Adolfo Betti:
An Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities
Research Center
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Repository |
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center,
University of Texas at Austin
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Creator |
Betti, Adolfo,
1875-1950
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Title |
Adolfo Betti Papers
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Dates: |
1907-1940 |
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Extent |
2 document cases, 2
oversize flat boxes (2.35 linear feet)
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Abstract: |
Italian violinist and leader of the Flonzaley String Quartet,
Adolfo Betti played in the Quartet for twenty-five years until it disbanded in
1929, and spent the remainder of his life writing and teaching. His papers
contain correspondence and concert review clippings as well as a number of
musical manuscripts and photographs.
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RLIN Record # |
TXRC99-A25 |
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Language |
English.
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Transfer, 1996
Dell Hollingsworth, 1998
Access
Open for research
Adolfo Betti, violinist and leader of the Flonzaley String Quartet, was
born in Bagni di Lucca, Italy, on March 21, 1875. He soon displayed a gift for
music, making his debut as a violinist at the age of seven. Many eminent
musicians, including Puccini, were guests at his father's home and encouraged
the boy to study music. In 1892 he entered the Liège Conservatory where he
studied violin with César Thomson. Upon his graduation in 1896, Betti embarked
on a successful recital tour through Austria, Germany, Italy, and England, and
in 1900 he became Thomson's assistant at the Brussels Conservatory. In 1903 he
was chosen by the Swiss violinist Alfred Pochon to become first violinist of
the newly organized Flonzaley Quartet. He held this position until the quartet
disbanded in 1929. From then until his death he divided his time between his
home in New York and his villa in Bagni di Lucca, writing, editing early music,
teaching, and occasionally appearing as a soloist. In 1933 Betti was awarded
the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation medal for his valuable services to
chamber music. In 1936 he married the French cellist Madeleine Monnier. He died
at his villa on December 2, 1950.
The Flonzaley Quartet was the creation of Edward J. de Coppet
(1855-1916), a wealthy New York banker of Swiss descent. The American composer
Daniel Gregory Mason, in his
Music In My Time (Macmillan, 1938), called
the quartet "de Coppet's own supreme work of art,"
and described him as the ideal patron of the arts. De Coppet had a home in New
York and a summer estate, Le Flonzaley, near Lake Geneva. A dedicated amateur
musician, in 1886 he formed a semi-professional chamber group with his wife and
some friends which for years gave regular performances in his New York
apartment.
In Switzerland in 1902 de Coppet met Alfred Pochon, who taught with
Betti at the Brussels Conservatory, and invited him to come to New York to join
his quartet. Pochon went to New York and took up the new position, but before
long he found that the outside demands on the members of the quartet left them
insufficient time for rehearsals, so he suggested to de Coppet that if he could
find four men willing to devote their time exclusively to quartet playing, a
unique ensemble could be created. This idea appealed to de Coppet (the moreso
as he was beginning to lose his hearing), and he allowed Pochon to assemble the
musicians of his choice: Adolfo Betti, first violin, Ugo Ara, viola, and Iwan
d'Archambeau, cello.
The first rehearsals took place at Le Flonzaley in the summer of 1903,
and the following year the quartet began touring Europe and America. It
immediately became one of the two most important American quartets of the first
quarter of the century (the other being the Kneisel Quartet); it was also one
of the first to make recordings.
De Coppet stipulated that the four musicians could take on no other work
outside of practicing, rehearsing and performing together. As a result, they
achieved a legendary perfection of ensemble. In addition to the standard
repertoire, they championed both modern and early music, commissioning new
works while also introducing audiences to forgotten pieces by 18th-century
composers such as Sammartini, Leclair, and Boyce.
The Betti papers consist primarily of typed and autograph manuscripts,
incoming correspondence, financial records, newspaper clippings, concert
programs, and publicity photographs. The materials mainly relate to Betti's
activities with the Flonzaley Quartet but also, to a lesser extent, to his
teaching and editing. The papers span the years 1907 through 1940, and items
have been grouped by form of material.
Manuscript works include two essays by Betti:
"Leaflets from my Diary," in which he
reminisces about the great artists he heard as a young man and their influences
on him, and
"Why Chamber Music? Being a Brief Outline of What
Chamber Music Can Teach Young Students."
Among the music manuscripts are holograph parts, in the hands of Betti
and other members of the quartet, for Stravinsky's
Concertino for string quartet (1920), which
was commissioned and premiered by the Flonzaley. These parts have performance
annotations. Also present are the holograph score and parts for Betti's
arrangement of Geminiani's
Concerto in sol minore, op. 3, no. 2, and
two of his cadenzas for Viotti's 22nd concerto. There are also holograph scores
for violin and piano, cello and piano, and string quartet by various composers,
arranged alphabetically. Dates of composition range from 1894 to 1955.
Outgoing correspondence consists of a single letter from Betti to a Mr.
Farbman, regarding a collaboration on a series of private concerts and classes
between 1938 and 1940. Included with this are Betti's handwritten lists of
works to be presented. Incoming correspondence, mainly dating from the late
1930s and 1940, is arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Subjects touched
on in the correspondence include the financial difficulties faced by the
Beethoven Association and by the Society for the Publication of American Music,
which was facing controversy over what kinds of music to publish; Betti's
arrangements of Geminiani concertos for Schirmer and his efforts to get these
and other transcriptions performed; his editing of a chamber music series for
International Master Editions; and the inception of licensing agreements
between RCA Records and radio stations wishing to broadcast recordings.
Also included is brief correspondence from or about Betti's violin
students Ralph Hollander, David Nadien, and Erno Valasek as well as
correspondence from other musicians, including a carbon copy of a letter from
the composer Daniel Gregory Mason to Randall Thompson, then director of the
Curtis School of Music, recommending Betti for a position there. There are
several letters in Italian, including four from Adolfo's brother Mario
Betti.
There is a folder of materials on Betti's wife, the French cellist
Madeleine Monnier. These consist of concert programs, correspondence and
contracts relating to her recitals for various clubs, and publicity flyers.
The clippings consist of concert reviews from American and European
newspapers between 1907 and 1910, with another group dating from 1920. One of
the most interesting portions of the archive, these give a detailed composite
picture of the quartet's sound, style, and working methods as well as their
reception in Europe and in different regions of the U.S. The reviews are often
quite evocative of their time and place and reveal the prevailing concert
etiquette of the day.
Betti's archive was purchased by the UT School of Music in 1951, but his
papers and music manuscripts were transferred to the Ransom Center in 1996.
Although there are a few printed scores from the Betti archive in the HRHRC,
most of the printed materials have been cataloged as part of the Fine Arts
Library's circulating collection. These materials are available on UTCAT. Also
see Donald Jones,
The Adolfo Betti Music Collection at the University
of Texas, M.M. thesis, University of Texas at Austin, 1956.
Correspondents
Betti, Mario
Hollander, Ralph
Mason, Daniel Gregory,
1873-1953
Ormandy, Eugene,
1899-1985
Pitcairn, Raymond,
1885-
Reese, Gustave
Thompson, Randall,
1899-
Organizations
Beethoven Association (New York,
N.Y.)
Society for the Publication of American
Music
Subjects
Chamber music
Music--Manuscripts
String quartets
Document Types
Scores
Container List
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| box | folder |
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1 |
Essays by Betti |
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Correspondence
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2 |
Outgoing |
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3 |
Incoming, A-M |
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4 |
Incoming, N-Z |
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Clippings: concert reviews
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5 |
1907-1909
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6-7 |
1908
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8 |
1909
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9 |
1909-10
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10-11 |
1910
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12 |
1920
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| 1 |
13 |
Clippings, misc. |
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| box | folder |
| 1 |
14 |
Concert programs |
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1 |
Concert programs |
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Financial records
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2 |
Bank statements |
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Receipts |
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Heckel Music Supply catalog |
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4 |
Madeleine Monnier-Betti: correspondence, programs, publicity
material
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5 |
Photos of Betti and the Flonzaley Quartet |
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6 |
Photos of other musicians |
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Matteo Raimondi |
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American Art Quartet |
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Music manuscripts
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1 |
Betti, Adolfo. Cadenze (I & II) per il 22o concerto di
Viotti
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2 |
Britt, Roger. |
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Adagio pour quatuor àcordes |
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Berceuse pour violoncelle & piano
(2 versions)
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Death! The wind! (voice & piano; 2
versions)
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[Piece for piano] By the brook... |
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Preludeum (piano) |
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Vieille chanson française (voice & piano) |
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3 |
Evans, Louise. Supplication, a meditation on the one hundred
and thirtieth Psalm, for cello and piano
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Freed, Isadore.
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4 |
Caprice for violoncello & piano |
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Improvisation (cello & piano) |
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5 |
Geminiani. Concerto grosso in sol minore op. IIIa no. II;
revisione di Adolfo Betti
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6 |
Gros, Edm. L'Art de l'archet |
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7 |
Karnovitch, G. Remembrances of the House of Usher (string
quartet)
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1 |
Lagourgue, Charles. |
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Paysages pour soprano, violoncelle et piano, op. 62, no
1-3
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2 |
Petite suite contrapointique pour quatuor àcordes, op.
72
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3 |
Loeffler, Charles Martin. Quintet |
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4 |
Pochon, Alfred. Two sketches based on old Scottish songs
(string quartet)
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5 |
Richter, E.C.G. Streich-Trio |
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6 |
Schilling, Ernst (?). Scherzo (string quartet) |
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7 |
Stravinsky, Igor. Concertino pour quatuor |
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8 |
Thatcher, Howard R. Berceuse (cello &
piano)
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9 |
Van der Voort, Antoni. Quartet in F maj. |
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Arnold Volpe Memorial Building and Orchestra Fund (University of
Miami)--1.3
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Beethoven Association (New York, N.Y.)--1.3
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Betti, Mario, 1875- --1.3
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Christopher, F. F.--See National City Safe Deposit Co. (New York,
N.Y.)
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De Fiori, Vittorio--See Roma Press
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Deis, Carl--See Beethoven Association (New York, N.Y.)
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Di Longhi, Mario Serven--1.3
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Early, W. W.--See RCA Manufacturing Company, Inc.
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Farbman--1.2
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G. Schirmer, Inc.--1.3
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Glenn, Creda--1.3
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Griffiths, Samuel--See Pine Peak (N.H.)
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Hodgson, Hugh--See Tas, Helen Teschner
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Hollander, Norman--1.3
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Hollander, Ralph--1.3
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Hughes, William J.--1.3
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Ingle, Edward T.--See National Committee for Music Appreciation.
New York Chapter
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International Master Editions, Inc.--1.3
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Krook, Mary--See Musicians Emergency Fund, Inc.
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Levy, Leo--1.3
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Mason, Daniel Gregory, 1873-1953--1.3
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Master Scores, Inc.--See International Master Editions, Inc.
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Miller, Hortense--See Arnold Volpe Memorial Building and Orchestra
Fund
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Musicians Emergency Fund, Inc.--1.3
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Nadien, George--1.4
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National City Safe Deposit Co. (New York, N.Y.)--1.4
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National Committee for Music Appreciation. New York
Chapter--1.4
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Ormandy, Eugene, 1899-1985--1.4; see also Pitcairn, Raymond
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Pine Peak (Groton, N.H.)--1.4
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Pitcairn, Raymond, 1885- --1.4
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Pochon, J.--1.4
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Polley, Mrs. H. M.--1.4
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RCA Manufacturing Company, Inc.--1.4
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Raimondi, Frances--1.4
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Reese, Gustave--See G. Schirmer, Inc.
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Roma Press--1.4
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Sard, Frederick N.--See International Master Editions, Inc.
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Schwartz, William S.--1.4
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Society for the Publication of American Music--1.4
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Stern, Lee--See Who Is Who in Music, Inc.
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Tas, Helen Teschner--1.4
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Thompson, Randall, 1899- --See Mason, Daniel Gregory
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Torre, Nina Cioffi--1.4
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Valasek, J.--See Levy, Leo
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Who Is Who in Music, Inc.--1.4
