s and early 1990s to creating a song cycle around Dickinson's poetry, The Ecstatic Pilgrimage, and amassed quite a bit of research, including notes, slides, and photocopied research materials. Smit served as the librettist for several of his operas, including Magic Wate, and the collection includes contains drafts and revisions of librettos and scores in various stages. Although the collection does not include materials of a personal nature, many of Smit's professional relationships were also close friendships, which is reflected in the correspondence