The Yale Collection of Musical Instruments, a division of the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...

, is a museum in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. It was established in 1900 by a gift of historic keyboard instruments from Morris Steinert, and later enriched in 1960 and 1962 by the acquisition of the

Belle Skinner Ruth Isabelle Skinner (April 30, 1866 – April 9, 1928) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She was a daughter of silk manufacturer William Skinner (1824–1902) and his second wife, the former Sarah Elizabeth Allen (1834–1908). ...

and

Emil Herrmann Emil Hermann (1888 - 1968) was a prominent dealer and restorer of violins in New York City. Nearly all of the most famous instruments passed through his hands at one time or another in his career, including literally hundreds made by Antonio Str ...

collections. Initially housed under the dome of

Woolsey Hall Woolsey Hall is the primary auditorium at Yale University, located on the campus' Hewitt Quadrangle in New Haven, Connecticut. It was built as part of the Bicentennial Buildings complex that includes the Memorial Rotunda and the University Comm ...

, it was moved in 1961 to a historic Romanesque structure on

Hillhouse Avenue Hillhouse Avenue is a street in New Haven, Connecticut, famous for its many nineteenth century mansions, including the president's house at Yale University. Both Charles Dickens and Mark Twain have described it as "the most beautiful street in Amer ...

, constructed in 1895 for the

Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Delt, ADPhi, A-Delt, or ADP, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Alpha Delta Phi was originally founded as a literary society by Samuel Eells in 1832 at Hamilton College in Cli ...

fraternity.

Collections

Highlights from the museum's holdings include keyboard instruments from three centuries, featuring an organ by

John Snetzler John Snetzler (or Schnetzler) was an organ builder of Swiss origin, who worked mostly in England. Born in Schaffhausen in 1710, he trained with the firm of Egedacher in Passau and came to London about 1741. When he retired in 1781, his business ...

(London, 1742), harpsichords by

Ruckers The Ruckers family (variants: Ruckaert, Ruckaerts, Rucqueer, Rueckers, Ruekaerts, Ruijkers, Rukkers, Rycardt) were harpsichord and virginal makers from the Southern Netherlands based in Antwerp in the 16th and 17th century. Their influence stretch ...

(Antwerp, 1640), Blanchet (Paris, c. 1740), and Taskin (Paris, 1770), a clavichord by Hoffman (Ronneburg, 1784), and pianos by Könnicke (Vienna, c. 1795), Boesendorfer (Vienna, c. 1830), and Érard (Paris, 1883). The Collection possesses stringed instruments by

Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', as well as the colloquia ...

Guarneri The Guarneri (, , ), often referred to in the Latinized form Guarnerius, is the family name of a group of distinguished luthiers from Cremona in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati an ...

, and

Stainer Stainer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Greg Stainer (born 1976), British musician *Jacob Stainer (c. 1617–1683), Austrian luthier *John Stainer (1840–1901), English classical composer and organist * Pauline Stainer (bor ...

. Also included are a number of historical

wind instruments A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...

, world instruments, and a large collection of bells given in 1975 by Robyna Neilson Ketchum. The Collection maintains permanent exhibits, regularly mounts special exhibitions, and is open to the public during regular visiting hours. In addition to presentations made to Yale classes, the Collection offers tours and lecture-demonstrations to school and private groups by appointment.

Concerts

The annual concert series presented by the Collection of Musical Instruments features performers of music in its historical context, often using the appropriate instruments from the Collection that have been restored to playing condition. Performers and ensembles that have appeared on the concert series include: The Alarius Ensemble,

Malcolm Bilson Malcolm Bilson (born October 24, 1935) is an American pianist and musicologist specializing in 18th- and 19th-century music. He is the Frederick J. Whiton Professor of Music in Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Bilson is one of the foremost playe ...

Anner Bylsma Anner Bylsma (born Anne Bijlsma, 17 February 1934 – 25 July 2019) was a Dutch cellist who played on both modern and period instruments in a historically informed style. He took an interest in music from an early age. He studied with Carel van ...

, The Flanders Quartet, John Holloway,

Monica Huggett Monica Huggett (born 16 May 1953 in London, England) is a British conductor and leading baroque violinist. Biography At the age of 16, Huggett started studying at the Royal Academy of Music, London, with Manoug Parikian and Kato Havas, baroque ...

Ralph Kirkpatrick Ralph Leonard Kirkpatrick (; June 10, 1911April 13, 1984) was an American harpsichordist and musicologist, widely known for his chronological catalog of Domenico Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas as well as for his performances and recordings. Life ...

Jeanne Lamon Jeanne Lamon, (August 14, 1949 – June 20, 2021) was an American-Canadian violinist and conductor. Biography Lamon was born as Jean Susan Lamon in the Queens borough of New York City and was raised in Larchmont, New York. Her parents were Isaa ...

, Gustav Leonhardt,

Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet The Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet is a professional Dutch recorder quartet. History The quartet was founded in 1978 by Daniël Brüggen, Bertho Driever, Paul Leenhouts and Karel van Steenhoven, four students of Frans Brüggen at the Swee ...

Paul O'Dette Paul Raymond O'Dette (born February 2, 1954) is an American lutenist, conductor, and musicologist specializing in early music. Biography O'Dette, who was born in Pittsburgh, began playing the electric guitar in a rock band in Columbus, Ohio, w ...

, London Baroque,

Steven Lubin Steven Lubin (born 1942 in Brooklyn) is an American pianist and musical scholar. He is best known for his performances on the fortepiano, the early version of the piano. Studies Lubin studied piano with Lisa Grad, Nadia Reisenberg, Seymour L ...

Paolo Pandolfo Paolo Pandolfo is an Italian virtuoso player, composer, and teacher of music for the viola da gamba, born on January 31, 1964. He began his studies as a double bass and guitar player, becoming a skilled performer of jazz and popular music.Ernesto ...

, Phantasm, Stanley Ritchie,

Jaap Schroeder Jaap may refer to: * Jaap Sahib, Sikh prayer * Jaap (given name) Jaap is a Dutch given name that is short for Jacob or Jacobus (Jacob or James in English). People with this name include: Academics *Jaap R. Bruijn (born 1938), Dutch maritime his ...

Fernando Valenti Fernando Valenti (New York, New York, 4 December 1926 - Red Bank, New Jersey, 6 September 1990) was an American harpsichordist. After studying with José Iturbi and Ralph Kirkpatrick and débuting in 1950, he recorded extensively, especially in th ...

, and Marion Verbruggen. Also presented in the series is the Collection's resident ensemble, the Yale Baroque Ensemble, directed by Robert Mealy.

References

External links

Official website
Yale Collection of Musical Instruments {{authority control Yale University buildings University museums in Connecticut Museums in New Haven, Connecticut Musical instrument museums in the United States Music museums in Connecticut

Collections

Concerts

See also

Further reading

References

External links