The Boston Symphony Orchestra Archives

We actively collect, preserve, and provide access to thousands of concert programs, concert reviews, posters, photographs, manuscript collections, artwork, administrative files, and architectural plans that document the 140-year history and activities of the BSO and its many facets (BSO, Boston Pops, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, the Tanglewood Festival, and the Tanglewood Music Center), as well as Boston cultural and civic activities that occurred in Symphony Hall.

The Archives’ extensive audio/visual holdings date back to 1906 and include commercially released recordings and thousands of radio broadcast and live concert recordings, in a variety of formats, documenting performances of the BSO, Pops, and Boston Symphony Chamber Players. Also included are recordings of Tanglewood Music Center student concerts dating back to the mid-1970s and a collection of nearly 100 oral history interviews with retired orchestra members or their surviving family members. The Archives also houses a collection of films and broadcast-quality videotapes dating back to the 1940s. In all, the Archives' audio/visual holdings comprise one-third of the Archives’ total holdings.