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Title: Roman Ryterband Collection
Dates: 1978-2002
Accession number: 2009.067
Creator:
Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
Collection Size:
1 linear feet
Repository:
Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
Palm Springs, California 92262
Abstract: Collection of sheet music, articles, and ephemera documenting the influence of Agua Caliente (Cahuilla) music on the life
and music of composer Roman Ryterband (1914-1979). Materials span the years 1978-2002."
Physical location: Stored off site. Advance notice required for access.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research.
Ownership of the physical collection belongs to the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum. Literary rights, including copyright, are
retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum does not
hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Roman Ryterband Collection, 2009.067, Agua Caliente Cultural Museum.
Donation.
Biography / Administrative History
Roman Ryterband (1914-1979) was born in Lódz, Poland to a Jewish family of musicians and lawyers. Having a great love for
music at an early age but pressured by his feather to earn a law degree, Ryterband rebelled and pursued his dream of a career
in music with encouragement from composer Alexander Glazounov. He received his education at the State Academy in Lódz and
the University of Warsaw. In the years leading up to World War II, Ryterband traveled around Europe, gaining fluency in six
languages. In 1939, as bombs were falling in Warsaw, he found himself on a deserted beach near Nice, France. From there he
hopped the last train to Geneva, Switzerland before the border closed. He continued his studies at the University of Berne
in musicology, laying the groundwork for a career that would span more than 500 public appearances and concerts around the
world, garnering him numerous awards and prizes. Following careers in both Canada and Chicago, Roman Ryterband made his last
move to Palm Springs, California in 1967. Being a composer and a musicologist, Ryterband researched the musical folklore of
many nations in both hemispheres and adapted elements from these other cultures into his own works. Ryterband studied the
musical heritage of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and integrated his findings into his compositions. The influence
of Agua Caliente songs are found in the work Two Desert Scenes; this work features the use of a Cahuilla gourd rattle. Two
Desert Scenes premiered at the Moorten Botanical Gardens in Palm Springs, California.
Scope and Content of Collection
Collection of sheet music and related musical ephemera documenting the influence of Agua Caliente (Cahuilla) music on the
life and music of Polish composer Roman Ryterband (1914-1979). Includes both audio recordings and paper materials.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection.
Ryterband, Roman
Ryterband, Clarissa
Bogert, Frank
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
Palm Springs
Cahuilla
Native American
Gourd Rattle