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Items Interview with Martha Graham

Interview with Martha Graham, 1980

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Library division & collection with this item:

LIBRARY DIVISION
Jerome Robbins Dance Division

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COLLECTION
Dance Audio Archive

This Item

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Title
Interview with Martha Graham, 1980
Additional title: Listening room (Radio program)
Names
Graham, Martha (Interviewee)
Sherman, Robert, 1932- (Host)
Collection

Dance Audio Archive

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1980-04
Library locations
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZTCO 3-3320
Topics
Graham, Martha
Frescoes (Choreographic work : Graham)
Episodes (Choreographic work : Balanchine and Graham)
Genres
Interviews
Notes
Content: Title supplied by cataloger.
Venue: Recorded for broadcast on WQXR -FM 1980, April 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.
Physical Description
Audiocassette
Extent: 1 audiocassette (32 min.) : quarter-track; 1.875 ips.
Sound quality is good. The recording is marred by occasional extraneous noise and "tape hiss". However, the interviewee's voice is clear and easily intelligible.
Description
Interview with Martha Graham conducted by an unidentified male interviewer, probably Robert Sherman, for broadcast on an WQXR-FM, New York (N.Y.), probably for the program The Listening Room. Streaming audio file 1 (approximately 16 minutes). [Music and brief remarks; the interview with Martha Graham begins abruptly at 4:10.] Martha Graham speaks about why she initially called her first company and her first school a "group" and a "studio," respectively; her insistence on looking at the reality of things; her work, Frescoes [excerpt of Leontyne Price singing an aria from Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra followed by a short announcement]; Graham speaks about what she requires of a dancer including her preference for training in ballet [ends abruptly but continues on streaming audio file 2]. Streaming audio file 2 (approximately 16 minutes). Martha Graham continues to speak about what she requires of a dancer; her work Episodes [excerpt from Anton von Webern's Passacaglia]; what she would do if she had unlimited funds; her view of her movements as a woman's movements; her sometimes devious nature; her thoughts on choreographing to composers such as Schubert, Chopin, and Mozart [excerpt from [Scott Joplin's] The Maple Leaf Rag]; the savagery in her works including an anecdote about imitating a lion's walk at the zoo [music].
Type of Resource
Sound recording
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 936378684
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b20886091
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 92415d00-c315-0133-0622-60f81dd2b63c
Rights Statement
The copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.

Item timeline of events

  • 1980: Created
  • 2018: Digitized
  • 2025: Found by you!
  • 2026

MLA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Martha Graham" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1980. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/967c7740-c315-0133-a0e2-60f81dd2b63c

Chicago/Turabian Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Martha Graham" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed January 22, 2025. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/967c7740-c315-0133-a0e2-60f81dd2b63c

APA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1980). Interview with Martha Graham Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/967c7740-c315-0133-a0e2-60f81dd2b63c

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/967c7740-c315-0133-a0e2-60f81dd2b63c | title= (sound recording) Interview with Martha Graham, (1980)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=January 22, 2025 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Interview with Martha Graham