Papers from two newly catalogued collections shed some light on Russian composer Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971), in particular his publishing process via Boosey and Hawkes, performances of his works in England, and his correspondence.
3 June 2026Blog series Music
Author Poppy Farr, Music Manuscripts and Archives Cataloguer
Two music collections have recently been fully catalogued: the archive of Dartington International Summer School of Music, and a collection of production materials from the Boosey & Hawkes archive. Both large collections contain fascinating material relating to many important composers, and this blog post highlights some of the extensive and exciting items relating to Igor Stravinsky.
Following the completion of cataloguing of the Boosey & Hawkes directors’ files (MS Mus. 1813/2/1), a collection of Boosey & Hawkes production materials has now been catalogued. This collection – a sub-series of the Boosey & Hawkes music archive – contains material from different stages of the publishing production process, from autograph scores to revised printed editions of works. Going through these boxes has led to some exciting discoveries, including the autograph full score of Coleridge-Taylor's Dream Lovers, as discussed in a previous blog post.
Material from over 150 composers is included – arranged alphabetically from Adolphe Adam to Iannis Xenakis – but the best represented is Igor Stravinsky, with over 60 files relating to his work. Stravinsky was signed to Boosey & Hawkes in the 1940s – the same decade in which the publishing firm acquired the catalogue of Éditions Russes de Musique, bringing with it many of Stravinsky’s earlier works.
In the decades following, Stravinsky set about revising many of his compositions and producing new editions to be published by Boosey & Hawkes (Wallace, p.122). The collection reflects this process. For instance, it contains the 1956 edition of a vocal score for Stravinsky’s comic opera, Mavra, featuring the composer’s handwritten revisions from 1966 (a new edition of the work was published in 1968). Further printed scores of Mavra contain markings and corrections by Leopold Spinner, editor at Boosey & Hawkes, while the several proof copies in the collection reveal the repeated revisions the score underwent before the new edition was published.
Stravinsky’s handwritten revisions to the vocal score of Mavra (MS Mus. 1813/1/1/1/521).
Stravinsky’s markings can be found on numerous items, such as a copy of a score for Elegy for J.F.K., which features Stravinsky’s signature and his amendments to the dynamics, articulation, and phrasing in the piece. Another highlight is a printed score for Stravinsky’s 30-minute ballet, Orpheus. This score was used by Stravinsky to conduct the piece’s premiere, performed by the Ballet Society at New York’s City Center of Music and Drama in 1948. Following this performance, the chairman of the City Center invited the Ballet Society to take up permanent residence in the venue under a new name – the New York City Ballet. It is possible that some of the pencil markings in this score were made by Stravinsky in preparation for the performance.
Opening of Elegy for J.F.K. with Stravinsky’s corrections and signature (MS Mus. 1813/1/1/1/510).
The Boosey & Hawkes collection highlights the various evolutions a piece might undergo—sometimes even long after its initial publication—through revisions, new editions, arrangements, and performances. Cataloguing of the music archive is ongoing and will undoubtedly reveal further fascinating materials that shine a light on this process.
Founded in 1948, the yearly Summer School of Music—held first at Bryanston School in Dorset before finding its home at the Dartington Hall estate in Devon from 1953–2023—attracted world-famous artists, composers, and musicians to teach and play alongside students and amateurs. In 2022, the archive of the Summer School, curated by Jeremy Wilson, was donated to the British Library. It contains correspondence, concert ephemera, photographs, and the personal papers of directors and administrative staff, including William Glock, John Amis, and Peter Cox.
Among the many visiting performers and lecturers were figures such as John Cage, Aaron Copland, Imogen Holst, Simon Rattle, and Benjamin Britten, together with many composers well-represented in British Library collections including Peter Maxwell-Davies, Elisabeth Lutyens, and Harrison Birtwistle. One significant visit was that of Igor Stravinsky in 1957. Stravinsky visited London in 1956 to hear the first performance of his new Canticum Sacrum and of his arrangement of Bach’s canonic variations on Vom Himmel (Glock, 1991). While there, he met with William Glock, the Musical Director of the Summer School of Music (whose own manuscripts and papers are also at the British Library at MS Mus. 943-1020). He was persuaded to attend the Summer School in the following year, accompanied by his wife, Vera, and his longtime artistic partner, the conductor and writer Robert Craft.
Igor Stravinsky at the Dartington Summer School of Music, 1957. Photograph by Catharine Scudamore (Dartington Summer School Foundation).
Stravinsky’s visit was not publicly advertised in the Summer School programmes or prospectuses, but the programmes do reveal details of several concerts during the Summer School which showcased his work. This included two concerts directed by Robert Craft, each featuring the Summer School Ensemble. The repertoire was a combination of Stravinsky’s recent works, such as his Septet and Cantata, and early, lesser-heard pieces like the Balmont Songs and Three Japanese Lyrics. Later in the Summer School, Craft also conducted a staged performance of the theatre piece, The Soldier’s Tale. The collection contains letters between Robert Craft and John Amis, the administrator of the Summer School, discussing the scores and parts required for these performances.
Letters between William Glock and Peter Cox (Principal Arts Administrator of the Dartington College of Arts) show that the Summer School went to extra lengths to accommodate Stravinsky’s visit. Stravinsky was eager to stay in private accommodation near to Dartington, so a local woman, Joy Nightingale, agreed to move out of her house so that it could be used. Peter Cox wrote to William Glock that he would ‘lay on a small army’ to help to prepare the house, including repainting the walls and installing a piano.
The Summer School also hired a trained cook to look after the visitors. She described how the three guests spent much of their time playing ‘multi-lingual scrabble’, and how Stravinsky and Craft occasionally read through Bach organ works together on the piano that had been provided for them (Glock, 1991). It was agreed that the Summer School would cover most of Stravinsky’s expenses, but that Boosey & Hawkes would pay for the service of the cook and any food and drink. A highlight of the collection is a list of their grocery expenses, sent to Anthony Gishford (Director of Boosey & Hawkes from 1947 to 1958), which included three large fruit hampers, several varieties of cheese, and a packet of rice crispies.
First page of a list of groceries bought for Igor Stravinsky during his visit to Dartington in 1957 (MS Mus.1989/2/9).
The Dartington Summer School and Boosey & Hawkes Production Material archives are not yet searchable on the interim Archives and Manuscripts catalogue. They can however be ordered up to the reading room via this form. Condensed catalogue versions of both collections are available in PDF form on request, please get in touch with Chris.Scobie@bl.uk if interested.
Glock, William (1991) Notes in Advance: An Autobiography in Music. Oxford University Press
Wallace, Helen (2007) Boosey & Hawkes: The Publishing Story. London: Boosey & Hawkes.
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