Call Number:

C0275

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 13 boxes
• 5.20 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Richard K. Korn Papers, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1937-1981 (inclusive) and 1959-1968 (bulk)

Creator:

Korn, Richard, 1908-1981

Form:

Correspondence and Photographic prints

Abstract:

Richard K. Korn was a clarinetist, conductor, and founder of the Orchestra of America. He was also involved in the American Council for Judaism. His papers include correspondence with composers, photographs, and correspondence with other members of the American Council for Judaism.

Richard K. Korn was a clarinetist, conductor, and founder of the Orchestra of America. He was also involved in the American Council for Judaism.

The collection represents two disparate but intense interests of Korn: the Orchestra of America and the American Council for Judaism. As the founder, manager, and conductor of the orchestra, Korn helped to promulgate the cause of American music both through concerts and recordings, and the papers include correspondence by many established and fledgling composers of mid-twentieth-century music. The collection provides insight into not only the artistic endeavors of the orchestra but also the problems inherent in keeping an orchestra viable while creating an interest in new music which a concert-going public is cautious to accept. Also included are documents, photographs, miscellaneous material, and printed matter.

The papers of the American Council for Judaism, an anti-Zionist organization, consist of correspondence between Korn and members of the group, as well as correspondence among various members. The collection reflects the deep and, at times, ambivalent feelings regarding Judaism as a religion as opposed to a political entity such as Zionism. Much of the collection deals with an internecine upheaval caused by the resignation of Elmer Berger from the organization.