Three letters from violinist Rudolf Kolisch to music scholar Siegmund Levarie, who then served as Director of Concerts at Chicago University. Kolisch autograph material is scarce.

In the first letter, typed and dated February 6, 1947, Kolisch looks forward to an upcoming concert with Ernst Krenek in Chicago and conveys his willingness to participate in Levarie's new Adult-Education Program, volunteering a lecture on the Beethoven quartets for the purpose.

In the second letter, handwritten and dated October 13, 1950, Kolisch seeks Levarie's input on the programming of another concert. He believes the Schoenberg Trio would have its Chicago premiere on the date in question.

In the third letter, typed and undated, Kolisch congratulates Levarie on his new appointment, which almost certainly refers to his teaching position at Brooklyn College. That would date this letter to 1954.

The Kolisch Quartet became stranded in the United States in 1941, having been on tour there when civilian transatlantic crossings were suspended because of the war. Rudolf Kolisch tried to keep the ensemble together, but the violist and cellist quickly defected to the security of orchestral jobs, and the quartet officially disbanded shortly thereafter. Kolisch was not without work for long, though: in 1944, the University of Madison-Wisconsin invited him to lead the in-residence Pro-Arte String Quartet and offered him a teaching position. It was from there that he corresponded and collaborated with Levarie.