- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"14.8 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"36 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- unitid
-
{"value"=>"JPB 07-2", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"20420", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1946-2007", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1946/2007"}
{"value"=>"1955-2007", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1955/2007"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1946
- date_inclusive_end
-
2007
- keydate
-
1946
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Composers Recordings, Inc. records"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</span> <span class=\"subarea\">Music Division.</span> <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">New York, New York</span></div>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The Composers Recordings, Inc. Records contain recording project files, correspondence, business and financial papers and photographs documenting the history of the record label devoted to contemporary American music."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>Composers Recordings, Inc. Records, JPB 07-2. Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Composers Recordings, Inc", "type"=>"corpname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Composers Recordings, Inc. (CRI) was founded in 1954 by the composers Otto Luening and Douglas Moore and the arts administrator Oliver Daniel. The label's mission was the discovery, distribution and preservation of the finest in contemporary American music. The three founders started the company with a $5,000 profit left over from the defunct American Recording Society, and $10,000 in seed money from the American Composers Alliance.</p> <p>In February, 1976, CRI became one of the nation's first nonprofit, tax-exempt recording companies, and in June, 1980, it received one of the first three recording and distribution grants to be awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts. A 1987 citation from the American Academy of Arts & Letters stated that CRI \"has recorded more American music and for a longer time than any other recording company in the world.\" Over the years, four CRI recordings received Grammy nominations from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in the category of Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Among other honors and citations, the label received the Letter of Distinction by the American Music Center.</p> <p>Literally hundreds of American composers had their first recording released on CRI, making the label a mainstay of career development and audience contact for several generations of composers. Over 600 full-length recordings were released by CRI on LP, cassette and CD, representing well over 1,000 compositions in all styles and genres. While virtually every significant American composer was recorded under the label's banner, CRI was particularly successful in recording important talents early in their careers. Of the thirty-seven Pulitzer Prize-winning composers on the label, twenty-seven were recorded by CRI before they won the prestigious award. CRI also recognized and incorporated into its archives the experimental tradition that is so much a part of American music, including important early recordings of John Cage and Harry Partch. The label was an important advocate of women composers as well, starting from its first release in 1954 which featured the music of Marion Bauer.</p> <p>In 2003 CRI ceased recording activity, and in 2006 the rights to the label’s recordings were transferred to New World Records, which now distributes the CRI catalog. The company was dissolved in 2007.</p> <p>Source: <http://web.archive.org/web/19980521095812/www.composersrecordings.com/history.html> (Accessed 29 October 2007.)</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Composers Recordings, Inc. Records document the history of the record label, mainly through recording project files, but also through business papers, financial papers and photographs. The project files comprise the majority of the collection and contain album, CD and cassette artwork and liner notes, production information, correspondence and reviews. Photographs from the project files, including photos of composers and performers, comprise Series VI.</p> <p> The business and financial papers trace the history of the company from its inception, through its transition in 1976 to a non-profit venture, to the takeover of its catalog by New World Records and dissolution in 2007. They include meeting minutes, board and composer correspondence, development papers, audits and financial statements, tax returns, bank records and other documentation. Series IV consists of the papers of the composer Nicolas Roussakis, who was a longtime board member of the company. Donated to CRI after his death, his papers contain further CRI business and financial records.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Composers Recordings, Inc. records are arranged in six series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20420#c616488'>Series I: Composer Correspondence</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1956-2006 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>4 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Most of this series consists of short letters from and to composers interested in having their work recorded by CRI. The bulk dates from the mid to late-1980s. Longer and more significant company correspondence regarding recordings and company business is in other series, either with the projects it pertains to or with business or financial correspondence.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20420#c616527'>Series II: Recording Project Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1955-2002 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>20 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains documentation on the production and artwork for CRI’s LP, CD and cassette releases, as well as promotional material and reviews of the recordings. Production files contain correspondence, contracts, copyright papers and recording information. Design files contain proofs of record jacket and CD/cassette insert designs and rough drafts and proofs of liner notes. LP and CD releases are grouped together in the series as many of the LPs were later reissued as CDs. Cassette releases appear at the end of the series. Each album/CD/cassette has a note detailing the composers featured on it. Not all CRI releases are documented in this series. Photographs from these files are in Series VI.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20420#c616826'>Series III: Business Papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1954-2007 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>4.3 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains general business files and correspondence. It includes licensing agreements, meeting minutes for the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees, fundraising and development papers, editorial and project policies, documentation of the New World Records transition and CRI dissolution, a “white paper” on the state of CRI in the early 1970s, and other papers. See the Nicolas Roussakis Papers in Series IV for additional CRI business papers.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20420#c616873'>Series IV: Financial Papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1981-2006</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>5.5 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains bank statements and correspondence, audits and financial statements, insurance and investment papers, and payroll, royalty and tax records. See the Nicolas Roussakis Papers in Series V for other CRI financial papers.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20420#c616930'>Series V: Nicolas Roussakis Papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1966-1990</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains the CRI files of the composer Nicolas Roussakis, who was long associated with the company. These files were donated to CRI after Roussakis’s death in 1994. They contain company information not found in Series III or IV, including documentation of the company’s non-profit incorporation in 1976, Executive and Editorial Committee reports, information on the relationship between CRI and the American Composers Alliance, financial papers and other company business.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20420#c616946'>Series VI: Photographs</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1946-1999 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1 box</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The photographs in this series are from the recording project files in Series II. They are mostly portraits of the composers and musicians featured on CRI releases and were used in album artwork or for promotional purposes. Artists with photographs include the Dorian Wind Quintet, Harold Shapero, Ramon Zupko, Charles Ives, Martin Buyken, Carson Kierman, Harry Partch, Fred Ho and Jason Kao Hwang, among others.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection is organized into 6 series. They are: <ul> <li>Series I: Composer Correspondence, 1956-2006 and undated</li> <li>Series II: Recording Project Files, 1955-2002 and undated</li> <li>Series III: Business Papers, 1954-2007 and undated</li> <li>Series IV: Financial Papers, 1981-2006</li> <li>Series V: Nicolas Roussakis Papers, 1966-1990</li> <li>Series VI: Photographs, 1946-1999 and undated</li></ul></p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p> The Composers Recordings, Inc. Records were donated to the Music Division in 2006 and 2007 by Blair Weille and Frederick Jacobi.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Chief, Music Division.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Matthew Snyder; Machine-readable finding aid created by Matthew Snyder.</p>"}
- extent_statement
-
14.8 linear feet (36 boxes)
- date_start
-
1946
- date_end
-
2007
- date_bulk_start
-
1955
- date_bulk_end
-
2007