Ed Wilkinson Collection, 1934-1953

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Wilkinson, Ed
Abstract:
The Ed Wilkinson Collection consists of classical and opera performance broadcasts of the 1930s and 40s on open reel tape, the majority of which from the Standard Symphony Hour series.
Extent:
4 boxes : 71 tapes (sixty 10.5" reels ; eleven 7" reels)
Language:
Multiple languages
Preferred citation:

Ed Wilkinson Collection, ARS-0092. Courtesy of the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Background

Scope and content:

The Ed Wilkinson Collection consists of seventy-two audiotape copies of radio programs of classical music and opera from 1934 to 1953. The collection, which was transferred by Wilkinson to tape in 1983, features the Standard Symphony Hour series (also known as the Standard Hour), the Metropolitan Opera, and the San Francisco Symphony and Opera. Various sources were used to assemble the programs. Each tape box has extensive technical and content notes.

Collector Ed Wilkinson was associated with the Western Sound Archive, a nonprofit archive founded by Nate Brown in Los Osos, California. Both Brown and Wilkinson share a long association with the Archive of Recorded Sound, and have donated many rare recordings. At one point, the Western Sound Archive was considered the source of nearly all circulating Standard Hour broadcasts. These Standard Hour programs comprise the majority of the Wilkinson collection. Many were dubbed from original network transcription discs once owned by Adrian Michaelis, program manager for the series. Other sources for the program are noted as NBC linechecks, Photo And Sound airchecks, and from other tapes. The Archive also holds many of the original NBC discs for Standard Hour in its transcription collection.

Orchestras include the Standard Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Vocal soloists include Lotte Lehmann, Blanche Thebom, Lily Pons, Maggie Teyte, Dusolina Giannini, Jussi Bjoerling, and Bidu Sayao. Among the instrumental soloists are Joseph Szigeti, Robert Casadesus, Isaac Stern, and Artur Schnabel. The collection also contains some unusual performances by Yehudi Menuhin, such as a Stage Door Canteen broadcast from 1943 and a Town Hall concert with Wanda Landowska from 1944.

Acquisition information:
The Ed Wilkinson Collection was donated to the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound by Ed Wilkinson in 1983.
Processing information:

This finding aid was produced with generous financial support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Rules or conventions:
Prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research; material must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Contact the Archive for assistance.

Terms of access:

Property rights reside with repository. Publication and reproduction rights reside with the creators or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Head Librarian of the Archive of Recorded Sound.

Preferred citation:

Ed Wilkinson Collection, ARS-0092. Courtesy of the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Location of this collection:
Braun Music Center, 541 Lasuen Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-3076, US
Contact:
(650) 723-9312
soundarchive@stanford.edu
Website