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Music : The Golden Book of C.U.M.C.

Music

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Cambridge University Music Club (CUMC), established in 1889, was a musical society open to members of the University of Cambridge. At its foundation, it was run by an elected committee of eight members and a treasurer and was based on subscription fees. CUMC’s main object was to facilitate the study and practice of chamber music. Members had access to a club room which offered a grand piano, magazines and a music library. Performances by club members took place in this club room and by 1912 the society was already preparing for its 500<sup>th</sup> concert. In addition, CUMC organised a yearly open concert, the first of which took place in the Hall of King’s College, 11 June 1891. The social aspect of the club was of great importance, with Club dinners documented alongside musical activities in the Cambridge University Archives. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Although the club focussed primarily on the practice and performance of chamber music, it functioned within a wider context of musical culture in Cambridge, and it is within this context that the Golden book came to exist. Very early on in the history of CUMC, the decision was made to collect signatures and musical quotations of prominent figures, mostly famous composers and conductors. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(7);return false;'>first entry</a> in the Golden book reads “Antonin Dvořák Cambridge, 18 16/6 91”. In June 1891, Dvořák visited Cambridge to receive an honorary doctorate. On 15 June 1891 he conducted a CUMS concert at Cambridge Guildhall, the handbill of which can be found in the University Library collections. This was to be the beginning of a trend; several other composers who signed the Golden book had received honorary music degrees, including <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(19);return false;'>Saint-Saëns</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(19);return false;'>Bruch</a>, and <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(19);return false;'>Tchaikovsky</a>. Very appropriately, the <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(75);return false;'>last entry</a> in the book reads “With thanks for a common music making. Witold Lutoslawski June 10th, 1987”. This last entry was also made in the context of an honorary degree ceremony. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Other entries in the book range from simple dated signatures to more elaborate entries by, for example, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(35);return false;'>Herbert Howells</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(47);return false;'>Roberto Gerhard</a> and <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(73);return false;'>György Ligeti</a>. Whilst most of the Golden book entries are by musicians, one interesting exception is an entry by the Soviet actor <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(55);return false;'>Innokenty Smoktunovsky</a>, who signed the book in 1969 along with the film composer <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(53);return false;'>Dimitri Tiomkin</a>. Tiomkin and Smoktunovsky worked together on the 1970 biographical film Tchaikovsky (Smoktunovsky playing the title role), one scene of which was filmed in Cambridge. This scene depicted Tchaikovsky’s visit to Cambridge to receive his honorary doctorate – no doubt Tiomkin and Smoktunovsky were interested to see Tchaikovsky’s Golden book entry from that visit in 1893!</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Other interesting links between musical events, Cambridge visits and Golden book signatures can be illustrated by exploring our archives. For example, the CUMS archive includes items relating to the society’s golden jubilee year celebrations in 1893 (see classmark: SOC.XV.17.2). It was in the context of these celebrations that a number of prominent composers visited Cambridge to receive honorary degrees, signing the Golden book during their visit. The archive holds the programme for the CUMS jubilee gala concert, the menu for the celebratory dinner, and copies of seating plans, combining nicely with the Golden book entries to give a picture of both the musical and social aspects of the occasion.</p>


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