Collection ID: Mus. Arc. 1.4

Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Mikhashoff, Yvar, 1941-1993
Abstract:
The collection contains 155 reel to reel tapes featuring performances either by Mikhashoff or of his music, 31 reels that do not contain performances or works by Mikhashoff, and 19 reels containing tape parts to accompany performances. Five LP sound recordings and nine compact discs are also included in the collection.
Extent:
15 boxes, 205 reels of audio tape, 5 LPs, and 9 CDs
Language:
Collection contains sung text in English , French , German , Italian , Latin , and Russian .

Background

Scope and Content:

The collection contains 155 reel to reel tapes featuring performances either by Mikhashoff or of his music, 31 reels that do not contain performances or works by Mikhashoff, and 19 reels containing tape parts to accompany performances. An additional 5 LP sound recordings and 9 compact discs are included in the collection. The collection has been dated based upon the content of the reels containing Mikhashoff performances and works.

The contents represent a portrait of Mikhashoff's career, not only as pianist and composer, but also as a concert programmer. He had great enthusiasm for exploring different musical themes, including tangos, waltzes, and various eras and styles. This collection contains many examples of Mikhashoff's own spoken word descriptions of the music he was performing.

The container list descriptions are based on the original inventory, which presumably relied upon external sources such as container labels, not auditioning. Reformatting the tapes reveals many details that were previously not known, such as spoken word introductions, changes in program contents, and even blank tapes. The reformatted digital files are listed for tapes in Series I and V to provide some indication of how the files may match the listed contents.

Biographical / Historical:

Yvar-Emilian Mikhashoff was born Ronald MacKay in Troy near Albany, New York in 1941. He began piano studies with Betty Weir and Stanley Hummel in Albany. At the Eastman School of Music in 1959, he first took a major in composition and cello, then changed to piano studies with Armand Basile. In the 1961 academic year, he studied piano at the Juilliard School in New York City. He also had a career as a ballroom dancer from 1962-1965.

In 1964 Mikhashoff entered the University of Houston for studies in piano with Albert Hirsh. He earned a B.M. in 1967 and continued with graduate study in composition with Elmer Schoettle and obtained his M.M. in 1968. It was during this period that MacKay adopted his grandfather's name, Mikhashoff.

Receiving a Fulbright scholarship in 1968, he studied the music of the French Impressionists with Nadia Boulanger. After his return to the United States, Mikhashoff entered the University of Texas at Austin as a doctoral candidate in composition and studied with Hunter Johnson, Kent Kennan, Janet McGaughey and Karl Korte. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree with a major in composition and a minor in literature in August 1973 and founded the Cambiata Soloists ensemble. In the fall of 1973 Mikhashoff was appointed Assistant Professor in the Music Department at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Based in Buffalo until his death in 1993, Mikhashoff had an international performing career which led him to promote new music and American music around the world.

Mikhashoff had a genius for programming, a talent he utilized extensively while organizing many festivals and broadcasts of new music throughout the world, including his work at the Almeida Festival in London and the Holland Festival. Mikhashoff co-founded the North American New Music Festival in 1983 with Jan Williams and remained a co-director until his death. He commissioned works from such notable composers as John Cage, Lukas Foss, Otto Luening, Poul Ruders, James Sellars, Christian Wolff, and many others. One of his most notable commissioning projects occurred in 1982 when he commissioned or solicited new tangos for solo piano from an international array of more than 80 composers. Mikhashoff also edited publications of music, including works by Henry Cowell, Lejaren Hiller, Conlon Nancarrow, and Virgil Thomson. He recorded on the New Albion, Mode, RCA Victor, CRI, and Spectrum record labels. Yvar Mikhashoff's support of contemporary music continues today through the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music which was created by his estate to support composers and performers of new music.

Acquisition information:
Gift of the estate of Yvar Mikhashoff, 1993.
Arrangement:

The collection is in five series:

  • I. Reel to reel tapes with Mikhashoff as performer or composer
  • II. Reel to reel tapes of accompanying tape parts for performances
  • III. Reel to reel tapes without Mikhashoff as performer or composer
  • IV. Long playing and compact disc recordings
  • V. Reel to reel tapes added from other University at Buffalo sources with Mikhashoff as performer or composer
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using DACS ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard ).

Access

LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
112 Baird Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260, United States
CONTACT:
716-645-2924