73 letters and cards, 1950-1963, to one of his closest friends: music, performance, gossip, politics, celebrities
73 letters, almost all dated and mainly original mailing envelopes, addressed to Beekman Cottrell, an English professor at Carnegie Mellon University (or Carnegie Institute of Technology, as it was called then). Conrad was an important and influential bass vocalist, who was part of Nadia Boulanger's circle of singers and musicians, and who went on, after the war, to become a major and internationally acclaimed performing and recording artist, well regarded by Rorem, Poulenc, Milhaud, and a favorite of Casals, known for his Bach cantatas, interpretations of lieder and choral works. During the war he became a "Monument Man" with the MFAA Program in Germany and was responsible for saving and returning many works of art, and was heralded for having identifed some Vermeers as suspicious -- they were later proved to be the work of forger Hans van Meegeren. He was very well connected in artistic circles (the letters dip into gossip on occasion), and his autobiography published in 1997 gives many accounts of his travels and interactions. Beekman Cottrell was a popular professor of composition and literary criticism, comfortably queer to the extent that he never tried to hide his orientation. The letters to Cottrell contain deep reflections on politics, music -- much on all aspects of the singer's life of travel and of the singer's repertoire, fellow performers, etc. -- and on their mutual friends. The letters are filled with utter affection and great insights into life in Europe and America from a sophisticated observer's viewpoint. Perhaps 20 percent are typed, the rest are in a very readable longhand, and he was an accomplished writer and storyteller. A delight to read. Item #H9923
Price: $1,750.00