Walter Meyer wrote:

>We often read exciting news of lost or previously unknown original
>manuscripts of scores by famous composers (Bach and, I believe, Beethoven,
>come to mind) suddenly being discovered in the Library of Congress or the
>libraries of Ivy league type universities.  Sometimes it's not musical
>memorabilia, but some famous poet's sonnet.
>
>How do these relics find their way across the ocean into our libraries and
>why does nobody know about them until their unexpected discovery? And how
>do the discovering scholars know enough to be looking for them in the right
>places?

It was about ten years ago and our music librarian was retiring.  She was
cleaning out her office and found a box of manuscripts.  The box contained
three early songs of Copland.  There were the only copies.  Copland had
given the scores to Aaron Shaeffer (sp?) the man who wrote the words
Copland used.  Shaeffer ended his career on the faculty of our school
and had given them to the library.

In short, sometimes it can be an adventure going through old boxes.
Not too long ago a Boris Blacher manscript turned up in our library.
Oberdoffer (sp?), a former faculty member had been an editor for a music
publisher.  His speciality was keyboard music.  The manuscript was
inscribed by Blacher "To Fritz (I think it was Fritz) Oberdorfer.

Karl