Research Catalog

Interview with Oliver Smith.

Title
Interview with Oliver Smith. September 17, 1975.
Author
Smith, Oliver Lemuel, 1918-1994
Publication
1975

Available Online

NYPL Digital Collections

Details

Additional Authors
Gruen, John
Description
2 streaming files (approximately one hour and six minutes) : digital, stereo
Summary
  • Streaming file 1 (approximately 48 minutes). Oliver Smith speaks with John Gruen about American Ballet Theatre's need for a permanent base in New York City, including the reasons City Center [of Music and Drama] and the New York State Theater [now the David H. Koch Theater] do not meet this need; the plan to create such a permanent home in the Manhattan Center building; Smith's hope that other companies now dancing at City Center (Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and the Joffrey Ballet) will also make the new theater their home; the problems with City Center as a venue for classical ballet; the plans for and estimated cost of rebuilding the interior of the Manhattan Center building; his ideas for financing the construction; allocating stage time among the resident companies; the current status of the project; the lack of reciprocity shown by visiting foreign ballet companies to American Ballet Theatre; Sol Hurok [ends abruptly but continues on streaming file 2].
  • Streaming file 2 (approximately 18 minutes). Oliver Smith continues to speak with John Gruen about the plans to create a permanent home for American Ballet Theatre in the Manhattan Center building; his hope that regional and overseas companies (dance and music) would also perform at the new theater; his ideas for the physical appearance of the theater; the possibility of using the interior as a television studio for filming dance and concerts; the location, at 8th Avenue and 34th Street [ends abruptly].
Subjects
Note
  • Interview with Oliver Smith conducted by John Gruen on September 17,1975 at the Manhattan Center in New York City, as research for an article in The New York Times. It is not clear if an article based on this interview was actually published.
  • Title supplied by cataloger.
  • Sound quality is fair. The recording is marred by extraneous noise including "tape hiss" and occasional short gaps. However, the speakers' voices are easily intelligible.
Access (note)
  • Patrons may access streaming audio only on site at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
Funding (note)
  • The conservation and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.
Call Number
*MGZTC 3-643 (former)
OCLC
82708437
Author
Smith, Oliver Lemuel, 1918-1994, interviewee.
Title
Interview with Oliver Smith. September 17, 1975.
Production
1975
Type of Content
spoken word
Type of Medium
audio
Type of Carrier
online resource
Digital File Characteristics
audio file
Restricted Access
Patrons may access streaming audio only on site at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
Event
Recorded by John Gruen 1975, September 17 New York (N.Y.)
Funding
The conservation and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.
Original Version
Original format: one sound cassette (approximately one hour and six minutes); quarter-track; 1.875 ips.; transferred to wav file and streaming file formats in 2014.
Local Note
Former call number: *MGZTC 3-643
Connect to:
NYPL Digital Collections
Added Author
Gruen, John, interviewer.
Research Call Number
*MGZTC 3-643 (former)
View in Legacy Catalog