Historical Music Recordings Collection

Austin Symphony Orchestra

With its earliest recording dating from the mid-1940s, the Austin Symphony Orchestra collection now contains approximately 700 tapes and discs. Performances have included a wide range of internationally-known artists. 

Center for International Contemporary Arts, New York

Thanks to the foresight of former UT student Reiko Tomii, when the Center for International Contemporary Arts closed in 1992, the numerous recorded interviews with and discussions of the work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama were saved and deposited with the HMRC. Bibliographical information can be found in the Library Catalog.

Houston Symphony Orchestra

The initial transfer of the broadcast archive of the Houston Symphony Orchestra took place in 1984 thanks to then Artistic Administrator Stephen Aechternacht. Since then, additional deposits and recordings from other sources have been added, for a total of about 1500 concerts. These include transcription discs of the radio series begun in 1945 and sponsored by Texas Gulf Sulphur. It was on one of these broadcasts that Van Cliburn made his debut at age 12. Philip Moores, a Stokowski collector and head of Dellarte Records, has provided a few of the recordings from the Leopold Stokowski era. Recordings made for soloists who appeared with the Orchestra, such as Drusilla Huffmaster, a Texas pianist, and for composers whose work was featured, such as Alan Hovhaness, have also been added. 

Preservation copy CDs have been made from many archival tapes and can be viewed in the Library Catalog.

Adams Opera Collection

Focused on the classical vocal and operatic literature, the Adams Opera Collection contains an almost complete run of the private label recordings produced by Edward J. Smith, including "The Golden Age of Opera" series. Another collecting goal of Dr. Adams was to acquire every broadcast performance of the Metropolitan Opera. Dr. Adams also made numerous in-house recordings and thus the collection contains many unique items, especially of vocal recitals by the most significant twentieth-century singers. The New Orleans Opera area is strong and some of the material has been released on the Video Arts International label.

Adams Opera Collection Finding Aid

Morris Beachy Collection

Dr. Morris J. Beachy directed choral activities at the UT School of Music from 1957-1993. The collection includes recordings from the A Capella Choir; Austin Choral Union; Austin Chorale; Chamber Singers; Madrigal Singers; and UT Choral Union.

Morris Beachy Collection Finding Aid

Mary Henrietta Chase - Bing Crosby Collection

Mary Chase was a fan of Bing Crosby and collected almost every commercial recording issued. She also made 200 recordings from broadcasts from December 1948 to October 1956, though as these are on consumer-grade acetate discs their condition is poor. 

Walter Ducloux Collection

The Walter Ducloux collection comprises reel-to-reel tapes of historical recordings of operatic and orchestral works dated from 1949 to 1983. The recordings primarily feature performance ensembles from the University of Southern California and The University of Texas at Austin.

Walter Ducloux Collection Finding Aid

Irving Feld Collection of Radio Dramas

Irving Feld was a producer of radio dramas that were broadcast nation-wide. The series include: The Black Museum, The Detectives, NBC University Theater, Theatre Royal, Suspense, The Queen's Men, The Lives of Harry Lime, Inner Sanctum, and The Scarlet Pimpernel. Featured actors include many of the great dramatic personalities of the twentieth century including: Boris Karloff, Angela Lansbury, Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Dinah Shore, Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Robert Morley and Michael Redgrave. Collection includes approximately 1700 reel-to-reel tapes.

Joseph Prager Collection of Jewish Cantors

Donated by Joseph Prager in 1995, this collection of 408 recordings features recordings of Jewish cantors.

Joseph Prager Collection Finding Aid

Richards Collection of Piano Rolls

This collection includes 349 piano rolls from a private donor, with repertory from both classical and popular genres.The collection has been supplement by a donation from the Lutcher Stark Foundation. 

Piano Roll Finding Aid