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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Some of the Boston Pops' most iconic recordings are being preserved for the future thanks to funding from a new grant.
The grant will help the Pops digitize old recordings of concerts conducted by legendary composer John Williams, who led the Pops from 1979 to 1991. The recordings include over 200 live performances, including some from before his time as the principal conductor.
"We even have a recording of the first time he conducted the Pops even before he was the [official] conductor," Dennis Alves, the Director of Artistic Planning for the Boston Pops, told WBZ's Carl Stevens.
Alves said it is important that these recordings are digitized because if not, they could be lost to history forever.
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"They would disappear, they would literally disintegrate," Alves said. "We're talking about old half-inch reel-to-reel and that tape just disintegrates."
The recordings will be available online for the public to stream starting sometime in June.
WBZ's Carl Stevens (@CarlWBZ) reports.
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