Music Library News

Manuscripts Acquired at Auctions

With successful bids at two recent auctions, the Music Library has acquired three manuscripts that supplement our collection of primary sources documenting music of the twentieth century.

The manuscript for Henri Sauguet's (1901-1989) Deux mouvements symphoniques pour archets (1964) was purchased in London at Christie's on November 30. Notated in the composer's hurried hand, the manuscript offers evidence of Sauguet's initial inspirations as well as numerous corrections, cancellations, and other revisions.

On December 1, Sotheby's held its music auction in London, and there the library acquired two leaves of sketches by Albert Roussel (1869-1937). These working manuscripts for the opera Padmâvatî (1923) and the Piano Concerto (1928) offer early glimpses of Roussel's process in planning and developing material for these two large works.

These purchases were made possible with support from the Black Dog Fund and the James A. and Sally Ann Hagan Endowed Fund.

Welcome to Dina Azrikan

Welcome to Dina Azrikan, the Music Library's new Music Public Services Assistant. Although Dina is new to the Music Library, she has been a member of the University Library's staff since 1994, working as a cataloger in Monographic Acquisitions and Rapid Cataloging and, most recently, the Serials Department.

Dina's training in music includes many years of piano studies and a degree from the Moscow State Pedagogical University, where she completed courses in piano pedagogy as well as Russian literature. Dina also earned a post-graduate diploma in library and information science under the Ministry of Culture in Moscow. In addition to her previous work at NU, Dina's experience in libraries includes six years as the Rare Materials Section Supervisor in the Central State Theatre Library in Moscow.

As Music Public Services Assistant, Dina's duties include supervising circulation, maintaining print reserves, managing stacks, and providing reference assistance. The Music Library is very pleased to have Dina join our staff!

More Sound Recordings Available Online

With two new subscriptions to streaming music services, the Music Library has expanded significantly the amount of sound recordings available online. These databases, Naxos Music Library and Smithsonian Global Sound, provide Northwestern's students, faculty, and staff with access to thousands of sound recordings that cover a broad spectrum of musical history and traditions.

Naxos Music Library, a subscription service from the Naxos record company, is comprised of over 130,000 recordings, including the entire Naxos catalog as well as music from other labels such as Marco Polo, BIS, CBC, First Edition, and Hänssler Classic. Chiefly concerning Western art music, Naxos Music Library offers recordings of most standard repertoire but also features recordings of early music, contemporary works, and a small selection of jazz and world music.

Smithsonian Global Sound offers over 35,000 recordings of traditional music from around the world. This database includes the complete recordings of the Smithsonian-Folkways record label as well as music from the Cook, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, Monitor, and Paredon labels and important historical recordings from the International Library of African Music and the Archive Research Centre for Ethnomusicology.

To access these resources, see the Music Library's web site under "Online Music Collections." Both Naxos Music Library and Smithsonian Global Sound are accessible from anywhere on campus. Off-campus access requires authentication via the university's Virtual Private Network (VPN). To configure your computer, see the instructions for off-campus access using VPN.