Donation is music to University Library’s ears

Musicologist Cooke is perhaps best known for his 1959 book The Language of Music and his work on a 'performing version' of the unfinished draft of Mahler's 10th Symphony, the first version of which was performed at the 1964 Proms.

The material has been donated to the Library by Hazel Hyde, who was Cooke's partner for the last six years of his life and has kept the collection intact since his sudden death at the age of 57.

The collection contains materials relating to all aspects of Cooke's life and work, including juvenilia and documents from his student days at Selwyn College, Cambridge as well as his service in the Royal Artillery during World War Two. The majority of items, however, relate to Cooke's activities as a writer and broadcaster between 1947 and 1976.

Hyde said: "I am very pleased that Deryck's papers have found a safe home at the University Library. He went to Cambridge as an organ scholar, and he greatly valued his time there. It is splendid to know the material will now be accessible to scholars who want to increase understanding of his work."

Work has already started on sorting and cataloguing the collection, thanks in part to an anonymous donor in the United States whose gift has been made through the organisation Cambridge in America.

Cooke was a leading expert on the music of Mahler, and a significant part of the collection relates to his work on the 10th Symphony. He was also a renowned authority on Wagner and the massive operatic tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen. The fact that his large-scale book on this subject was uncompleted at his death makes the manuscript materials in the collection of particular interest.

In view of the significance of the collection and the possibilities for publication it presents, an Editorial Board has been formed consisting of Hazel Hyde, composers David and Colin Matthews, and musician Mark Doran, with the association also of Justin Broackes, an academic with interests in the philosophy of music.

Broackes said: "An extraordinary man with extraordinary gifts, Cooke dedicated decades of detailed work to a series of ambitious and interconnected projects. His early death made their completion on the original plan impossible; but with a little editorial help, there will be a chance for a new generation to enjoy and admire the critical and musical brilliance of this influential and admired writer."

David Matthews said: "Deryck Cooke will always be remembered for resurrecting Mahler's 10th Symphony, and his performing edition remains the one that most conductors use. The Language of Music has been a seminal book for me and many others. The archive will reveal fresh insights into his extraordinary musical mind."

David and Colin Matthews assisted Cooke in the production of the 10th Symphony score, and have been involved over many years with various posthumous publications that helped keep Cooke's broadcasting and critical work before the public.

Colin Matthews said: "I'm so grateful to be able to repay some of the debt I owe to Deryck, whose humanity and musicianship provided an unforgettable example to a young composer. Every word - and musical note - that he wrote was the product of a remarkable mind, and to have access to all this material gives us a long overdue opportunity for a proper assessment of him."