Curators who keep scores

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Sept 14, 1998 | by Christine Montgomery

At the International Piano Archives at the University of Maryland, visitors can peruse rare Rubinsteins and vintage Paderewskis.

For all the music housed inside these walls, it is remarkably quiet at the International Piano Archives, know as the IPAM. But then, shrines usually are.

This third-floor sanctum inside the Hornbake Library on the campus of the University of Maryland contains documents recording the nearly 300-year history of the piano. It's the only such collection in the world that concentrates solely on this instrument, and contains more material on it than any other exhibit -- recordings, scores, piano rolls and memorabilia that range from century-old performance reviews to the correspondence of early pianists.

"In the larger sense, it's a personal history, not just a part of music history," says curator Donald Manildi as he places a large red-leather-bound notebook on a table. Gold letters stamped on the book spell out "Variations on Yankee Doodle." Inside is the sheet music Russian virtuoso Anton Rubinstein used during his 215-stop concert tour of the United States in 1872 and '73. Tucked under the sheet music is the original contract Rubinstein signed with the Steinway piano company, in which he stipulated that he receive his $200 fee for each performance in gold, and that he would not play in "beer gardens"

"The relationship between the pianist himself and the cultural history is really intertwined" Manildi says. "There was a day when no house was complete without a piano in it. The piano used to be the center of the house"

The collection includes 90 percent of all commercial piano recordings ever issued and taped copies of the remaining 10 percent. The majority of this music is on 25,000 vinyl long-play records. There also are 8,500 78-rpm shellac records made at the turn of the century, 2,400 reel-to-reel tapes of live concerts and radio broadcasts and almost 9,000 compact discs of contemporary music. Every recording is available for listening.

"At the IPAM, we have a very special role to play, and that's not just making sure these things last but making sure there's access to them" says Charles Lowry, dean of libraries at the University of Maryland.

Also in the archives: 8,000 piano rolls, including the master rolls of turn-of-the-century musicians Josef Hofmann and Ignacy Jan Paderewski. The library of 2,500 books has a special concentration on Liszt. And there is a piano room with several "reproducing" pianos that can document and play back original music performed on them. The room's showpiece is a Bosendorfer 290SE digital concert grand, the most precise method for recording music directly from keys.

"The archives capture the artistry of some very significant musicians for posterity" says Manildi. "It captures all the characteristics of their musical skills and it will be possible now for anyone in the 21st century and beyond to simply put on a recording and hear how [Mieczyslaw] Horszowski or Rubinstein played this music when they were at the peak of their power."

Two years ago, the archives acquired their largest donation of historical material from San Diego pianist and teacher Harry L. Anderson, who had collected piano recordings and memorabilia for more than 65 years. The cache includes the personal papers and diaries of Richard Buhlig, a pianist and teacher who lived from 1880 until 1952. Buhlig studied under Theodor Leschetizky, whose teacher was Carl Czerny, whose teacher was Ludwig van Beethoven.

The IPAM was founded in Cleveland in 1965 by two young piano enthusiasts, Albert Petrak and Gregor Benko, who discovered their mutual love of classical music while working in the same record store. (Benko still acts as a consultant to the archives.) As the collection grew, it was moved to New York City in the late 1960s, where it began to amass a following of loyal patrons. The University of Maryland at College Park acquired the archives in 1977, which by then needed the financial support of a large institution. Today, more than 6,000 "pianophiles" -- Manildi's term -- are on the IPAM newsletter's mailing list.

In 2000, the archives will move into the university's new performing-arts center, now under construction. The space will include all facets of the university's performing-arts programs and give the collection of piano material more space and better preservation technology. "The net effect of the new arts center is that it will be easier to hear historic recordings" says Bruce Wilson, head of the performing-arts library. The museum expects its new home to raise its visibility, too.