The Princesse Edmond de Polignac (1865-1943): A documentary chronicle of her life and artistic circle.
Item
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Title
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The Princesse Edmond de Polignac (1865-1943): A documentary chronicle of her life and artistic circle.
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Identifier
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AAI9325111
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identifier
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9325111
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Creator
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Kahan, Sylvia Renee.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Arbie Orenstein
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Date
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1993
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Music | Biography | History, European
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Abstract
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A mecene is any rich or powerful person who encourages and provides material support for the arts, letters, and sciences--in other words, a patron. One twentieth-century woman came to be known in her adoptive country, France, as "la grande mecene," the great patron. Best known by her married name, the Princesse Edmond de Polignac (1865-1943), she was born Winnaretta Singer in Yonkers, New York. Heiress to the enormous Singer Sewing Machine fortune, she used her fabulous wealth to benefit composers, performers and music organizations and institutions, enriching the European cultural heritage to a degree that caused her to be known as the Esterhazy of her epoch.;The Princesse de Polignac disbursed her largesse in three major ways. She established two important musical salons in Paris and Venice. Superb performances of great music by renowned artists took place in her music rooms on a regular basis. Composers knew that they would be guaranteed excellent performances of their new works in the Polignac salon. Masterworks by major composers such as Faure, Stravinsky, and members of les Six had first performances there. By the 1920s it was known particularly as a haven for the musical avant-garde.;The Princesse de Polignac promoted the newly developing careers of many performers and conductors, including Arthur Rubinstein, Vladimir Horowitz, Wanda Landowska, Clara Haskil, and Nadia Boulanger. Most importantly, the Princesse, desiring to expand the repertoire for chamber orchestra and other small ensembles, commissioned close to two dozen new works from major composers. Some of these have come to be known as masterworks in the musical repertoire. Additionally, the Princesse was the dedicatee of many well-known compositions.;The dissertation explores the life of the Princesse de Polignac through her correspondence and other primary material. It gives a complete listing of the contents of her collection of musical manuscripts, and includes a reproduction of one of the Princesse's own compositions.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy Restricted.xlsx
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degree
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D.M.A.