Raya Garbousova: Dedications to the World-Renowned Cellist

Photographs courtesy of Christie Moore. Poster design by Charles Larry.

Music Library Association Poster Session, February 20, 2009

Lynne M. Thomas, Head, Rare Books and Special Collections
Michael J. Duffy IV, Music Librarian

Northern Illinois University Libraries

Abstract
Raya Garbousova, an active performer throughout her extensive and celebrated cello career, was a professor of cello at Northern Illinois University from 1979-1991. Olin Downes, the music critic for the New York Times, once called her music “delightful […], charmingly discoursed, by the one woman ’cellist of whom we know has a sovereign right to her mastery of this instrument.” The Raya Garbousova papers, as an archive of a world-renowned performer in her prime, document her methods, practices, and connections in the music world through annotations, dedications, and correspondence. The Garbousova papers include copies of works by composers who wrote works for her, such as Samuel Barber, Vittorio Rieti and Karol Rathaus, as well as works she premiered by Sergey Prokofiev, Paul Creston, Bohuslav Martinů, and others. The papers also include materials related to Nikolai Lopatnikoff, Diran Alexanian, and the World Cello Congress. This poster session will demonstrate her reputation as a cellist, through an exploration of dedicatory materials included in the archive.

Highlights

Diran Alexanian (1881-1954) was an enormous influence on Garbousova’s craft. She studied with him in Paris during the late 1920s, at Casals’ suggestion.

Samuel Barber (1910-1981) wrote his Cello Concerto on Garbousova’s commission. She premiered the work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Koussevitsky in 1946, and recorded it in 1966. She also edited the cello part for its publication.

Nikolai Lopatnikoff (1903-1976) asked Garbousova to premiere his Variations and Epilogue, published in 1948.

Karol Rathaus (1895-1954) dedicated his Rapsodia Notturna (1950) to Garbousova.

Vittorio Rieti (1898-1994) wrote a concerto for Garbousova in 1953.

In 1990, Garbousova was honored by the Fourth American Cello Congress, which named her Honorary President. At the event, Gunther Schuller’s Hommage a Rayechka was premiered, with Schuller conducting his own work.

The Raya Garbousova Collection is held by the Rare Books and Special Collections Department of the Northern Illinois University Libraries. A finding aid is available on the Web at http://archon.lib.niu.edu/?p=collections/controlcard&id=899.

Bibliography

Campbell, Margaret. “Obituaries: Raya Garbousova” The Independent (London). February 1, 1997, p. 18.

Critser, William and Lester Trimble. "Lopatnikoff, Nikolai." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/16963 (accessed January 16, 2009).

Downes, Olin. "Raya Garbousova, 'Cellist, In Recital." New York Times, 1 December 1943.

Heyman, Barbara B. "Barber, Samuel." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/01994 (accessed January 16, 2009). (The New Grove article on Samuel Barber indicates that the cello concerto was written for Garbousova.)

Pratt, Dorothy C. "Alexanian, Diran." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/00542 (accessed January 16, 2009).

Schwarz, Boris, and Donald Pirone. "Rathaus, Karol." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/22929 (accessed January 16, 2009).

Schwarz, Boris, and F.C. Ricci. "Rieti, Vittorio." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/23448 (accessed January 16, 2009).

Schwarz, Boris, and Margaret Campbell. "Garbousova, Raya." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/10641 (accessed January 16, 2009).

For further reading:

Bonta, Stephen, et al. “Violoncello.” In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/44041 (accessed November 4, 2008). (Her mention in the New Grove article on the cello demonstrates her influence on the field of the instrument’s performance.)

Downes, Olin. “Bostonians Play 2 American Works.” New York Times, 14 April 1946. (Article documents the premiere of Barber’s cello concerto the day before.)

________. “Raya Garbousova Gives 2 New Works.” New York Times, 18 January 1947. (Documents the premiere of Martinů’s first sonata and Lopatnikoff’s Variations and Epilogue, op. 31.)

Heyman, Barbara B. “Barber, Samuel.” In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/01994 (accessed November 4, 2008).