250x200mm to 190x145mm. Seven letters from Sir Henry Joseph Wood to Christian Olive Carpenter. Comprising five ALS, one partial TLS, and one full TLS. Dates range from 1916 to 1943. Covering 11 sides. Varying in condition. Some splitting to the folds, some toning present. The earliest letter, dated February 29th, 1916, is headed at Hirwain, Shire Lane, Chorley Wood and reads: 'Many thanks for sending me the score of your Sarabande, | which I have looked through with much interest, but Messrs. | Chappell & Co., tell me that they have no intention at | present of producing any novelties during the war, and as | our rehearsals have naturally been much reduced, there | is very little chance of doing anything but the standard | repertoire.' The other letters are very much in this vein. There are several mentions of piano recitals, unfortunate non-attendance, and several mentions of Carpenter s private music tutoring in Bath. A compact but friendly series of correspondence between two musicians. Sir Henry Joseph Wood (1869-1944) was an English conductor, most known for his half a century of conducting the Proms. One German critic, reviewing the Sheffield triennial festival, wrote: 'Two personalities now represent a new epoch in English musical life Edward Elgar as composer, and Henry J. Wood as conductor'. The recipient of Wood's letters, Christian Olive Carpenter (1880-1953) was a British pianist and composer, who performed and taught in London and Bath. One of her works here mentioned, 'Sarabande', is still played to this day. The Royal Academy of Music still issue, each year, the Christian Carpenter Piano Prize.