A Guide to the Otto Wick Papers, 1919-1967
Composer, conductor, teacher, and arranger, Otto Wick was born in Krefeld, Germany, on July 8, 1885. Wick studied music in Krefeld and Kiel before emigrating to America in 1905 in order to study composition with Vassily Ilyich Safonoff, the conductor of the New York Philharmonic. He worked in New York primarily as a conductor and composer, authoring several compositions for the stage, including the operetta Alles für die Kunst, the cantata Temples of Peshawur, and the opera The Moonmaid, among others.
Wick also composed several works on Texas themes. He moved to San Antonio in 1935 with his completed historical opera, The Lone Star. Although intended for the Texas Centennial in 1936, although it was never produced in its entirety. Nonetheless, he composed other works on historical themes pertaining to Texas and Mexico, such as the symphonic poem The Gulf of Mexico, inspired by William H. Prescott’s Conquest of Mexico, and a symphonic trilogy entitled, Montezuma. In addition to composing, Wick was the dean of music at the University of San Antonio for four years and also taught at Trinity University for three years. Furthermore, he served as the musical conductor of the City-Wide Easter Sunrise Association for twenty years before his death in 1957.
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Wick, Otto, "http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/WW/fwibn.html (accessed October 19, 2010).
The Otto Wick Papers, 1919-1967, contain the scores and libretti of the historical opera, The Lone Star, scores to the symphonic trilogy Montezuma, a bound reprint of Temples of Peshawur, and three libretti of unpublished compositions, including The Moonmaid, Matasuntha, and Alles für die Kunst. In addition, the collection contains a bound copy of Erinnerung, based on a poem by Joseph Wick, as well as newspaper clippings, stage directions, sheet music, notes, and correspondence.
This collection is open for research use.
Otto Wick Papers, 1919-1967, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.
Detailed Description of the Papers