Paul Katz Papers

The collection documents Paul Katz's long career as a musician, composer, teacher, and conductor. Katz founded the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO) in 1933, serving as its Musical Director until he retired in 1975. Papers in this collection include personal correspondence, a complete set of Dayton Philharmonic concert programs for 1933-1975, conductor scores, photographs, clippings, speeches, and articles by Katz. Also included are audiocassette recordings and transcripts for an interview with Katz. As well as being active in the DPO for many years, Katz was also active in the community, particularly in the Jewish community. He was the director of music at Temple Israel, and part of this collection includes information about this part of his life.

Series I, Biographical Information, contains personal documents and writings by Paul Katz, including appointment books, speeches, articles, poetry, and a copy of his own autobiographical book titled “My 42 Years with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.” Especially poignant are Katz’s writings on depression written at the end of his life. Notebooks filled during Katz’s career, include a library of scores, guests, and DPO member lists. This series also contains recordings and transcripts of oral history interviewsconducted with Dr. Katz and his wife by Dr. Charles Berry in 1978 and 1979, as well as articles and cards following Katz’s death in 1989.

Series II, Correspondence, is organized chronologically and covers a variety of topics, including Katz’s performances, his health, and his communications with instrument manufacturers. Here one can read correspondence between Dr. Katz and artists considering guest performances with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Some of the artists include: Leonard Rose, Rudolf Firkusny, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, and Yehudi Menuhin. Correspondence with some lesser known artists is also included. Such artists include Leonard Shure, a pianist who played the 1st movement from a Beethoven Concerto at one of the USO concerts, and Arthur Loesser. Mr. Loesser was a teacher of the history of music at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He was also an accomplished pianist. Also of note in this series is a note written by Gregor Piatigorsky which is addressed "To Patty" and talks about her ability to keep Nevin (Paul Katz's son) occupied. It contains a handwritten ditty by Piatigorsky about Nevin Katz.

Series III, Conductor Scores and Sketches by Katz, contains scores by various composers, with two scores and five sketches notably by Paul Katz. Also included are several miniature scores, and finally, a run of conductor scores alphabetized by composer's last name. The scores were kept with the collection because they contain "working notes" written by Dr. Katz which explain his interpretation of the individual pieces. One item of particular interest is the "Variations on L'Amour De May for grand orchestra" written by Mr. Maurice Baron. This composition has been autographed with a note addressed to Dr. Katz by Maurice Baron.

Series IV, Photographs, contains both personal photographs and photographs of guest artists. The Personal Photographs file includes photographs of Paul Katz and his wife, Phyllis, taken and signed by renowned Dayton photographer Jane Reece. The personal photographs feature Katz conducting and at volunteer events. The Guest Artists Photographs file consists of autographed photographs of guest artists who performed with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Most of the Photographs in this latter category have been copied by Wright State University and the originals were returned to Dr. Katz. The photographs are organized alphabetically by the artist's last name.

Series V, Personal Concert Programs, contains programs dating back to Katz’ childhood. The concert programs were collected from performances featuring Dr. Katz as an artist (violin), performances featuring Dr. Katz's musical compositions, concerts where Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra performed in guest appearances (Springfield, Wright State University Artist Series, etc.), and foreign concert programs where Dr. Katz was the guest conductor. The material is arranged alphabetically according to topic.

Series VI, Audio Recordings, includes sound recordings in the form of record albums, audio reels, audiocassettes, and electronic files. This series is divided into two subseries. Subseries VI-A includes recordings of recitals by Dr. Paul Katz (on violin) and Phyllis Katz (on piano). Subseries VI-B includes other recordings, such as ones related to Temple Israel or recordings of speeches or parties. Most of the recordings are on 1/4" audio reels or audiocassette tapes. However, some of the tapes have been digitized, which are noted in the inventory with an e-item number, similar to ms102_e0001. When requesting electronic files, please provide the e-item number and the file description for access.

Series VII, Newspaper Clippings, covers a variety of topics. The clippings preserved on microfilm (MFM-19, DB Roll 2427), date 1917-1977. In addition, the collection contains original clippings featuring Paul Katz as an artist (child prodigy), awards given to Dr. Katz, reviews of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra performances and other performances conducted by Dr. Katz, as well as articles on Temple Israel. A special Dayton Daily News feature on Dayton Philharmonic’s 60th anniversary in 1994 is located in oversize.