Report from the Lehmann Archive

by Susan Bower

Almost all Lotte Lehmann commercially issued recordings have been dubbed for preservation onto both DAT and open-reel tape, and public-use cassettes prepared. These cassettes can now be heard in the UCSB Library's Special Collections Department where a listening facility has been installed, as well as a videotape viewing facility which will allow the public to see videos of Mme. Lehmann's TV appearances and master classes. Significant progress is also being made in the dubbing of non-commercial Lehmann recordings. Public use cassette copies of thes recordings will also soon be available.

Efforts to acquire recordings not already in the UCSB Lehmann Archives continue with some success. A complete inventory of our holdings has been accomplished, and we have been able to borrow many as yet missing recordings so that we can provide tape copies until we are able to acquire the originals. Responses to our announcements and ads asking for information about the availability of Lehmann recordings have been encouraging. An effort is now underway to provide a catalog listing of the recordings in UCSB's Lehmann Archives.