Virgil Thomson papers, 1920-1981

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Series III: WNCN Radio Broadcast Recordings, 1969-1970

125 reels of tapes of Thomson's program on radio station WNCN (New York), and a small amount of associated paper materials.



Box 15 Inventory, Calendar, and related material, 1969-1970


Box 15 Program Notes, 1969-1970



Box 18 Virgil Thomson (#1), October 6, 1969, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: David Dubal, Victor Yellin. Works: The Seine at Night; Five Songs from William Blake; Requiem Mass.


Box 18 Music and the Stage (#2), October 13, 1969, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: John Houseman, David Dubel. Works: Four Saints; The Devil and Daniel Webster (Douglas Moore); Fugue and Chorale on Yankee Doodle from Tuesday in November.


Box 18 Douglas Moore Memorial (#3), October 20, 1969, 3 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Otto Luening, Jack Beeson. Works: The Ballad of Baby Doe (Douglas Moore); Carrie Nation (Douglas Moore)


Box 18 Harpsichord Music, Ancient and Modern (#4), October 27, 1969, 3 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Sylvia Marlowe, Professor Donington, Gloria Rose Donington. Works: G-minor concerto (Bach); Selections (Couperin); Serenade for flute, oboe, cello, and harpsichord (Ben Weber); Sonata for flute, oboe, cello, and harpsichord (Elliot Carter); Lovers (Ned Rorem)


Box 18 The Music of Peter Mennin (#5), November 3, 1969, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Peter Mennin, David Dubal. Works: Symphony No. 7; Piano Concerto


Box 18 Armistice Day (#6) [Tapes 1 and 2], November 10, 1969, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Edward Cone, David Dubal. Works: A Solemn Music (Thomson); Chichester Psalms (Bernstein); Stabat Mater (Thomson); Serious Song (Irving Fine); My Shepard Will Provide My Needs (Thomson); Third Symphony (Roy Harris)



Box 19 Armistice Day (#6) [Tape 3], November 10, 1969, 1 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Edward Cone, David Dubal. Works: A Solemn Music (Thomson); Chichester Psalms (Bernstein); Stabat Mater (Thomson); Serious Song (Irving Fine); My Shepard Will Provide My Needs (Thomson); Third Symphony (Roy Harris)


Box 19 The Music of Nicholas Nabokov (#7), November 17, 1969, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Nicholas Nabokov. Works: Symboli Christinai; The Holy Devil or Rasputin's Dream


Box 19 Early Vocal Music (#8), November 24, 1969, 3 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: John Reeves White (musical director of Pro Musica). Works: Spanish Theatre; The Play of Daniel; Nuper Rosarum Flores (Dufay); Petrucci; Romance of Medieval France


Box 19 The Music of Charles Ives (#9), December 1, 1969, 3 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: no guests. Works: Housatonic; Rutledge,; William Booth; Harvest Home #3; Emerson; Alcotts; 4th Symphony Finale


Box 19 The Music of Carl Ruggles (#10), December 8, 1969, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: no guests.


Box 19 The Music of Leon Kirchner (#11), December 15, 1969, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Leon Kirchner, Marianne Kneisel. Works: Quartet No. 3; String Quartet No. 1; Piano Concerto No. 1,


Box 19 Christmas (#12), December 22, 1969, 3 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: James Lyons, David Dubal. Works: Symphony on a Hymn Tune (Thomson); Chorale No.1 for Organ (Sessions); Chorale in a Medieval Mode (Koechlin); Angels and Devils (Henry Brant); Pastorale Symphony (Handel); Adeste Fideles.



Box 20 The Music of Earle Brown (#13), December 29, 1969, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Earle Browne, Lucia Dlugoszewski. Works: Music for Violin, Cello, and Piano; Hodograph I; Corroboree for Piano; Nine rare bits; Available Forms I; Times Five; Four Systems.


Box 20 The Music of William Schuman (#14), January 1, 1970, 3 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: William Schuman. Works: American Festival Overture; Nos.1 and 2 of Voyage; Fourth String Quartet; Variations on "America" (Ives); To The Old Cause.


Box 20 Music of East Asia (#15), January 12, 1970, 3 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Gagaku; Ongaku (Henry Cowell); Tabuh-Tabuhan (Colin McPhee); Suite for Violin, Piano, and Small Orchestra (Lou Harrison)


Box 20 Gottschalk and Ragtime (#16), January 19, 1970, 3 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Robert Offergeld, Rudi Blesh. Works: Banjo (Eugene Liszt); Le Bananier (Eugene Liszt); Manchega (Alan Mandel); The Last Hope (Eugene Liszt); A Night in the Tropics; Maple Leaf Rag (Joplin); Alaskan Rag (Joseph Lamb); Efficiency Rag (James Scott); Polyragmic (Max Moreth); Walk from the Garden of Eden (William Balcom); Friday Night (Donald Ashwander);


Box 20 The Music of William Flanagan (#17), January 26, 1970, 3 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Ned Rorem, Howard Moss. Works: The Upside-Down Man; Goodby, My Fancy; Time's Long Ago; The Weeping Pleaids; Another August.


Box 20 The Music of Edgar Varese (#18), February 2, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Ameriques; Density 21.5; Poeme Electronique; Hyperprism.



Box 21 The Music of Iannis Xenakis (#19), February 9, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Iannis Xenakis, Eric Salzman. Works: Akrata; Syrmos; Diamorphis II; Le Polytope de Montreal.


Box 21 The Music of Elliot Carter (#20), February 15, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Elliot Carter, Nicholas Nabokov. Works: Piano Sonata; String Quarter No 1; Double Concerto; Piano Concerto.


Box 21 The Music of Eric Salzman (#21), February 23, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Eric Salzman. Works: The Nude Paper Sermon.


Box 21 The Music of Pierre Boulez (#22), March 2, 1970, 3 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Pierre Boulez. Works: Pli Selon Pli; Don; Improvisation I; Improvisation II; Improvisation III; Tombeau.


Box 21 Satie and Virgil Thomson (#23), March 9, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Sports et Divertissements; Violin Sonata.


Box 21 Edward Cone, Charles Turner, Virgil Thomson (#24), March 16, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Prelude, Passacaglia, and Fugue (Cone); Serenade for Icarus (Turner); Sonata da Chiesa (Thomson).


Box 21 Virgil Thomson (#25), March 23, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Requiem Mass.


Box 21 Beeson, Luening, Ussachevsky (#26) [Tape 1], March 30, 1970, 1 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Act II: Lizzie Borden (Beeson); Fantasy in Space (Luening); Prologue to Creation (Ussachevsky); King Lear suite (Ussachevsky and Luening); A Poem of Cycles and Bells.



Box 22 Beeson, Luening, Ussachevsky (#26) [Tape 2], March 30, 1970, 1 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Act II: Lizzie Borden (Beeson); Fantasy in Space (Luening); Prologue to Creation (Ussachevsky); King Lear suite (Ussachevsky and Luening); A Poem of Cycles and Bells.


Box 22 Kenneth Gaburo, Charles Griffes (#27), April 6, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Life Studies (Gaburo); Lemon Drops (Gaburo); Antiphony IV (Gaburo); Fat Millie's Lament (Gaburo); Piano Sonata (Griffes).


Box 22 Noel Lee, David Diamond (#28), April 13, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Four etudes for piano (Lee); Symphony No. 2 (Diamond).


Box 22 Mompou (#29), April 20, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Los Improperios; Impresiones Intimas; El Combat del Somni.


Box 22 Menotti and Barber (#30), April 27, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Violin Concerto (Menotti); Dover Beach (Barber); Antony and Cleopatra (Barber).


Box 22 Lou Harrison (#31), May 4, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Canticle No. 1; Symphony on G.


Box 22 Piano Music: Cowell, Thomson, Scriabin (#32), May 11, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Last Band (Cowell); First 8 Bands (Cowell); Nine Etudes for Piano (Thomson); Four pieces (Scriabin).


Box 22 Surinach, Chavez, Milhaud (#33), May 18, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Poems and Dances of Heathen Iberia (Surinach); Toccata for Percussion Instruments (Chavez); La Creation du Monde (Milhaud).


Box 22 Besty Jolas, Thomson (#34) [Tape 1], May 25, 1970, 1 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Quartet for String Trio and Soprano Voice (Jolas); Opera de Voyage (Jolas); Quartet No. 2 (Jolas); String Quartet No. 2 (Thomson).



Box 23 Besty Jolas, Thomson (#34) [Tape 2], May 25, 1970, 1 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Quartet for String Trio and Soprano Voice (Jolas); Opera de Voyage (Jolas); Quartet No. 2 (Jolas); String Quartet No. 2 (Thomson).


Box 23 Virgil Thomson (#35), June 1, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: The Plow; Louisiana Story.


Box 23 Virgil Thomson (#36), June 8, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Five Portraits for Orchestra; The Seine at Night; Concerto for Cello and Orchestra.


Box 23 Virgil Thomson (#37), June 15, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Praises and Prayers; Guggenheim Jeune; Five Songs to Poems of William Blake.


Box 23 Silvestre Revueltas (#38), June 22, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Ventanas; Homage to Garcia Lorca; Redes.


Box 23 Virgil Thomson (#39), June 29, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Three Pictures for Orchestra; Stabat Mater; Symphony on a Hymn Tune


Box 23 Walter Piston, Luciano Berio (#40), July 6, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Quintet for Piano and Strings (Piston); Sinfonia (Berio)


Box 23 Virgil Thomson (#41), July 13, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Missa Brevis; The River


Box 23 Carlos Chavez (#42) [Tape 1], July 20, 1970, 1 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Chaconne in E minor (Buxtehude); Sinfonia India; Sinfonia Romantica.



Box 24 Carlos Chavez (#42) [Tape 2], July 20, 1970, 1 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Chaconne in E minor (Buxtehude); Sinfonia India; Sinfonia Romantica.


Box 24 Aaron Copland (#43), July 27, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Chapter from book


Box 24 Ben Weber, Lucia Dlugoscewski (#44), August 3, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Rhapsodia Concertante (Weber); Concertino for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and String Quartet (Weber); Swift P'O (Dlugoscewski); Space is a Diamond (Dlugoscewski); Archaic Aggregates (Dlugoscewski).


Box 24 Virgil Thomson (#45), August 10, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Sonata da Chesa; Ten Etudes for Piano; Concerto for Flute.


Box 24 Henry Brant, Wallingford Riegger (#46), August 17, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Signs and Alarms (Brant); Galaxy 2 (Brant); Millenium 2 (Brant); Music for Brass Choir (Riegger); Suite for Flute Alone (Riegger); New Dance (Riegger).


Box 24 Virgil Thomson (#47), August 24, 1970, 3 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Louisiana Story; Capital Capitals.


Box 24 Milton Babbitt, Lukas Foss (#48), August 31, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Composition for 4 Instruments (Babbitt); Composition for Viola and Piano (Babbitt); Partititions (Babbitt); Time Cycle (Foss).


Box 24 Villa Lobos (#49), September 7, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: Bachiana Brasileira No. 1; Brazilian songs; Bachiana Brasileira No. 5; Dance Piece (Oscar Fernandez); Danza Brazileira (Guarneri); Sensemaya (Revueltas).



Box 25 Ruth Crawford, Harry Partch (#50), September 14, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: String Quartet (Crawford); Woodwind Quintet (Crawford); And on the seventh day petals fell in Tetaluma (Partch).


Box 25 John Cage (#51), September 21, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: HPSCHP (Miller and Cage); Aria with Fontana Mix; Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano; Indeterminacy; Construction in Metal; The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs; Music for Carillon; Concert for Piano and Orchestra.


Box 25 (#52), September 28, 1970, 2 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: No guests. Works: For New York Painting and Sculpture. 1940-1970 (Thomson); The Year 1200 (Piston); 19th-century America (Shuman); Shivaree for Before Cortes (Bernstein); Masterpieces of Fifth Centuries (Copland); Fifth Symphony by Beethoven in piano transcription by Liszt; Machinations (Brant).


Box 25 Three-hour birthday broadcast, November 11, 1970, 5 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: Nicolas Nabokov. Works: Flute Concerto; Sonata No. 4; The Plough That Broke the Plains; Stabat Mater; Piano Etudes Book 2; A Solumn Music; 5 Songs from William Blake; 3 Pictures for Orchestra.


Box 25 Special program, April 1970, 4 open reel audiotapes; 7.5 inches per second

Guests: David Dubal; Henri Sauguet.