Music Archive Fire Appears to Be Arson, Investigators Say

The fire that destroyed a multimillion-dollar collection of irreplaceable music memorabilia--including scores signed by Mozart and Beethoven--appears to have been set by an arsonist, investigators said Sunday.

Burbank Fire Department investigator Steve Patterson said Friday’s fire at the Ledler Foundation, home to one of the largest private music collections in Southern California, simultaneously raced in three directions through the aluminum-and-glass building--a sign that it may have ignited in several places and “indicative of something other than an accidental fire.”

Moreover, a trained dog discovered traces of accelerant that may have been used to fuel the blaze, and witnesses reported hearing window-shattering explosions minutes after the fire erupted in the center of the 20,000-square-foot building, Patterson said.

“Let’s put it this way,” he said. “One neighbor said the sound was similar to when you put lighter fluid inside your barbecue and then throw in a match. Poof!”

The list of treasures lost in the blaze is still incomplete. No one will be allowed inside the building designed by Raphael Soriano, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, until this morning. Crews are scheduled to remove the collapsed roof and clear other debris before noon.

“Only then will we have a good idea of what’s happened,” said Tim Rhodes, operations manager for the Ledler Corp. It shares the building with the foundation, which was not open to the public but was available to music scholars.

Early losses were estimated at $7.5 million to the landmark building and the collection amassed over 40 years by two nationally prominent opera patrons, Lloyd E. Rigler and Lawrence E. Deutsch. Among the items consumed by flames were a first edition score of Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute,” every New York Metropolitan Opera program since 1884, and letters and other documents written by composer Richard Wagner and other major figures of music.

Most were stored on bookshelves and in file cabinets, but foundation officials said the inventory list was in a fireproof vault inside the building. They will meet with insurance agents after the list is retrieved to discuss a settlement.

“But how do you replace it?” asked James Rigler, a nephew of the collector.

Musical scholars and others familiar with the collection called its destruction a major blow to research. They said much of what was destroyed is irreplaceable.

Rigler said Sunday there is some hope that a few letters and other documents could be salvaged from a file cabinet that appeared to have survived the blaze, albeit with heavy damage.

When told that arson is suspected, Rigler said: “It has to be. How could 34 years go up in half an hour? It’s too bizarre.”

But he could offer no explanation for why someone would want to start the fire. “It might just be a horrible, hateful prank by idiots.”