[78-L] fwd: Richard Warren obit

[David Lennick]

Sorry to hear about Richard Warren. Many of us dealt with him over the years. dl

 From Yale Daily News:

>     Esteemed audio curator passes away
>
> BY JESSICA HALLAM

> Richard Warren ’59, a Yale library curator who devoted his life to one of the
> nation’s most extensive audio archives and was praised by colleagues for his
> wisdom and dedication, passed away after suffering a stroke last Sunday at
> Yale-New Haven Hospital. He was 75 years old.
>
> After graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Yale, Warren returned
> to New Haven in the late 1960s and soon became curator of the Yale Collection
> of Historical Sound Recordings (HSR), a position he held for the rest of his
> adult life. During Warren’s 45-year tenure, colleagues said he relied on his
> remarkable knowledge of music and musical history to build Yale’s collection —
> one of the nation’s most comprehensive sound databases — by adding selections
> from a broad array of cultures and time periods. But those who knew Warren
> remember him most for his thoughtfulness and eagerness to help colleagues and
> researchers.
>
> “The first thing that comes to mind [about Warren] is extraordinary generosity,
> especially when it came to music and musicians,” said Mark Bailey MUS ’89, his
> colleague in the Music Library. “[He did] whatever he could to bring music and
> the arts to life.”
>
> Steve Smolian, an expert in restoring old or damaged recordings who worked
> professionally with Warren for over 40 years, said Warren created the standard
> for how sound archives should operate.
>
> Warren was particularly interested in the music of the Ivy League, and he
> compiled what colleagues described as the “definitive” discography of Charles
> Ives 1898, a famous American modernist composer. His coworkers at Yale said
> Warren also loved using technology to restore and reissue historical
> recordings, including those of Cole Porter 1913.
>
> “His expertise and knowledge of the recorded sound was so extensive,” said
> Suzanne Lovejoy, who occupied the office adjacent to Warren for over a decade.
> “But Richard was just so mild and unassuming.”
>
> Craig Harwood GRD ’02, a former professor of music at Yale, first met Warren
> when he was researching the history of Jewish music. Though Warren never
> specialized in Jewish music, he spent hours a week discussing and listening to
> old recordings with Harwood, the professor said.
>
> Though Warren was often private and reserved, those who knew him said he also
> possessed a rich sense of humor.
>
> “He just always seemed to be in good humor,” Lovejoy said. “He had this funny
> little chuckle that was a mild chuckle, or he would raise one eyebrow.”
>
> Warren’s enthusiasm for music extended beyond the scholarly realm. He was an
> active singer for over 20 years in a choir under Bailey’s direction — an
> activity Bailey described as “a real passion.” Warren’s colleagues at the HSR
> recalled Warren’s fondness for chocolates and penchant for bringing sweets and
> flowers to the library. Bailey said Warren always had chocolates from all over
> the world on hand to share with his coworkers and visitors.
>
> “The tin never went empty,” Bailey said. “There were always a wonderful array
> of chocolates in that bin.”
>
> Warren is survived by his wife, Mary Jo, their two children and four grandchildren.
>
>