One streaming file (approximately one hour and 22 minutes) : digital, stereo
Summary
Streaming file (approximately one hour and 22 minutes). Clive Barnes speaks with Theresa Bowers about his family background and first exposure to theater and ballet; his frequent attendance of ballet performances as a teenager; briefly, John Percival; his early interest in being a critic; abandoning his study of medicine for that of English language and literature; the Oxford University Ballet Club and the journal Arabesque including some of the other members of the Ballet Club; Peter Williams and the journal Dance and Dancers; his work for the journal including his interview with Violetta [Prokhorova] Elvin; the allocation among the staff of reviews and features; various sources of tickets for performances to be reviewed; the practice of anonymity of authorship; writing reviews of the same performance for different publications; various publications for which he wrote including The Times of London , where he became the first full time dance critic,The Daily Express, and The Spectator; his typically hectic schedule; financial aspects of being a dance critic; the problems with dance criticism that stimulated him and his colleagues to seek to reform the field; differences between the older critics and the newer critics like Barnes and his colleagues; Martha Graham's first appearance in England including the critical response; the informal campaign on the part of Barnes and his colleagues to bring Graham to England and whether this kind of activism is a legitimate activity for a critic.
Interview with Clive Barnes conducted by Theresa Bowers on November 20, 1978 in New York City for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division Oral History Project. On a few occasions, Barnes directs a question to a female identified only as "Trish," possibly Patricia Winckley, his second wife.
For transcript see: *MGZMT 5-960.
Title supplied by cataloger.
Sound quality is fair. There is extraneous noise including significant "tape hiss" as well as occasional short gaps, but overall the speakers' voices are intelligible without difficulty.
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.
Author
Barnes, Clive, 1927-2008, interviewee.
Title
Interview with Clive Barnes. November 20, 1978.
Imprint
1978.
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 for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts November 20, 1978 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 reel (approximately one hour and 22 minutes); 5"; polyester; half-track; 1.875 ips.; transferred to wav file and streaming file formats in 2014.