Were any of Zelenkas autograph manuscripts lost during World War II?
A. Music scores and other material from the Saxon State Library (including Zelenka’s manuscripts) were kept in steel containers in the basement of the Japanese Palace. These containers had been thought to be fire-proof and waterproof. Around the time of the two waves of fire bomb attacks on 13-14 February and 1 March 1945, ground water flowed into the basement and caused damage, some of which is irreversible. Thanks to restorers and the quality of the paper and ink used in Dresden early in the eighteenth century, much of the material has been saved. The manuscripts of some other composers are missing, though: those of Zelenka’s colleague G.A. Ristori, for example.
