4 autograph letters signed.
4to and 8vo. Altogether 8½ pp. In French.
€ 800.00
Highly interesting collection of letters, the earliest of which, from June 1909, is addressed to the director of the Opéra-Comique, Albert Carré, following the decision not to renew Straram's engagement. Straram affirms that he regrets the decision and "misunderstandings of all sorts" that had occurred over the winter, expressing the conviction that they will meet again and that Carré will "revise his judgement" of him, as the Opéra-Comique is his "dearest desire".
On 27 March 1920, Straram wrote to a close female friend and singer, possibly Claire Croiza, ahead of several performances of a mass in Cannes. He thanks his friend for keeping him updated about the state of her voice, possibly following an illness, and confirms the schedule of concerts over a week. In closing, he mentions that he unfortunately could not see the baritone Victor Maurel yet.
The longest letter in the collection is probably addressed to the same friend on 23 June 1921. Straram congratulates the recipient on singing "Samson", probably referring Saint-Saëns' opera, and asks several questions concerning Brussels, where he was engaged for a concert of the works of André Caplet, inviting her to participate and announcing to organize a concert of "modern Russian, German, and French music" with the soprano Julia Nessy. In a short postscript, Straram asks on behalf of the composer Georges Hüe whether the violinist Georges Catherine will remain at the Opéra-Comique for the coming season.
The highly interesting final letter from 6 October 1927 is addressed to a Swiss recipient named Reinhart, very likely the merchant, patron of the arts, and co-founder of the International Society for Contemporary Music, Werner Reinhart (1884-1951). Since 1925, Straram led his own "Orchestre des Concerts Straram" that enjoyed an exquisite international reputation and was strongly associated with contemporary music, premiering works by Honegger, Messiaen, Ravel (Boléro), and others. In his letter, he thanks Reinhart for recommending the Swiss pianist Walter Frey for a performance of Ernst Toch's Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 38 from 1926, also mentioning that he had not yet asked Frey because of Arthur Honegger's recommendation of Franz Josef Hirt.
The letter from 1927 on stationery of "Concerts Walter Straram" and rust-stained from paperclips.
