1. Buths, Julius "with wife".  Letter, 2 pp. (bifolium).  D[üssel]d[or]f, January 21, 1907.  The German composer, conductor and pianist declines an invitation from Heinersdorff because he is too busy.  7 x 4.5 inches (17.3 x 11.3 cm).  Three horizontal folds; two holes; no loss to text.  Appointed municipal music director in Düsseldorf in 1890, Buths became one of the leading figures of the city's music life.  Together with Otto Neitzel (see below), he founded the private Buths-Neitzel-Konservatorium in 1902.

2. Marteau, Henri.  Letter, 1 p. (bifolium).  No place, no date.  The French-German violinist and composer thanks for the receipt of a painting.  Unevenly cut, approximately 7 x 4.5 inches (17.6 x 11.3 cm).  Horizontal fold; some wear, but text not affected.  Marteau succeeded Joseph Joachim as professor of violin in Berlin in 1908.  As a French citizen, he was dismissed in 1915 and confined to his home.  He adopted Swedish citizenship and remained in Germany.

3. Neitzel, Otto.  Letter, 1 p. (bifolium).  Stationery of Princes' Hotel, St. James', London.  November 8, 1904.  The German composer, pianist and teacher asks Heinersdorf[f] to pick up a general delivery letter ("maybe even one more") at a post office in Düsseldorf and to forward it to Dublin, Hotel Shelbourne.  "Sonst alles alright."  7 x 4.5 inches (17.4 x 11.1 cm).  Minimal defect to blank second leaf of bifolium; horizontal fold.  Neitzel was a man of many talents.  A student of Franz Liszt, he was a touring pianist (also in the U.S.), a prolific composer and writer on music, and he taught as a professor at several schools, including the Moscow Conservatory (1881–85).  Together with Julius Buths (see above), he founded the Buths-Neitzel-Konservatorium in Düsseldorf in 1902.  In 1890 he recorded an excerpt of Chopin's Second Piano Concerto on an Edison phonograph (accessible on YouTube).

4. Neitzel, Otto.  Letter, 1 p. (bifolium).  Stationery of M. DuMont Schauberg, Kölnische Zeitung.  Arosa, August 9, [19]13.  In full: "Dear Mr. Heinersdorff!  How is it going?  What's up?  What are you doing?  / 1) Tell me, most esteemed man, what is the state of affairs with the grand piano of Mrs. Lehnemann? Did L- pay, and can I swallow the commission? / 2) Do you have a little space in the Mus. G. in November/December for Madame Elsa Neitzel-d'Herambault, Paris the most brilliant harp virtuoso on either side of the Vosges Mountains?  May the Lord give you Heil und Sieg! In this sense yours, Otto Neitzel."  7.75 x 5.5 inches (19.5 x 14 cm).  Bifolium opened and unevenly cut; leaves glued together at top left corner; punch holes for binding (text not affected); horizontal fold; otherwise in fine condition.  Neitzel was the regular music critic of Kölnische Zeitung.  Mus. G. must refer to a periodical.  Elsa Neitzel-d'Herambault was one of Neitzel's four daughters.  The Vosges Mountains, now entirely within France, then marked the boundary between Germany and France.  The phrase "Der Herr schenke Ihnen Heil und Sieg" (May the Lord give you salvation and victory) probably sounded less eerie then than it does today.

5. Pugno, Raoul.  Letter, 2 pp. (bifolium).  Letterhead paper of the French pianist and composer.  In French.  Gargenville, France, "Friday the 27th."  Excerpt: "Unfortunately, I will not be available on the dates you point out to me—on the 19th, I play in Paris and on the 23 in Nancy. / I do not understand very well what happened to Düsseldorf.  On July 16, the Wolff agency of Berlin offered me an engagement for Düsseldorf for January 20–21 at 700 marks. I accepted. And on August 15, the Wolff agency wrote me that the Düsseldorf concert could not take place. Today, you offer me two concerts at 600 marks! / I must tell you that I would never have accepted these miserable conditions."  6.5 x 5 inches (16.6 x 12.4 cm).  Horizontal fold, some creases, remnant of tape glue; in very good condition overall.  Pugno was elected mayor of Gargenville in 1904.  He formed an artistic partnership with his former student Nadia Boulanger.