The nephew of renowned Boston Globe classical music critic Richard Dyer is preparing to sell his uncle’s extensive vinyl collection, which is believed to encompass nearly every opera recording made between 1930 and 1980.
Stephen Dyer, who is also a lawyer for the city of Columbus, Ohio, has been diligently handling his uncle’s estate while traveling frequently to Boston.
He saved the vinyl collection for last, acknowledging its historical significance and his uncle’s profound love for it.
“I just wanted to take some time to find a good place for it,” Stephen said, expressing his desire to honor his uncle’s legacy.
As part of this initiative, he will be hosting a pay-what-you-can sale at the condo located at 61 Garfield St., Unit 3, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and again on Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon.
Stephen has reached out to several universities and archives about donating the records but wants to give local music enthusiasts a chance to explore the collection first.
“He cared so much about the Boston music community. I saw it firsthand when I went to school here,” Stephen noted.
His uncle was known as a passionate supporter of the local arts scene and dedicated considerable effort to promoting it.
Richard Dyer served as the Globe’s classical critic from 1976 to 2006 and was a pivotal figure in the music criticism landscape, with fellow critic Alex Ross of The New Yorker referring to him as “a dean of the profession.”
Composer Ned Rorem once introduced Dyer to a friend by saying, “he runs Boston,” underlining his influence.
Among the collection, Stephen has kept only one record for himself: a 1953 recording of Puccini’s “Tosca” featuring the legendary diva Maria Callas.
This record held special meaning, as Dyer shared his love for Callas’s music with Stephen when he began studying singing in high school.
Stephen recalled, “Over time, he just gave me all of her live stuff on CD.”
Dyer’s collection is staggering in scope, featuring an overwhelming amount of music, especially for someone who spent considerable time away from his home.
Stephen discovered several sealed LPs still in their original plastic from Stereo Jack’s, a local record shop that was once a short walk from the condo.
For Dyer, simply owning the records was a source of joy and comfort.
He possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of classical music and was equally a collector as he was a listener.
Stephen remarked, “He was as much a collector as a listener.”
The late 1980s saw CDs become the preferred medium for recorded music, and by the time Stephen was studying at Tufts University, he noted that he only heard his uncle listening to CDs.
However, Dyer continued to purchase vinyl records regardless.
At the end of his life, Dyer had records stored not just in his Boston condo, but also at his house in Western Massachusetts and in a storage pod in Dorchester.
Although he had not used the Cambridge condo as his primary residence for roughly two decades, he still utilized nearly every room to store records, with additional items stacked in the basement.
While many records in Dyer’s collection were produced during his lifetime, he also sought out older recordings that were already considered vintage when he was born.
These included Soviet recordings from the 1920s and an anthology featuring early 20th-century soprano Nellie Melba.
Stephen shared that Dyer’s favorite singer was the Croatian dramatic soprano Zinka Milanov, who was prolific in her recordings prior to retiring in 1966.
Dyer’s fascination with opera began in his youth when his grandfather would listen to Met broadcasts every Saturday.
At the age of 10 or 11, his grandfather invited him to join the listening sessions, which planted the seeds of Dyer’s lifelong passion for opera.
Stephen reflected, “He fell in love with it. . . . I think a lot of this is remembering those days. He was just chasing that feeling all the time.”
The recent resurgence of vinyl records has been remarkable, with sales reaching levels not seen since the 1980s.
In fact, in 2022 and 2023, vinyl records outsold CDs as the best-selling physical medium in the United States.
Surveys in both the U.S. and the U.K. have shown that Gen Z, born in the late 1990s through the 2000s, is increasingly interested in vinyl records.
What was once viewed as a niche medium is now embraced by younger generations, with Stephen’s own 16-year-old son enjoying jazz on vinyl despite not owning a CD player.
“He has to play [CDs] through an Xbox or something,” Stephen remarked, highlighting the changing preferences in music consumption.
While there may be valuable items hidden within Dyer’s collection, Stephen is not focused on making money from the sale.
“It’d be nice if I made up the airfare,” he said while preparing for the upcoming sale, having unpacked boxes from Dorchester.
Ultimately, his mission is to honor his uncle’s love for this collection by ensuring it finds homes with those who appreciate it.
“Whoever appreciates it, I certainly want them to have it,” Stephen concluded.
Among the treasures found so far is an unopened clear vinyl edition of Talking Heads’ “Speaking in Tongues,” complete with a yellowed price sticker.
Stephen expressed his intrigue, noting, “I don’t know why he had this. He never talked about the Talking Heads.”
He added, “He’d probably remember where he got all this stuff. . . . I wish he could tell me.”
image source from：bostonglobe
