Sound Recordings
Electronic Music Collection
With funding from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., the University Archives has preserved a collection of pioneering electronic music recordings. Selected from the larger Brandeis University Music School sound recording collection, the Electronic Music Collection comprises 72 musical performances that have been reformatted from reel-to-reel tape onto CD. All of the works were recorded at the former Brandeis Electronic Music Studio and date from the early period of American electronic music (1958-1968). Prominent composers such as Alvin Lucier, Ernst Krenek, Luciano Berio, and John Cage were invited to the Brandeis campus to compose and perform their works. Many of the recordings are one of a kind or represent the only known copies of particular versions of compositions, because of the unique improvisational elements they contain. The Electronic Music Collection finding aid includes descriptions of the recordings, which may be singular pieces, or part of larger musical works.
These recordings are available for listening in the Brandeis University Library's CD browsing collection and may be found in OneSearch by searching for the performance title or composer.
University Lecture Recordings
Over the years, many renowned scholars, creative artists, public intellectuals, political leaders, and social reformers have spoken at Brandeis University, often as part of standing lecture series. Many of these talks (1950s-1960s) were originally recorded on reel-to-reel audiotape, and are currently housed in the University Archives. The Department seeks to preserve these master recordings and to provide digital access to them, as resources become available.