- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"10 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"22 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- unitid
-
{"value"=>"JPB 02-9", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"20270", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1913-1979", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1913/1979"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1913
- date_inclusive_end
-
1979
- keydate
-
1913
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Teresa Sterne Papers"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. <span class=\"subarea\">Music Division.</span></span> <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">New York, New York</span></div>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Teresa Sterne, a pioneering producer of classical music recordings, was director of Nonesuch Records from 1965 to 1979. The Papers include material related to Sterne's tenure in charge of Nonesuch Records, as well as her childhood career as a performing pianist. The bulk of the material dates from 1969-1979, and includes production files, clippings, photographs, scrapbooks and scores."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>Teresa Sterne Papers, JPB 02-9, Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Sterne, Teresa", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Teresa Sterne, a pioneering producer of classical music, was director of Nonesuch Records from 1965-1979. Sterne was born in Brooklyn on March 29, 1927. Her mother was a cellist, but gave up her career to nurture and teach her daughter. Sterne's father, a violinist, deserted the family when she was 14. Her paternal uncle, Robert Sterne, was a professional violinist and became an important mentor.</p> <p>Sterne was educated at home by private tutors. She lived with her mother and aunt in what she described as ''a kind of aristocratic poverty.\" In 1939, when she was 12, Sterne made her professional debut as a pianist, playing Grieg's Piano Concerto with the NBC Symphony Orchestra at Madison Square Garden. The next year she played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto with the New York Philharmonic at Lewisohn Stadium. She also made several recordings, including renditions of Bach's <span class=\"title\">Italian Concerto</span>, concertos by Rachmaninov and Mozart, and a sonata by David Broekman.</p> <p>Sterne felt that she lacked the confidence and sophistication to pursue a professional career as a pianist. She attended modeling school and secretarial courses, and eventually worked in the offices of manager Sol Hurok, where she helped with the career development of young artists. She also held a series of administrative jobs, including the position of assistant to the director of Vanguard Records, before being hired by Nonesuch.</p> <p> Sterne served as the director of Nonesuch Records from 1965 through 1979. When she was invited to take charge of the label, Nonesuch was a subsidiary of the pop-oriented and profitable Elektra Records. Nonesuch's business had consisted mostly of acquiring the rights to existing recordings of Baroque music by European ensembles and reissuing them at budget prices in the United States. Using her close ties with composers and performers, Sterne turned the small budget label into one of the most adventurous companies in the recording business. Nonesuch releases helped raise the profile of music neglected by the major labels, particularly contemporary music and American vernacular music. Sterne commissioned works by American composers such as George Crumb, Elliott Carter, Morton Subotnick, Charles Wuorinen and Donald Martino. She also issued important recordings of lesser-known works by Schoenberg, Busoni, Stravinsky and others. Sterne was in the forefront of the early instrument movement in Baroque and Renaissance repertory. Under her leadership, Nonesuch, through it's \"Explorer\" series, introduced music from Bali, India, Peru and other countries to a wider audience. Sterne was involved in all aspects of the records she released, from the packaging to the liner notes.</p> <p>Sterne nurtured relationships with performers, including pianist Paul Jacobs, mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani and pianist Gilbert Kalish. Although, many of the artists she brought to Nonesuch were first recognized for their work in contemporary music, she encouraged them to record past works that interested them, including Jacobs's well received recording of the Debussy etudes and Kalish's survey of the Haydn piano sonatas. Mezzo-soprano Joan Morris and her husband and professional partner, composer and pianist William Bolcom, made popular Nonesuch recordings of vernacular American songs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sterne also sparked a nationwide craze for ragtime with a series of Scott Joplin piano works played by Joshua Rifkin.</p> <p>In late 1979 Sterne was fired from Nonesuch. Early in her tenure the record label had been acquired by Warner Communications, and by the mid-1970s, it was grouped under a parent company, Elektra/Asylum/ Nonesuch, headed by Joe Smith. Warner officials asserted that Nonesuch was losing money. Sterne argued that the losses were a result of Warner's poor marketing and distribution efforts. A letter condemning her dismissal, written by 10 Pulitzer Prize-winning composers, including Elliot Carter and Aaron Copland, was sent to the vice president of Warner Communications and widely circulated in the press, but had no effect.</p> <p> In her later years Sterne suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). Teresa Sterne died at her home in Manhattan on December 10, 2000.</p> <p>Sources: <span class=\"title\">New York Times</span> Obituary, Copyright New York Times Company, Dec 12, 2000</p> <p>Weber, Jerome F: “Nonesuch”, <span class=\"title\">The New Grove Dictionary of Music</span> Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 15 September 2003), <http://www.grovemusic.com></p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Teresa Sterne Papers consist of approximately 12 linear feet of material documenting Sterne’s childhood career as a pianist, and her activities as the director of Nonesuch Records from 1965-1979. The vast majority of the collection consists of Production Files, Score and Clippings related to Sterne’s years at Nonesuch. Programs, clippings from Sterne’s childhood, and a small of amount of material, collected by her uncle Robert Sterne, related to the National Symphony Orchestra, and other New York musical organizations in the 1910s and 1920s is also present.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Teresa Sterne Papers are arranged in five series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20270#c548112'>Series I: Nonesuch Production Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Nonesuch Production Files, which consists of 7.5 linear feet of material, is by far the largest series in the collection. It contains A and R (artist and repertory) material for what Sterne estimated as approximately 75% of the catalog she produced for Nonesuch between 1965 and 1979. The series includes drafts and edited versions of liner notes, texts and translations, scores (some with notes and marks from recording sessions), cover art memos, tape editing notes, artists and composers correspondence, and production cost printouts. Many of the files include publicity photographs of artists or performers, or photographs used for other purposes such as album or cover art. The amount of material related to a particular recording varies greatly; some folders may contain only a photocopied score or photograph, while others may contain a large amount of correspondence. Researchers should note that most of the scores in the Production Files series are photocopies. A more substantial grouping of scores and be found in the Scores series. The Production Files series also contains two Nonesuch catalogs from 1979 and 1980.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20270#c548288'>Series II: Scores</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Scores and Oversize Scores series consists of 1.5 linear feet of material. Many of the scores are works that were released by Nonesuch, including works by William Bolcolm Elliot Carter, George Crumb, and others. Each series is arranged alphabetically by composer.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20270#c548321'>Series III: Oversize Scores</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Scores and Oversize Scores series consists of 1.5 linear feet of material. Many of the scores are works that were released by Nonesuch, including works by William Bolcolm, Elliot Carter, George Crumb, and others. Each series is arranged alphabetically by composer.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20270#c548340'>Series IV: Clippings</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Clippings series consists of approximately .5 linear feet of material, arranged chronologically. The clippings include articles about Nonesuch Records, charts and reports which list Nonesuch releases, and reviews of individual releases. The clippings date from 1964-1979.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20270#c548357'>Series V: Personal</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Personal series consists of approximately 1 linear foot of material. Included are two scrapbooks, as well as loose clippings and programs, documenting Sterne’s childhood career as a performing pianist. The series also contains a subseries of material that appears to have been collected by Sterne’s uncle, Robert Sterne. The Robert Sterne material includes National Symphony Orchestra programs which date from the 1920s, a list of musicians that would comprise “ideal”and “possible but not ideal” orchestras, created by Willem Mengelberg and Stransky. The subseries also includes several photographed, which are autographed to Robert Sterne.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<ul> <li>Series I Nonesuch Production Files</li> <li>Series II Scores</li> <li>Series III Oversize Scores</li> <li>Series IV Clippings</li> <li>Series V Personal</li></ul>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection was donated by Teresa Sterne.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Music Division, The New York Library for the Performing Arts.</p>"}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Dan Santamaria; Machine-readable finding aid created by Dan Santamaria.</p>"}
- extent_statement
-
10 linear feet (22 boxes)
- date_start
-
1913
- date_end
-
1979