News + public affairs shows (including coverage of Vietnam War protests + student takeover of campus administration building), freeform music shows, and "Film" and video interviews with former station workers. Additional documentation includes runs of station program guides. Dates pick up in 60s and run through 70s and beyond.
Content types:
Sounds and Other
Formats:
Disc (Commercial, Homemade, Transcription), Reel-to-reel, Audiocassette, Film, Videotape, Digital tape (DAT, DCC), and CD
Wide-ranging collection spanning 1928-70s and beyond. Holdings include local programming from stations throughout the country, including WBAI, WCBS, WNEW, WRCA, WMCA, WRVA, WNWK, WABC, WWL, WNEW, WOR, WHN, WQXR, WNYC, WBRC, WBRD, WBYN, WCAU, WCKY, WOL, WCOI, WEA, WFUN, WGAR, WIIN, WIFE, WINS, WJZ, WJVA, WKIX, WKLO, WLEA, WLOD, WLS, WXRK, WOKO, WONE, WPLI, WQAM, WQUA, WSAF, WTAN, WTYC, WTRY, KFOX, KMET, KABC, KPFK, KPHO, KRLA, KLSX, KROC, Pacifica. Content includes news coverage, interviews, classical and popular music, drama, sports, non-English language programming, etc. Personalities include later-nationally famous hosts and DJs and hosts such as Bob Fass, Dr. Demento, Casey Kasem, Alan Freed, Bob Crane, Arthur Godfrey, among others.
Content types:
Sounds
Formats:
Disc (Commercial, Homemade, Transcription), Reel-to-reel, Audiocassette, Videotape, Digital tape (DAT, DCC), and CD
Mostly recordings of music/talk related programs but including important news stories. Also have major studio sarchives of WABC-AM in New York City, WNEW-AM New York City, and others
Air checks, sports, news, political coverage, local DJs, local music, station IDs/jingles, and local commercials from stations WKBW, WBEN, WINE, WHSO, WEBR, and WGR, from 1950s-1980
Content types:
Sounds and Other
Formats:
Disc (Commercial, Homemade, Transcription), Reel-to-reel, Audiocassette, CD, MiniDisc, External drive, Website, VHS (audio), Betacam SP, 1, 2, and 3/4 in videotape, DVC pro tapes, and DVD
This is a live 13 hour broadcast (10 A. M.-11 P. M.) of the [7th] Wall to Wall at Symphony Space, celebrating Aaron Copland's 80th birthday, with a mix of Copland's compositions and other works by American composers; WNYC radio host was unidentified. Special guest appearences: Ruth Ford, John Ashbery, [Margaret Jory] (ASCAP), Maureen Stapleton, [Edward Albee], and Pearl Lang.
Content types:
Sounds
Formats:
CD
Extent:
12 recordings
Repository/Collector:
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
Maude Adams on Stevens College (1:13) -- Maude Adams recites prologue to Edmond Rostand's Chantecler (2:27) -- Rudy Vallee speaks with Hilaire Belloc (7:59) -- Virgil Thomson speaks about Four Saints in three acts (6:30) -- Gertrude Stein [from a 1934 radio broadcast?] (1:20) -- Fay Compton [from a 1969 television broadcast?] (3:33)
Content types:
Sounds
Formats:
Reel-to-reel and CD
Extent:
2 recordings
Repository/Collector:
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
Martin Bookspan interviews composer, pianist, folklorist and music editor Herbert Haufrecht. Haufrecht discusses his career as a composer. He talks about his interest in folk music that started when he was hired as a field representative in West Virginia for the Resettlement Administration of the Federal Department of Agriculture. There he collected folk songs and stories, and organized square dances. He discusses the collection of folk songs Folk songs in settings by master composers that he compiled in 1970. He also speaks about his interest in jazz. The composer discusses each of the following works, excerpts of which are then played during the interview: Symphony for brass and timpani (1967), Caprice (for clarinet and piano), Square set (for two pianos), Air on a ground bass (for oboe and guitar), A woodland serenade (for woodwind quintet).
Content types:
Sounds
Formats:
CD
Extent:
1 recording
Repository/Collector:
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
Two final movements of The little symphonies for small orchestra [No. 1, "Printemps"] / D. Milhaud -- Scherzo movement ["Jig"] of Sonata no. 1 for violin and piano / H. Cowell -- Concerto for viola and small orchestra based on old German folk tunes (aka Der Schwanendreher) / P. Hindemith -- Excerpt of Academic Festival overture / J. Brahms -- La vieille maison ("The old house"), a French folk song -- Chanson hébraïque, a setting of a Jewish folk song ["Mejerke, main suhn"] / M. Ravel -- Concluding portions [Saturday night waltz and Hoe-down sections] of the ballet suite Rodeo / A. Copland.
Content types:
Sounds
Formats:
CD
Extent:
1 recording
Repository/Collector:
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
In this recording, David Randolph discusses the book "The agony of modern music" by Henry Pleasants. During his discussion, D. Randolph plays two musical pieces: 1. Prokofiev's Violin concerto no. 2 (slow movement) (9:43) and 2. L. van Beethoven's Große fugue from his String quartet, no. 13 (3:55, fades out) to counteract Pleasants' thesis that "Serious music is a dead art."
Content types:
Sounds
Formats:
CD
Extent:
1 recording
Repository/Collector:
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
In 1st and 4th works (Discussion parts 1-2): Duncan Robinson, Vice President of the Berlioz Society ; Peter Hugh Reed and Olin Downes, music critics. In 2nd work: [André Charpak, narrator] ; Chorus and Orchestra of the New Paris Symphony Association ; René Leibowitz, conductor. In 3rd work: Ruth Lorin, soprano ; John Cooper, piano. In 5th work: Leopold Simoneau, tenor ; Choral Art Society ; Little Orchestra Society ; Thomas Scherman, conductor. In 6th work: Rochester Oratorio Society Chorus and Orchestra ; Theodore Hollenbach, conductor. David Randolph, host ; with unidentified radio announcer.
Content types:
Sounds
Formats:
CD
Extent:
1 recording
Repository/Collector:
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
In 1st work: Siegfried Borries, violin ; Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra ; Artur Rother, conductor. In 2nd and 4th works: Parrenin String Quartet. In 3rd work: Alfred Brendel, piano ; Vienna State Orchestra ; Jonathan Sternberg, conductor. In 5th work: Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra ; Rolf Kleinert, conductor. David Randolph, host ; with unidentified radio announcer.
Content types:
Sounds
Formats:
CD
Extent:
1 recording
Repository/Collector:
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
Martin Bookspan interviews American composer, pianist, and writer on music Phillip Ramey. Ramey comments on his studies composition at DePaul University in Chicago; on his teacher, composer Alexander Tcherepnin; and about musical traditions in Chicago. He talks about his career as a pianist and composer. He discusses each of the following works, which are then played in their entirety: Piano sonata no. 1, Night music (for percussion), Commentaries (for flute and piano), Leningrad rag (freely based on Scott Joplin's Gladiolus rag), 5 Epigrams for piano, 3 Epigrams for violin and piano, and Piano fantasy.
Content types:
Sounds
Formats:
CD
Extent:
1 recording
Repository/Collector:
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center