Music studies to benefit from Jacob Siskind’s Collection of Sound Recordings

The remarkable collection of Jacob Siskind, renowned music critic and journalist, has found a new home.

His estate has awarded the collection to Carleton’s MacOdrum Library, which will allow the university to strengthen its role as a national leader in Canadian music studies.

Last year, after Siskind’s death, his estate initiated a process to look for a permanent home for the collection.  Carleton was selected to receive the donation due to its enthusiastic commitment to use the collection for numerous educational purposes, including enhancing its music program and supporting study and research in the field of musical criticism.

The collection includes an amazing breadth of sound recordings compromising about 20,000 LPs, 8,000 CDs, 3,000 78 RPM records and numerous taped interviews, as well as archival notes, books, clippings and study scores. The extensive repertoire features interpretations by major artists at different points in their careers that showcase changes in their musical performance style over time. The LPs, 78s and CDs are neatly catalogued, making that part of the collection easily accessible.

The collection will be available to students, faculty and researchers at the university, as well as the broader community. It will be used for the undergraduate historical musicology and survey courses, among others, and will be invaluable to graduate students, providing materials for numerous master’s theses and major research paper topics.

“Jacob Siskind was a unique and irreplaceable figure in Canadian music,” says James Wright, professor of music. “Never willing to pander to passing fashion, he always expressed himself freely and elegantly, trusting his intelligence, his acutely refined ear and his long experience in the business. He was a tireless and passionate advocate of classical music culture in Canada and it warms the heart to know that his voice will continue to be heard through this generous gift to Carleton University. The Siskind Collection is a moving, lasting and fitting tribute to an extraordinary man who has given so much to Canadian music culture.”