Lehmann Archives acquire Strauss letters

A major collection of Lehmann-related correspondence has been acquired by the Lotte Lehmann Archives at the University of California, Santa Barbara, according to Dr. Joseph Boissé, librarian.

On May 19, a large collection of Lehmanniana appeared in the Sotheby auction. Through the generosity of the Friends of the UCSB Library and an anonymous donor, the UCSB Library was able to bid successfully for most of the material. There are three distinct collections, all of which will be useful to future scholars and researchers. The first is a series of letters from Richard Strauss to Lotte Lehmann. In one of these letters, the composer attributes the success of his work to her; in another he emphatically declares her the greatest "Marschallin" of his day. In several of the letters, the running conflict between Lotte Lehmann and Maria Jeritza is discussed. A second group of letters covers a thitry-year period in Mme. Lehmann's life. These letters are all addressed to Albert Goldberg, critic emetitus of the Los Angeles Times. The third collection contains letters to Lehmann between 1927 and 1930. Included here are correspondence from Bruno Walter, Antonio Pucini, Franz Schalk, Erich Korngold and many others.