H. C. Robbins Landon Collection
The Landon Collection is housed in two library locations within Mugar Memorial Library, 771 Commonwealth Avenue:
The portion consisting of original manuscripts, early editions, selected publications with marginalia, and papers, is located in the Howard Gottlieb Archival Research Center on the fifth floor. HGARC staff assist with inventory, access, and study inquiries for this portion of the Landon documents which may also appear in their exhibits.
The second portion, which consists of photocopies of manuscripts and early editions, primarily of the work of Joseph Haydn, annotated printed scores used in Landon’s preparation of critical editions, and nearly 200 microfilms of manuscripts collected by Landon from archives around the world, resides in the Music Library on the second floor. The inventory of the Music Library’s portion, prepared by Paula Bishop, is ready for viewing. For access to and study of items in this portion, please inquire at the Music Library or contact us by phone or email.
Biography
H. C. Robbins Landon (b. 1926, Boston; d. November 20, 2009, Tarn, France) attended Boston University from 1945-7, working under Karl Geiringer. After completing his studies, he settled in Europe where he was a music critic for American newspapers in England, France, the Netherlands, and Austria. Utilizing contacts made while serving in the U. S. Army, Landon gained access to archives throughout Europe and pursued his interest in the work of Joseph Haydn.
As one of the foremost scholars on Haydn, Landon edited and published the complete Haydn symphonies as well as the five-volume Haydn: Chronicle and Works (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1976) and numerous other monographs and articles concerning the composer. For a complete bibliography of the writings of Landon, see Studies in Music History: Presented to H. C. Robbins Landon on his Seventieth Birthday, edited by Otto Biba and David Wyn Jones, London: Thames and Hudson, 1996. In 1949 he founded the Haydn Society in Boston and Vienna; the Society produced numerous recordings of the works of Haydn and others, many of which are available in the Music Library at Boston University.
Mr. Landon has received many awards, including an honorary doctorate from Boston University in 1969. His memoirs were published in Horns in High C: A Memoir of Musical Discoveries and Adventures (London: Thames and Hudson, 1999).
The transcript of a delightful interview with HCRL, by early music critic Brian Robins and originally published in Goldberg (February 2008), is now freely available.
Inventory
The inventory of the Music Library’s portion of the Landon collection is divided into the following categories:
- Paper items related to Joseph Haydn, including annotated scores, photocopies of early scores, manuscripts, photocopies from microfilm, etc.
- Paper items related to other composers
- Microform items
- Recorded sound and miscellaneous items (forthcoming)
If you wish to examine an item, note its File Number and inquire at the Music Library. Items must remain on site.
Access Restrictions
This collection contains many photocopies and microfilm copies of items that belong to other libraries and archives. Further reproduction or publication of materials gathered from other repositories by H. C. Robbins Landon may require permission of the owner institution. Users making further copies for their own research do so at their discretion. Before publication of any such materials, users are advised to secure permission from the source institution.