Date:         Tue, 18 Nov 2003 14:38:50 -0500
Reply-To:     Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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Sender:       Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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From:         Samuel Brylawski <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      Re: Voice of America orchestral recordings
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From the LC:

Thus far, little cataloging has been provided for VOA ETs. They will all
be inventoried/cataloged eventually. Many VOA tapes and several other
collections of classicial music have been cataloged by LC, but not in
SONIC. Search the Library's "official" online catalog (SONIC is a
supplement) at <http://catalog.loc.gov/> and you'll find quite a few BSO
broadcasts on tape. Also, the preservation reels created for discs cut
by Vose Greenough in Boston.

Sam B.


On Tue, 18 Nov 2003, Kevin P. Mostyn wrote:

> Hi Peter,
>
> The Voice of America was syndicating Boston Symphony concerts via short-
> wave at least into the late 1970s. They had begun broadcasting Boston
> Symphony concerts from their first incarnation, as the Office of War
> Information. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Boston Symphony Transcription
> Trust (of which I was the Chief Engineer) sent copies of every concert
> broadcast on high-speed duplicated tape to the Voice of America. In
> return, the VOA sent us many cartons of Scotch 111 tape, which we used
> for miscellaneous purposes.
>
> Some of these concerts were pressed for delayed broadcast. Very few
> of them circulate into the collector market, unlike Armed Forces Radio
> Service 16". In the course of my career as a collector, thousands of
> AFRS dics have passed through my hands, but only a few OWI/VOA discs.
> Certain OWI/VOA discs are of great interest, as they contain portions of
> concerts that were not broadcast, but which were transcribed.
>
> I have slowly been working on a catalog of the BSO AFRS discs for the
> Koussevitzky years, but it's far from complete. I currently own about
> 100 AFRS discs of BSO concerts. I have seen paperwork that suggest that
> the Library of Congress has a complete run of this series. During a visit
> to the Library in the mid-1970s, Mr. James Smart showed me their collection
> of AFRS and OWI discs, which was vast (and uncatalogued.)
>
> There is far too little data publicly available to do a similar VOA list,
> absent going to the LOC and spending many weeks there. Perhaps when I retire!
>
> I have been carefully watching the SONIC catalog on the LOC web site, since
> it appeared on the web. So far, exceedingly little AFRS and OWI/VOA
> material has been entered in that database, at least in so far as Boston
> Synphony Material is concerned.
>
> It may well be that I am not skilled enough to enter the correct search
> terms, and I would be thrilled if any of the LOC staff who read this list
> would be so kind as to aid me in parsing my searches to yield more results.
>
> Good luck with your research!
>
> Kevin Mostyn
>
> In article <[log in to unmask]>, you wrote:
> >OK, I just made my first posting to this list in a couple years a minute
> >ago and now, I'M BAAACK. This time with a totally different area that I am
> >seeking insight into.
> >
> >Is anyone familiar with a series of LP discs issued by the Voice of
> >America, probably in the late 1950's into the early 60's, of major US
> >symphony orchestras (Boston, Cleveland, NY Phil) under mostly big names
> >(Bernstein, Szell, Munch, et. al.) playing American music (natch), Rorem,
> >Riegger, Copland, Becker, Creston? I have come across a small bunch of them
> >(ahlf a dozen or so) and think they may be part of a larger series, but I
> >really don't know where to look first.
> >
> >Anybody?
> >
> >Peter Hirsch
>

             *********************************
Samuel S. Brylawski
Head, Recorded Sound Section
Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.  20540-4690
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
"Usual disclaimers apply"
             **********************************