File contains each of the three Op. 71 polonaises by Frédéric Chopin, published posthumously under the guidance of Julian Fontana. Each Polonaise includes a note from Fontana regarding their publication (dated May 1855, in Paris).
Item is a copy of the first separate edition of Marche funèbre from Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor. The separated third movement was played as Chopin's body was conveyed to the mausoleum on October 30, 1849, and was subsequently released as a separate publication, using the original plates (891) by Troupenas. The file includes a folder and brief description of the work from Scribner.
Item is a copy of the first edition of Igor Stravinsky's piano arrangement of his ballet, "The Firebird." The ballet was written for the Ballets Russes in Paris, under the direction of Sergei Diaghilev. The piano arrangement was published shortly after the premiere performance on June 25, 1910 at the Théâtre National de l'Opéra.
File contains letters to Ellen Ballon from William Somerset Maugham concerning gifts, performances, visits, friends, and books. Some of the letters are also addressed to Sally "Tammie" Ryan and Ralph Gustafson.
Item is a handwritten letter from Heitor and Arminda Villa-Lobos to Ellen Ballon written on July 26, 1947. The letter details Villa-Lobos itinerary on a European tour and comments on Ballon's performances of Villa-Lobos' compositions. Item is accompanied by the stamped air mail envelope in which Ballon received the letter. One French postage stamp is affixed to the envelope.
Item is a vocal score with the melody and lyrics for "La Paimpolaise" by the French singer-songwriter Théodore Botrel (1868-1925). The score and lyrics were handwritten by L. Coyteux Preouèl(?) in Ottawa on April 29, 1908.
Item is a first-edition publication of Chopin's first Impromptu, published by Maurice Schlesinger in Paris, a subsidiary company to A.M. Schlesinger of Berlin. The composition was dedicated to Caroline de Lobau.
File includes a postcard with a black and white photograph of Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945), an Italian opera composer. The postcard has various signatures on the front, including Francesco Marconi (1855-1916, operatic tenor from Rome) and four other illegible signatures. The postcard is addressed to Frau Dr. Lehnsern(?) of Berlin. File also includes the incipits of three pieces by Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870), signed at dated October 3, 1844. There are also five letters written by the following composers: Jacques Offenbach (1879), Gustav Mahler (1899), Edvard Grieg (1902), Maurice Ravel (1921), and Ignacy Paderewski (n.d., 1860-1941).
