For the typed carbon of the letter, see record 7257. David Harley is the current owner.

From Lion Heart Autographs' (now failed) site: http://lionheart.pairserver.com/autograph/18814-RUSSELL%2C-BERTRAND-One-Nobel-Prize-winner-writing-about-another:-%27Dr.-Schweitzer%27s-warnings-about-the-dangers-of-nuclear-preparations-and-the-readiness-to-engage-in-wars-of-annihilation-are-a-great-service%27.

RUSSELL, BERTRAND. (1872-1970). British philosopher, mathematician and social reformer. TLS. (“Bertrand Russell”). 1p. 8vo. Penrhyndeudraeth, August 26, 1964. On his personal engraved stationery. To music scholar, conductor and founder of the Esterhazy Orchestra, DAVID BLUM (1935-1998).

Thank you for your letter. I enclose the following message:

“Albert Schweitzer is one of the few who have devoted their lives to the service of man. The range of his achievements and the importance of his personal example mark him as a leader of our time who will be remembered. Dr. Schweitzer’s warnings about the dangers of nuclear preparations and the readiness to engage in wars of annihilation are a great service. It is a pleasure to greet this noble young man on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday.”…

The godson of John Stuart Mill, Russell received many honors during his lifetime, including his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society and winning the Order of Merit and the 1950 Nobel Prize for literature. As one of the founders of Analytic Philosophy his influence can be seen across such varied disciplines as mathematics, linguistics, computer science, epistemology, and metaphysics.

Russell was also highly influential as a social activist. He condemned imperialism, was jailed for his pacifism during World War I and vocally criticized Hitler and Stalin. With the growing threat of nuclear weapons, Russell expressed opposition to U.S. military actions and policies. He founded the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in 1958, the same year that the U.S. military began test launching the Polaris missile. In 1960, Russell and 99 other anti-war activists formed the Committee of 100, which used civil disobedience and emphasized non-violence to oppose nuclear weapons. During the early 1960s, Russell actively protested nuclear arms proliferation as well as America’s involvement in Vietnam.

French theologian, philosopher, physician, organist and music scholarAlbert Schweitzer(1875-1965)was known for his interpretation of Bach’s chorale preludes as well as instigating a movement toward baroque sensibilities in both organ performance and construction. Music, though one of his passions, was not the central focus of Schweitzer’s life. Rather, beginning in 1913, he devoted himself to building a mission hospital in Lambaréné, in the Gabon province of French Equatorial Africa. There he spent over a quarter-century ministering to the mission’s sick. Schweitzer continued to write, publish and speak on his philosophy of “Reverence for Life” and the money generated through his books and lectures funded the hospital’s expansion. Schweitzer wrote on a diverse range of topics besides music including philosophy, medicine, religion, philanthropy, and, as our letter notes, the threat of atomic war. Although Schweitzer typically eschewed commenting on political topics, the threat of nuclear war was such that the renowned humanist began speaking against it in 1954, with a letter to London’s “Daily Herald.” He returned to the topic during his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, entitled “The Problem of Peace,” later that year (Schweitzer was awarded the 1952 prize by the Nobel Committee in December 1953 and gave his acceptance speech on November 4, 1954). In 1957, he broadcast by radio his “Declaration of Conscience” and, the following year, he signed Linus Pauling’s petition, “Appeal by American Scientists to the Government and Peoples of the World,”which asked the United Nations to ban nuclear testing. The following year, he published three speeches on the topic, “The Renunciation of Nuclear Tests,” “The Danger of an Atomic War,” and “Negotiations at the Highest Level” under the title Peace or Atomic War? Russell and Schweitzer were not only like-minded individuals, but friends and correspondents.

Blum founded New York’s Esterhazy Orchestra in 1961, which wasdedicated to performing and recording the works of Franz Josef Haydn. The orchestra’s concert celebrating Albert Schweitzer’s 90^th birthday took place on January 14, 1965 at New York’s Town Hall. Blum later became the music director and conductor of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra and Geneva Symphony Orchestra and wrote much on musical topics. His works includeCasals and the Art of Interpretation, Paul Tortelier, The Art of Quartet Playing, and Quintet.

Folded and in excellent condition.

Item #18814

SOLD