Skip to main content

Musicians on Music recordings

 Record Group
Identifier: NS-07-02-30

Abstract

Between 1988 and 1990, The New School hosted an interview series, Musicians on Music, organized and moderated by music critic Joan Thomson Kretschmer. The collection consists of analog audio and video recordings documenting Kretschmer and her guests at the university, including classical music conductors, singers, and performers.

Dates

  • 1988-1990

Creator

Extent

28 Analog Recordings

7 VHS Cassettes

21 1/4 inch Audio Cassette

Language of Materials

English

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of both audio and video recordings of interviews with prominent musicians conducted by classical music critic and New School instructor Joan Thomson Kretschmer for her non-credit course, Musicians on Music, listed in The New School course catalog under "Special Lectures."

Some interviews are documented in both audio and video recordings, while others are only audio.

The interviews in this collection do not always align with advertised course catalog descriptions. New School Archives staff do not know if there were interviews that were not recorded, or if the interviews were recorded and subsequently lost, or, if the advertised guests did not speak at The New School.

The catalog describes the course as follows: "In this series of interviews, distinguished musicians discuss their musical background and technique, past and present work, special projects, thoughts about composers and compositions and subjects of particular interest to them. Where appropriate, they may demonstrate musical ideas and matters of technique for which they have achieved international status. Class content about their craft, lives and experiences is for the benefit of both musicians and those who love and want to know more about music."

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use. Access may be available in The New School Archives reading room, depending upon the condition of the cassettes once they are evaluated by Archives staff. Researchers desiring remote access and willing to pay a digitization fee may do so upon consultation with The New School Archives. Please contact archivist@newschool.edu for appointment or for further information.

Conditions Governing Use

To publish material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from the New School Archives and Special Collections. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu.

Historical note

Musicians on Music was a special lecture series held at The New School in the Fall and Spring semesters in 1988 and 1989 and Spring semester in 1990. The events featured interviews, conducted by music critic Joan Thomson Kretschmer, with distinguished classical musicians discussing their craft and career. Guests included conductors Daniel Barenboim and Zubin Mehta, pianist Andre Watts, opera singers Marilyn Horne and Birgit Nilsson, comic musicians Victor Borge and Peter Schikele, and flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal.

Sources: The New School (1988). New School Bulletin 1988 Fall Vol. 46 No. 1 [course catalog]. New School Course Catalog Collection. New School Archives and Special Collections. https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS050101_ns1988fa

The New School (1988). New School Bulletin 1989 Spring Vol. 46 No. 5 [course catalog]. New School Course Catalog Collection. New School Archives and Special Collections. https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS050101_ns1989sp

The New School (1989). New School Bulletin 1989 Fall Vol. 47 No. 1 [course catalog]. New School Course Catalog Collection. New School Archives and Special Collections. https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS050101_ns1989fa

The New School (1989). New School Bulletin 1990 Spring Vol. 47 No. 5 [course catalog]. New School Course Catalog Collection. New School Archives and Special Collections. https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS050101_ns1990sp

Biographical note

Joan Thomson Kretschmer is a classical music critic and New School instructor. Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Kretschmer attended Smith College before transferring to Barnard College, where she earned her B.A. in government in 1962. She went on to get an M.A. and Ph.D in musicology at Columbia University, graduating in 1972.

After divorcing her husband, she began to learn the piano from Jascha Zayde, as well as offering private lessons herself. In 1988 and 1989, Kretschmer was responsible for creating and hosting “Musicians on Music,” an interview series held at The New School. She also taught a New School Adult Division course on the Beethoven opera, Fidelio, in the Summer semester of 1989.

Kretschmer founded the Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York in 1997, where she remains artistic director, as of 2024.

Sources:

Joan T. Kretschmer (2021). Joan Thomson Kretschmer. Accessed July 9, 2024. https://joankretschmer.com/about.html

Education Update Online (2012). Women Shaping History: Joan Kretschmer, Ph.D.: Musician, Creator. Accessed July 9, 2024. http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2012/MAR/HTML/cov-joankretschmer.html

The New School (1988). New School Bulletin 1988 Fall Vol. 46 No. 1 [course catalog]. New School Course Catalog Collection. New School Archives and Special Collections. https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS050101_ns1988fa

The New School (1988). New School Bulletin 1989 Spring Vol. 46 No. 5 [course catalog]. New School Course Catalog Collection. New School Archives and Special Collections. https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS050101_ns1989sp

The New School (1989). New School Bulletin 1989 Fall Vol. 47 No. 1 [course catalog]. New School Course Catalog Collection. New School Archives and Special Collections. https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS050101_ns1989fa

The New School (1989). New School Bulletin 1990 Spring Vol. 47 No. 5 [course catalog]. New School Course Catalog Collection. New School Archives and Special Collections. https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS050101_ns1990sp

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by date of interview.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The staff of The New School Archives and Special Collections assembled this collection from a larger set of legacy recordings transferred from The New School's Raymond Fogelman Library following the establishment of The New School Archives, circa 2012, and from a 2012 transfer of public programs recordings, coordinated by Pam Tillis, Director of Public Programs, The New School for Public Engagement. In the majority of the events, the audio recordings originated from the library transfer and the video recordings originated from the Tillis transfer.

Related Materials

Two VHS tapes associated with this interview series will be found in the New School Office of Communications, George Calderaro records (NS.03.01.03), Series 4. Audiovisual materials. One tape is labeled, "DEMO," and the second contains unknown content.

Processing Information

New School Archives staff based all description in this finding aid on course catalog text and audio cassette or video tape container inscriptions. Staff did not watch or listen to the tapes to verify content.

Title
Guide to the Musicians on Music recordings
Status
Completed
Author
Jason Adamo, Jack Wells, and Jenny Swadosh
Date
July 31, 2025
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin