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November 9, 2009

AU Music Library Doubles Sound Collection

At the end of 2008, American University Library received a generous donation of approximately 4,000 CDs from Bil Shaw in memory of Robert M. Sasmor. Sasmor was an opera enthusiast and collector of sound recordings of exceptional classical music performances.

The Sasmor Collection at American University, as it is now to be known, covers a time period from the Medieval to the 20th Century and consists mainly of releases by well-respected labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Philips, London, Sony Classical, and RCA. This collection's greatest strengths are opera and vocal recordings, most notably Maria Callas' twenty four complete opera productions recorded with EMI as well as additional live performances and recitals.

The instrumental part of this collection includes the GREAT PIANISTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY series featuring over 180 artists as well as historical recording sets of violinists Jascha Heifetz, Isaac Stern and Arthur Grumiaux, and major orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Symphony, Chicago Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra. Many of these recordings are out-of-print and/or imported items. The collection is the largest and the most comprehensive sound recording donation that American University Library has ever received. By the time the entire Sasmor collection is available to the public by January 2010; the music library's CD collection will grow to 10,000.

---Nobue Matsuoka-Motley is Music/Performing Arts Librarian at American University

March 23, 2008

University of Pennsylvania receives Francis Johnson Collection

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries has acquired a collection of early-nineteenth-century editions of music by Philadelphia bandleader and composer Francis Johnson (1792-1844). Although a free African American, Johnson lived in an age when racial segregation and prejudice were commonplace. Despite these obstacles, he was able to achieve extraordinary renown and respect among the elite of Philadelphia through performances of his band at balls, parades, and promenade concerts. Following a series of concert tours late in his life, Johnson's fame eventually extended through the Midwest and across the Atlantic to London. His music survives today in piano arrangements published during his lifetime. The collection acquired by the Penn Libraries was assembled by the late Kurt Stein, a Philadelphia-area collector of Americana. For more information, contact Dick Griscom at griscom@upenn.edu.

September 14, 2006

The Harold S. Orendorff Music Library at IUP
by Carl Rahkonen

In January 2006 the Music Library at Indiana University of Pennsylvania moved into a new facility as part of an $8.9 million renovation and expansion of Cogswell Hall, the music building. The new 6,400 square foot music library, a branch of the IUP Libraries, is located on the ground floor just inside the main entrance to Cogswell Hall. It features new automatic compact shelving housing the score collection, a large commons area with comfortable furniture, and a seminar room for small class instruction and meetings. The entire library is wireless for personal laptop use. There are new multi-media carrels with state of the art (in 2006) public computers and audio equipment for most formats.

A public rededication and plaque unveiling for the new music library was held on April 29, 2006. The library was named for Dr. Harold S. Orendorff, former Chair of the Music Department and first Dean of the College of Fine Arts at IUP. Dr. Orendorff was honored by having the auditorium of Cogswell Hall named after him, which is now part of the space that the new music library occupies. The rededication service included brief remarks by the Music Librarian, Music Department Chair, the Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts, and the Dean of Libraries. Richard Orendorff, Harold’s son and former Magistrate of Indiana County, spoke on behalf of the Orendorff family. Members of the IUP music faculty performed several original compositions by Harold Orendorff.

--Carl Rahkonen is Music Librarian at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

 

Photo above: Richard Orendorff speaks at the rededication and plaque unveiling – photo by Keith Boyer.

January 20, 2006

Job Opening at UVa

Member Mary Prendergast sends word that the University of Virginia is seeking a Head of the Music Library at UVa in Charlottesville, VA.  The job ad is currently available on the UVa Libraries website.

May 6, 2005

More Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection

Coming up on Kile Smith's monthly radio show Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection on Saturday, May 7, from 5 to 6 p.m. on WRTI 90.1 FM Philadelphia and webcast live at www.wrti.org:

  • Eugen d'Albert (1864-1932). Piano Concerto No. 2 in E major, op. 12 (1893). BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Piers Lane, Alun Francis.
  • Gösta Nystroem (1890-1966). Concerto for Viola and Orchestra "Hommage à la France" (1941). Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Nobuko Imai, Paavo Järvi.
  • Interview with Mona Batt, daughter of Gösta Nystroem

March 31, 2005

More Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection

Coming up on Kile Smith's monthly radio show Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection on Saturday, April 2, from 5 to 6 p.m. on WRTI 90.1 FM Philadelphia and webcast live at www.wrti.org:

  • Maurice Wright (b.1949). Concerto for trombone, string orchestra, and harp (2004). Philadelphia Classical Symphony, Nitzan Haroz, Karl Middleman.
  • François-Joseph Gossec (1734-1829). Symphony in E-flat Major, Op. 5, No. 2 (c.1761-62). London Mozart Players, Matthias Bamert.
  • Interview with Maurice Wright

March 4, 2005

Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection

Our own Kile Smith presents the monthly radio show Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection on the first Saturday of each month from 5 to 6 p.m. on WRTI 90.1 FM Philadelphia and webcast live at www.wrti.org

Continue reading "Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection" »

January 6, 2005

In Memoriam, Yale Fineman
by Bruce Wilson

Yale Yale Fineman (1951—2004) passed away December 2, his fifty-third birthday, following a courageous battle with lung cancer. He was appointed Music Librarian and Head of Reference and Circulation in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library at the University of Maryland in August 2002, and had been Acting Head of that Library since July 2004.

Continue reading "In Memoriam, Yale Fineman
by Bruce Wilson" »