The short answer
Museum programmes can be important evidence for the circulation of music. MoMA’s 1952 Music for Percussion event can be read through a public notice and through the records left by the institution.
Reading the evidence
What each record establishes
Read across the rows to keep the claims and evidence attached to the right record.
| Record | What it establishes | What needs separate evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Public notice | The dated event and announced repertory. | Exactly what changed on the night. |
| Finding aid | Where institutional event records are filed. | A complete transcript of the programme. |
| Later release | A separate explanatory credit for Glanville-Hicks. | Her precise role at every concert. |
An exhibition calendar can contain a concert
The Museum of Modern Art’s 1 May 1952 release places a concert on 6 May in a wider calendar of events. The heading Music for Percussion groups works for pitched and unpitched instruments. The names associated with the programme include William Russell, Paul Bowles, Virgil Thomson, Peggy Glanville-Hicks and Elliott Carter.
The same event also appears in the Junior Council archive. A public calendar establishes how the institution announced the evening. A finding aid establishes where evidence about it is organised and helps a researcher ask for the programme material. The two records have different jobs even when the list of composers overlaps.
Separate the kinds of work
The later residency history credits Glanville-Hicks with helping organise contemporary music events at MoMA. A surviving 1956 release also calls on her knowledge to describe works by Teo Macero. These institutional traces clarify why her name may appear alongside different tasks in a search for museum music.
Read the attached verb or heading before treating a name as a credit. A composer named in a list of works, a member of the body presenting the concert and a person contributing explanatory text may all be involved in the same project. Each has a different relationship to the music that people hear.
Try a programme annotation
Imagine a museum announces two composers, a percussion ensemble and an introductory speaker. Make a row for each role. Add the programme date to the performance row, then find whether any event materials name the commissioning body. Leave the commission field empty if the announcement does not mention it. The blank field represents a specific research question and can survive publication without becoming a guess.
Continue the chronology
Related history guides
Biography context
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Connected biographies
Explore the people behind the records
1912–1990
Peggy Glanville-Hicks
Composer and criticAn Australian composer and critic whose career also made space for new work by other artists.Read biographyQuick answers
Common questions
- When did MoMA schedule Music for Percussion?
- Its May 1952 announcement and the Junior Council finding aid both identify 6 May 1952.
Primary and institutional sources
How this history was checked
Selected written and catalogue records. The article distinguishes documented production details from its editorial examples. This article was reviewed on 5 November 2026.