New notices from ARSC

2009 ARSC PRESERVATION GRANT AWARD

The ARSC Preservation Grants Committee is pleased to announce the recipient of the Grant for Preservation of Classical Music Historical Recordings. The program for these grants was founded in 2004 by Al Schlachtmeyer and the ARSC Board of Directors, to encourage and support the preservation of historically significant sound recordings of Western Art Music by individuals and organizations.

--- The Detroit Symphony Orchestra ---

The orchestra was awarded $10,000 for its Detroit Symphony Orchestra Archives Audio Preservation Project.

This project assists in preserving and re-housing the historical recordings of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, the project helps make these recordings accessible to scholars and members of the public.

The preservation project will begin with audiotape recordings of broadcasts made in the 1950s, which are in danger of deterioration because of age and former storage conditions. The collection includes many performances involving African-American composers and performers, and documents the work of Music Directors Paul Paray, Sixten Ehrling, and Antal Dorati.

With in-kind contributions from the Symphony and its Annual Fund, Save America's Treasures, and the National Historic Publications and Records Commission, the project forms part of the strategic plan of the orchestra's new Music Director, Leonard Slatkin.

ARSC RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM
Deadline for receipt of applications: February 28, 2010

The ARSC Research Grants Program supports scholarship and publication in the fields of sound recording research and audio preservation. (This program is separate from the ARSC Preservation Grants Program, which encourages and supports the preservation of historically significant sound recordings of Western Art Music.) Project categories eligible for consideration include: discography, bibliography, historical studies of the sound recording industry and its products, and any other subject likely to increase the public's understanding and appreciation of the lasting importance of recorded sound. ARSC encourages applications from individuals whose research forms part of an academic program at the master's or doctoral level.

ARSC members and non-members alike are eligible for grants in amounts up to $1000. Grant funds can be used to underwrite clerical, editorial, and travel expenses. Funds may not be used to purchase capital equipment or recordings, to perform operations on sound recordings, to reimburse applicants for work already performed, or to support projects that form part of a paid job. Grant recipients must submit documentation of their expenses before reimbursement. All grant funds must be disbursed within eighteen months of the grant award.

Grant recipients are required to submit brief descriptions of their projects for publication in the ARSC Journal, and are encouraged to submit articles about their projects, for possible publication in the Journal.

Research Grant Applications shall include:
-- a summary of the project (one page maximum), with samples of the work, if possible;
-- a budget covering the entire project, highlighting the expenses the ARSC Grant will cover (one page maximum);
-- a curriculum vitae; and
-- an indication of the prospects for publication or other public dissemination of the project results.

Applications should be sent in the form of four paper copies to:
Grants Committee Chairman
Richard Warren, Historical Sound Recordings Yale University Library P. O. Box 208240 New Haven, CT 06520-8240 U.S.A.

Applications for the next grant cycle must be received by February 28, 2010.

For more information, visit: http://www.arsc-audio.org/researchgrants.html

Questions about the Research Grants Program should be directed to Mr. Warren
at: richard.warren@yale.edu

 

NOMINATIONS for the 2010 ARSC AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

You are invited to propose candidates for the 2010 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. Nominations may be made by anyone, ARSC member or not. The deadline for nominations is January 31, 2010.

Eligible publications include any original printed work -- book, monograph, article, liner notes, etc. -- first published during 2009. The work may treat any subject related to recorded sound, but must embody the highest research standards. It should deal primarily with historical subjects, pertaining to periods at least ten years prior to the year of publication, with the exception of works related to modern preservation or playback technology.

The ARSC Awards typically recognize histories, discographies, or biographies representing the "Best Research" in these recording genres: Blues or Gospel Music; Classical Music; Country Music; Folk or Ethnic Music; Jazz; Popular Music; Rock, Rhythm & Blues, or Soul; and Spoken Word. Additional categories include: General Research in Recorded Sound; Record Labels or Manufacturers; Phonographs; and Preservation or Reproduction of Recorded Sound.

The Awards Committee especially welcomes information concerning eligible journal articles, as well as foreign and small-press publications that might otherwise be overlooked.

NOMINATIONS for the ARSC LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT and DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS

The ARSC Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual, in recognition of a life's work in research and publication.

The ARSC Award for Distinguished Service to Historic Recordings honors a person who has made outstanding contributions to the field, outside of published works or discographic research.

Nominations for either of these awards must be received by January 31, 2010.

SUBMISSIONS

Nominations for the ARSC Awards for Excellence must include the name of each nominee, together with the names of co-authors, the publication title, and the publisher's name and address. Please submit nominations to ONE of the Awards Committee Co-Chairs:

Robert Iannapollo
Sibley Music Library
Eastman School of Music
University of Rochester
27 Gibbs St.
Rochester, NY  14604-2504
riannapollo@esm.rochester.edu

OR:

Roberta Freund Schwartz
University of Kansas
Archive of Recorded Sound
434 Murphy Hall
1530 Naismith Dr.
Lawrence, KS  66049
rfschwar@ku.edu

Additional information about ARSC, including a list of past ARSC Award Winners, may be found at www.arsc-audio.org.

DEADLINE REMINDER: 2010 ARSC CONFERENCE, CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS  Proposal deadline: January 4, 2010
 
The Association for Recorded Sound Collections invites proposals for presentations at its 44th annual conference, to be held May 19-22, 2010, in one of the most fascinating cultural centers in America, New Orleans, Louisiana. The conference will take place at the historic Chateau Bourbon, located in the heart of the French Quarter.
 
ARSC welcomes presentations on the preservation and study of sound recordings in all genres of music and speech, in any format, and from any period. The enthusiastic audience will be drawn from our community of collectors, historians, musicians, preservationists, and archivists.
 
In general, we give preference to demonstrations, papers, and panels that are informative, well organized, and include compelling audio and visual content, presented by people who display a passion about their subjects. Presentations may deal with technical issues such as preservation and archives management or with content-related topics such as discography, repertoire, and artist profiles. This year we especially welcome presentations that showcase New Orleans and the surrounding area and their rich recording heritage.
 
The deadline for receiving presentation proposals is January 4, 2010.
Receipt will be acknowledged by e-mail. Presenters will be notified of acceptance by January 31, 2010.
 
For more information and the Call for Presentations form, visit:
http://www.arsc-audio.org/conference/pdf/2010call.rtf
 
General conference information can be found at:
http://www.arsc-audio.org/conference/
 
Tim Brooks
ARSC Program Chair
tim@timbrooks.net

 

2009 ARSC AWARDS

The 2009 winners are:

BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED BLUES, GOSPEL, RHYTHM & BLUES, or SOUL MUSIC

I Got Two Wings: Incidents and Anecdotes of the Two Winged Preacher and Electric Guitar Evangelist, Elder Utah Smith; by Lynn Abbott (Case Quarter)

Certificate of Merit:
Texas Blues: The Rise of a Contemporary Sound, by Alan B. Govenar (Texas A&M
Press)

BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED CLASSICAL MUSIC

Best Discography:
Boston Symphony Orchestra: An Augmented Discography, by James H. North (Scarecrow Press)

Best History:
A Charles Ives Omnibus, by James Mack Burk (Pendragon)

Certificates of Merit:
- After the Golden Age: Romantic Pianism and Modern Performance, by Kenneth Hamilton (Oxford University Press)
- Sprechstimme in Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire: A Study of Vocal Performance Practice, by Aidan Soder (Edwin Mellen Press)

BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED COUNTRY MUSIC

Linthead Stomp: The Creation of Country Music in the Piedmont South, by Patrick Huber (University of North Carolina Press)

Certificates of Merit:
- Working Girl Blues: The Life and Music of Hazel Dickens, by Hazel Dickens and Bill C. Malone (University of Illinois Press)
- Merle Haggard: Concepts Live.1968-1976, by Deke Dickerson (Bear Family)

BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED FOLK, ETHNIC, or WORLD MUSIC

Mexican American Mojo: Popular Music, Dance and Urban Culture in Los Angeles, 1935-1968; by Anthony Macias (Duke University Press)

Certificate of Merit:
Lemko Folk Music on Wax Cylinders and American Recordings, 1901-1930; by Bogdan Horbal and Walter Maksimovich (self-published)

BEST RESEARCH in GENERAL HISTORY of RECORDED SOUND

Den Talande Maskinen: De Forsta Inspelade Ljuden I Sverige Och Norden (The Talking Machine: The First Recorded Sounds in Sweden and Scandinavia); by Tony Franzen, Gunnar Sundberg, and Lars Thelander (Suomen Aanitearkisto/Finlands Ljudarkiv)

Certificate of Merit:
Sound Media: A Theory of Live Journalism and Musical Recording, by Lars Nyre
(Routledge)

BEST RESEARCH in RECORD LABELS

Best Discography:
Montgomery Ward Records: A Discography, by Allan Sutton (Mainspring Press)

Best History:
Revolutionizing Children's Records: The Young People's Records and Children's Record Guild Series, 1946-1977; by David Bonner (Scarecrow Press)

Certificate of Merit:
The Edison Discography, 1926-1929; by Raymond R. Wile (Mainspring Press)

BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED JAZZ MUSIC

Best Discography:
John Coltrane Reference; by Chris DeVito, David Wild, Yasuhiro Fujioka, and Wolf Schmaler; edited by Lewis Porter (Routledge)

Best History:
A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music, by George E. Lewis (University of Chicago Press)

Certificates of Merit:
- Backstory in Blue: Ellington at Newport '56, by John Fass Morton (Rutgers University Press)
- Playing the Changes: Milt Hinton's Life in Stories and Photographs; by Milt Hinton, David Berger and Holly Maxson (Vanderbilt University Press)
- Miles Davis, Miles Smiles, and the Invention of Post Bop; by Jeremy Yudkin (Indiana University Press)
- Luck's in My Corner: The Life and Music of Hot Lips Page, by Todd Bryant Weeks (Routledge)
- Delightfulee: The Life and Music of Lee Morgan, by Jeffrey McMillan (University of Michigan Press)
- Monk's Music: Thelonious Monk and Jazz History in the Making, by Gabriel Solis (University of California Press)

BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED ROCK and POPULAR MUSIC

Sgt. Pepper and The Beatles: It Was Forty Years Ago Today; by Olivier Julien
(Ashgate)

Certificate of Merit:
- Mondo Exotica: Sounds, Visions, Obsessions of the Cocktail Generation; by Francesco Adinolfi (Duke University Press)
- So You Want To Be a Rock and Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day, 1965-1973; by Christopher Hjort (Jawbone Press)
- Hot Burritos: The True Story of the Flying Burrito Brothers, by John Einarson and Chris Hillman (Jawbone Press)

2009 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: CRISTOBAL DIAZ-AYALA

ARSC annually presents a Lifetime Achievement Award to an individual, in recognition of a life's work in recorded sound research and publication.

Cristobal Diaz-Ayala was born and educated in Havana, where he received degrees in journalism, the social sciences, and law. He joined the flood of emigres from there, in 1961. His lifelong love of the music of his birthplace led him to study and publish works on the history of Cuban music styles, their presentation on stage, radio, and other media, and their appearance on historical sound recordings from 1905 (the earliest known) to the present day. He has written several books, including "San Juan - New York: Discografia de la Musica Puertorriquena 1900-1942," published this year.

In 1994, Diaz-Ayala received the ARSC Award for Best Research in Recorded Folk or Ethnic Music, for his book-length "Discografia de la Musica Cubana." Diaz-Ayala was producer and host for "CUBANACAN," a long-running syndicated radio series. He became well known for assembling a major collection of sound recordings, sheet music, and other ephemera that now resides at Florida International University in Miami.

2009 AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO HISTORICAL RECORDINGS: WARD MARSTON

ARSC's Award for Distinguished Service to Historical Recordings honors a person who has made outstanding contributions to the field, outside of published works or discographic research.

In 1979, Ward Marston put himself on the map as one of the world's leading transfer engineers with his restoration of the experimental Bell Laboratories Wide Range and Stereophonic recordings of Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra, made in 1931 and 1932. Audiophiles and music lovers alike were stunned by the remarkable recorded sound Marston was able to extract from the Bell recordings. The painstaking manual synchronization of the dual-band stereophonic recordings would be typical of the care and attention to detail that Marston would bring to so many future projects.

Since that time, Marston's work has appeared on the labels of many major record companies. His 11-CD collection devoted to the Victor recordings of Fritz Kreisler, released in 1995, received a Grammy nomination for Best Historical Album. Marston's other significant historical projects were: the Franklin Mint Toscanini Collection, BMG's 10-CD Complete Rachmaninoff, the 12-CD Philadelphia Orchestra Centennial Collection, the complete recordings of Josef Hofmann, and the complete recordings of Caruso for the Pearl and Naxos labels.

In 1997, he formed his own record label, Marston, concentrating on the reissue of recordings by performers neglected by the major record companies, including an ongoing series devoted to the acoustically recorded, complete operas on Pathe. His most recent achievements on his own label include the Julius Block collection, a three-CD collection of rare, privately-made cylinder recordings featuring some of the most important musical personalities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The success of Marston's work over the past 30 years is a result of a rare combination of musical knowledge and sensitivity, together with technical skill.