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Creator
Cowell, Henry, 1897-1965
Call number
*L (Special) 88-33
Physical description
315 items.
Preferred Citation

Henry Cowell Collection, *L (Special) 88.33, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

These noncommercial music and spoken word recordings were collected by Henry Cowell and primarily consist of his own compositions and lectures, as well as numerous field recordings of folk and ethnic music. Additional recordings contain music by modern Western composers, including unique recordings of works by John J. Becker.

Biographical/historical information

Henry Cowell (3/11/1897 - 12/10/1965) was an American composer of symphonic and chamber music. He studied violin with Henry Holmes, and composition with E.G. Strickland and Wallace Sabin at the University of California in Berkeley. He also studied with Walter Damrosch at the Institute of Musical Art in New York, and with Charles Seeger.

Cowell became the first American composer to visit Russia in 1928, after which, he studied ethnomusicology with Erich von Hornbostel in Berlin as a Guggenheim fellow. These persuits led him toward extensive study of ethnic musical materials.

Cowell made great use of tone clusters. He systematized the clusters as harmonic amplifications of tonal chords, and devised logical notation for them. He ultimately applied tone clusters to compositions for instrumental works (in addition to piano works), and also used them in many of his symphonic works.

Scope and arrangement

The collection consists of noncommercial recordings collected by Henry Cowell reflecting varied interests. It includes the works of Cowell, as well as that of other composers such as John J. Becker, Paul Hindemith, and Igor Stravinsky, and folk and world music from such places as Africa, India, Morocco, and Turkey.

Also included are lectures, interviews and demonstrations by/with Cowell.

The Henry Cowell collection of noncommercial recordings [sound recording] is arranged in four series:

  • Series I: Field recordings

    The series contains examples of world music from various locations.

  • Series II: Henry Cowell compositions
    1939-1986

    The series contains recordings of various Cowell compositions. If a recording includes works by Cowell as well as the works of other composers, it will be found in this series. Therefore, it is possible to find works by composers other than Cowell in this series.

    Many items in this series are not attributed to any date. However, amongst those which are dated, the date span is 1939-1986.

  • Series III: Other Cowell material
    1948-1964

    The series contains discussions, interviews and lectures (some of which include musical performances) involving Henry Cowell.

    Many items in this series are not attributed to any specific date. However, amongst those items which are dated, the date span is 1948-1964.

  • Series IV: Works by others
    1941-1964

    The series includes recordings of works by composers other than Henry Cowell. For additional recordings of works of other composers, see Series II, Henry Cowell Recordings.

    Many items in this series are not attributed to any specific date. However, amongst those items which are dated, the date span of the series is 1941-1964.

Administrative information

Custodial history

The collection was donated by Sidney Cowell.

Source of acquisition

Gift, Cowell, Mrs. Sidney, 1968

Processing information

Processed by David Thomas and Peggy Schein.

Using the collection

Location

Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound.

Access restrictions

Access to acetate discs restricted.