Like the tale of the blind men and the elephant, an artifact of popular culture as vivid as today’s featured sheet music at right has a variety of angles worth pursuing. What of the career of Austrian composer Heinrich Reinhardt, or lyricist Robert Bache Smith? And what of that fantastic cover art, which features besotted …
The following is the third in a series of guest posts by retired Senior Music Cataloger Sharon McKinley. Mark Baker (Junior Fellow Summer Intern, 2007) has been very busy in school, both as an Adjunct Professor and a grad student at the University of Maryland University College. He completed his MBA degree in 2010 and his …
One of the themes resulting from the multitude of Civil War Sesquicentennial commemorations around the country is the notion that the role of African American culture during that great conflict must receive more attention. Both scholarly forums and the general public’s continued dialogue about the war’s enduring impact on American society can provide opportunities to …
The following is a guest post by Daniel Walshaw, Music Division. Danny Kaye’s contributions to American culture and entertainment are unmatched. He mastered nearly every aspect of show business – stage, film, television, radio, recordings, and even orchestral conducting. Despite his demanding performance schedule, he was also one of the most generous celebrity humanitarians donating …
Country music is at home in the Coolidge Auditorium on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 (8:00 p.m.). Bob DiPiero returns to host the latest installment of the Country Music Association Songwriters Series, which features country music legends Ronnie Milsap, Loretta Lynn “Lorrie” Morgan and Jim Beavers. These award-winning artists bring their talent and musical innovation together …
On Tuesday, March 19, Todd Decker will present another in a series of lectures co-sponsored by the Library of Congress and the American Musicological Society (AMS) intended to showcase research AMS members have conducted using the rich collections of the Music Division of the Library of Congress. Dr. Decker’s lecture, “Making Show Boat: Jerome Kern, …
Today is a date on which we celebrate not only the mathematical constant used to determine circular measurements, but the delicious treat whose circular shape comforts us from the cooling windowsill to our growling stomach. Yet all is not rosy in the august lore of piedom. Hubbard T. Smith’s “The little pie” tells the antiquated …
The musicians of the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own”return to the Coolidge Auditorium on Friday, March 15, 2013 at 2:00 p.m., under the baton of Major Tod A. Addison, director of the U.S. Army Strings. This program features a chamber ensemble element from the larger organization in works by three major American composers, George …
The following is a guest post from retired Senior Music cataloger Sharon McKinley. The Academy Awards are over, and I was definitely rooting for Lincoln. Daniel Day-Lewis in particular was wonderful, but then, we’re Lincoln partisans here at the Library, which is the home of the Lincoln papers. Staffers were consulted during production of the …
Patrons of Concerts from the Library of Congress are in for a special treat on Saturday, March 2 at 2:00 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. British pianist Paul Lewis will be performing two of Schubert’s last piano sonatas, composed in the months before his untimely death. Lewis, who has spent the greater portion of the …