Many of the unpublished materials in the Musical Acoustics Research Library records have been digitized, except for personal correspondence and other miscellaneous documents. This includes materials from the four collections: the Catgut Acoustical Society, the John W. Coltman Collection, the Arthur H. Benade Collection, and the John Backus Collection. Researchers may access the digital copies through links from the description in the online finding aid.

The collection was processed in 2011 by Andrea Castillo. For more information please see Andrea's previous article.

New services at the Archive of Recorded Sound

The beginning of 2013 has seen a number of significant developments at Stanford's Archive of Recorded Sound, especially in the area of patron services, both at the Archive itself and online.

Information relating to these improved services can be found on the Archive's new website. This detailed resource also includes information on the Archive's extensive collections, guidelines for planning a research trip to the Archive, and finally recommendations for notable sound recording research tools, both online and in print.

Significant acquisitions in music

An annual compilation of significant acquisitions may be found on the Music Library’s web site. The list for 2011-2012 was recently added. Lists go back to 1999-2000.

Included are items acquired by gift or purchase during the academic year, arranged by type of material. Manuscripts, Facsimiles, Operas (librettos and scores), Periodicals, Printed Books, Printed Music, Microform, Recordings, and Miscellany are included. Many items are purchased with endowed gift funds and this is noted in the citations, e.g. Acquired through the Lucie King Harris Books for Music Fund. Citations are included for materials in both the Music Library and Department of Special Collections, Green Library.

The Dichterliebe, recorded by Thom Denijs in 1928 (HMV 092026)

Spotlight on: Schumann's Dichterliebe

Schumann’s Dichterliebe, op. 48, from 1840 weds music and text into one of the most memorable song cycles of the Romantic period. The cycle consists of sixteen songs on poems from Heinrich Heine’s Lyrisches Intermezzo. The earliest recordings of the entire cycle were by Dutch baritone, Thom Denijs (1877-1935), who recorded the cycle twice in London with his wife, Emmy Denijs-Kruyt (1878-1964), as pianist, first in an acoustic recording on 5 April 1923 and later as an electrical recording in three sessions in January and July 1928.

Music librarians know the way to San Jose

The 82^nd annual meeting of the Music Library Association took place in San Jose, February 27-March 3, 2013. Over 400 registrants enjoyed a wide range of educational sessions, workshops, and social events. Jerry McBride, Head of the Stanford Music Library & Archive of Recorded Sound, wrapped up a successful two-year run as president of the organization. In addition, Jerry’s publication, Douglas Moore: a bio-bibliography, was awarded the prestigious Vincent H. Duckles Award for the best book-length bibliography or other research tool in music.

Page one of the holograph fair copy (detail)

New arrival: Schönberg, Sechs kleine Klavierstücke, op. 19

New arrival in the Music Library:

Schönberg, Sechs kleine Klavierstücke, op. 19 [facsimile]

Published by the Arnold Schönberg Center, Vienna.

Schönberg's Sechs kleine Klavierstücke (Six little piano pieces), op. 19, were composed during a very creative period in Schönberg's life, around the years 1910-1912. In addition to musical composition, Schönberg exhibited his paintings and kept a lively correspondence with his friend, the expressionist painter Kandinsky, and was also at work completing his orchestration for the Gurre-Lieder, and writing his Theory of Harmony. Five of the Six little piano pieces were composed in a single day, February 19, 1911. After the revered composer Gustav Mahler's death on May 18, 1911, Schönberg painted his impression of the event, the Begrabnis von Gustav Mahler (Burial of Gustav Mahler), and then composed the sixth piece in the op. 19 set, on June 17, 1911.

Announcing a new music database: Academic Charts Online

Academic Charts Online: International Popular Music (ACO:IPM)

ACO is a new subscription database which includes over 60 years of popular music charts from the Americas, Europe and some Asian territories. Data is provided by Billboard, The Official Charts Company, Aria Charts and other similar sources.

Searching is possible by artist, single or album title, date, label, and chart position. Sophisticated tools then allow you to interpret, graph, analyze, compare and contrast musical trends and interactions. For instance you can chart the performance of Adele’s album 21 in the US, UK, and Australia. You are also able to superimpose graphs from different artists, countries and formats and display them in absolute or relative time. The instructional videos on the web site may be useful in learning how to use the graph function.

Most tracks and albums have audio samples.

The opening phrase of the fifth symphony, in Beethoven's hand

Beethoven mania!

"The Beethoven Project is a large-scale celebration acknowledging Bing Concert Hall as the new home of the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and Stanford Philharmonia Orchestra. These ensembles, under the baton of Jindong Cai, will devote the season to the performance of all nine Beethoven symphonies, as well as all five of the composer’s piano concerti featuring Van Cliburn Gold Medal–winning pianist and Stanford alumnus Jon Nakamatsu.

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