By way of a preview, I have presented below an overview of my collection now being
permanently housed at the PRIMROSE INTERNATIONAL VIOLA ARCHIVE:
Scrapbooks: Extensive collection of formal personal scrapbooks containing photographs, press clippings, reviews, interviews, programs and correspondence from as early as age 9 through my early 20’s. Included is a separate scrapbook detailing the history of both the Aldanya Quartet and the White House String Quartet.
Personal and Professional Papers: This portion of the collection consists of items spanning my entire career and features:
Programs
Interviews
Publications written by me and about me
Promotional Materials
Performance Reviews
Awards and Honors
Assorted Documents
Documentation from my various Viola Camps
My Blogs
Correspondence:
Related to my years in the U. S. Marine Corps and at the White House including personal letters from President Lyndon Baines Johnson, Supreme Court Justice, Abe Fortas and from John Dean, Chief Legal Counsel to President Richard Nixon
Related to my years with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Related to my years at Indiana University
From many years of teaching, including a large collection of correspondence with such students as Paul Neubauer and Nokuthula Ngwenyama
From many notable colleagues and mentors including Josef Gingold and Zubin Mehta
A number of insightful and meaningful letters from William Primrose
Photographs:
Candid personal and family photos of me at ALL ages and locations
Large collection of publicity photos used throughout my career
Both casual and formal photos with many of my esteemed colleagues, friends, teachers, mentors, some with personalized messages and autographs
Several autographed photos from my years at the White House
Recordings:
A number of commercially released recordings of my performances, primarily chamber music and orchestral
A collection of recordings featuring a number of my esteemed colleagues and friends as well as several of my musical idols
A recorded collection of complete live recitals I performed between the ages of 18 and 22 years of age.
A substantial collection of non-commercial, reel-to-reel recordings featuring many live performances from throughout my career. With recorded performances from as early as age 10, this collection contains recital and concerto performances (including live performances with such orchestras as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Washington National Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra) as well as radio broadcasts, and numerous live performances of the Aldanya Quartet. I am delighted to report that almost all of these reel-to-reel recordings have been transferred to digital format through the efforts of PIVA!
Music:
The vast majority of my personal music collection: Includes a large number of works from the solo viola repertoire, many filled with my handwritten edits and personal markings as well as those of William Primrose.
Most of the standard orchestral viola parts (both print and photocopies) also filled with my personal markings.
Substantial collection of chamber music and works for Viola ensembles and Viola choirs: Includes my arrangements for Viola Choir of “Battle Hymm of the Republic” and the entire “Last Act of the Opera, La Boheme.”
Many works in this collection contain personal dedications, salutations and autographs including my primary copy of the Walton Concerto on which both the piano reduction and solo viola parts contain signed personal messages to me from Sir William Walton.
Non-Musical Careers:
Collection of articles, press clippings, interviews, photographs and memorabilia documenting my careers in real estate, business and politics
Publications written by and about me concerning my activities as a businessman, community leader, and real estate professional
Documentation of my life as a professional aviator: This collection contains the flight logbooks, licenses, flight certificates, photographs and memorabilia related to my life as a Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor for Single and Multi-Engine aircraft. Also included is the clipped tail of the shirt I was wearing during my very first solo flight, signed and dated by my instructor.
Heritage:
My collection contains a great deal of material related to my heritage and includes vintage photographs of a number of my ancestors as well as documents and vital notices (birth and death certificates, visas, passports, etc.) associated with my parents and my grandparents.
Additionally, the collection includes press clippings, interviews, programs, correspondence, photographs and recordings of my father Victor de Veritch’s career as an internationally acclaimed concert violinist. One of my favorite pieces of memorabilia from my father’s collection is a handwritten letter of recommendation from the legendary pedagogue, Carl Flesch, on behalf of my father.
Unique assemblage of “Kiosk Posters” from the early 1930’s promoting my father’s early European performances using his adopted name “Viktor v. Winterfeld.
Collection of 28 autographed 8×10 publicity photos of major concert artists of the 20th Century including Metropolitan Opera star, Richard Crooks, the individual most directly responsible for launching Primrose’s career as a major soloist. Most of these black & white photos contain personal messages to my father.
Numerous documents and photographs of my paternal grandfather, Baron Wilhelm von Winterfeld: Included with his section of my collection are original manuscripts of a number of his compositions as well as his student identification booklet from the Prague Conservatory where he studied violin with Otakar Sevcik and composition with Dvorak.
One of the true gems of my collection is my grandfather’s graduation diploma from the Prague Conservatory, dated 1903, which is signed by all of his professors including the then Director of the Conservatory, Antonin Dvorak!
Well, I truly hope that this overview of my personal collection, coupled with the other information I have shared in this chapter has expanded your awareness and peaked your interest in the PRIMROSE INTERNATIONAL VIOLA ARCHIVE. I sincerely believe that at some point in their lifetime, every serious violist needs to make a pilgrimage to PIVA. I can almost guarantee that such a journey will prove to be a most enlightening and memorable experience!