Sound Recordings Archive Covers The World

EE November 1988 AUDIO & HI-FI BRIEF Sound Recordings Archive Covers the World Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, a young British music student went to his local record shop to buy a re- cording of Erno Dohnanyi"s violin con- certo. Unable to find a copy there, he decided to visit the British Museum, where he thought he would find a copy, at least, to hear if not to buy. To his amazement, he was told that gramo- phone records were not among the museum"s magnificent collections. Outraged, the student demanded an ex- planation, but when he was told that the director of the museum would come down to see him he left quickly. How- ever, from the detachment of a public telephone he harangued the director on the importance of recordings in contem- porary culture. The director agreed with the young man and told him to go away and do something about it himself. After the war, the student, Patrick Saul, set to work and eventually became the first director of the British Institute ...