Here at the Paul D. Fleck Library & Archives at The Banff Centre, there’s a treasure hunt underway. That is, if you regard little chicken-scratch-like markings to be treasure, the way we do.
The hunt is part of an Archives Society of Alberta-funded grant project to arrange and describe the records of Hungarian musician and composer Zoltán Székely, who came to The Banff Centre as an artist-in-residence in the 1970’s and stayed through his retirement, passing away here in 2001 at the age of 97.
In Hungary, Székely was a friend and collaborator of one of the most significant composers of the twentieth century, Béla Bartók. He was also lead violinist of the famed Hungarian String Quartet for over thirty years.
At the Banff Centre Székely coached a new generation of string quartets, and was instrumental in establishing the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 1983: His musical discernment, reputation and connections ensured that it was immediately received with the highest level of respect in the music world. He performed in gala concerts during the Summer Arts Festival and drew leading Bartok scholars to Banff for a special Bartok centenary celebration in 1981. He was one of the key faculty who, under the direction of Tom Rolston, transformed The Banff Centre’s music programs from a primarily amateur summer school to a world-renowned centre for creative excellence
The records in the archives include a few boxes of archival manuscripts and photographs. He also left 63 boxes of published scores and books, which may be added to the library’s collection.
In each box, a few of the items have markings that make them unique and therefore archival: inscriptions to Székely by the composer or author, or little annotations that represent his notes to himself on how to play a piece of music. While a score lays out the outline of the work, musicians have a key role in interpreting it. Székely’s interpretations, especially of Bartók’s music, are highly significant, since he worked with Bartók himself.
The Archives is fortunate to have Buffy Knill, a librarian and former musician, to work on this project. She understands the little chicken-scratches and is very good at spotting the significant ones. Because of her expertise, she had the privilege of working in our basement storage room for a couple of weeks, going through the 63 boxes looking for treasure.
