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Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
The late 19th century gave rise to some truly imaginative, public-minded Americans. We all know about the Thomas Edisons, the Henry Fords, the Garrett Morgans. But there were others who, while not household names today, lived very interesting lives and left behind fascinating legacies. Among these we find Dayton C. Miller, born on a farm …
Posted in: Collections, Concerts, Curators, Events, Exhibitions, LC Web site, Music, Preservation
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Today marks the anniversary of the opening of the original Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, on Oct. 22, 1883. This is the hall, no longer in existence, where Enrico Caruso performed “Vesti La Giubba” in “Pagliacci”; where Geraldine Farrar sang “Un Bel Di,” in “Madame Butterfly.” Thanks to radio broadcasts, it was the …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Concerts, Exhibitions, Film, Manuscripts, Music
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
With the Library of Congress National Book Festival just days away (it’s a week from this weekend, Saturday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 22, free of charge on the National Mall) we have a lot to share in addition to more than 100 best-selling authors for readers of all ages. One of the great stops …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Civil War, Collections, Concerts, Copyright, Curators, Education, Events, Law Library, LC Web site, Libraries, Maps, Music, National Book Festival, Newspapers, Photos, Preservation, Social Media, Technology, Veterans History Project, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
It’s a fair thing to say that classical music, and more specifically opera, is what brought me and my husband together. We met while working at The Denver Post, but our first date – seeing Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” at Opera Colorado – may have been a sort of test. He didn’t want to …
Posted in: Collections, Concerts, Education, Exhibitions, Manuscripts, Music, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Pianist Dave Brubeck, one of America’s all-time greats in the field of jazz — and a seminal force in making jazz popular in the U.S. and throughout the world — died today, just shy of his 92nd birthday. The Librarian of Congress bestowed the Library’s “Living Legend” award on Brubeck in 2003, and it …
Posted in: Concerts, Curators, Events, Music, Uncategorized
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Heads up, all you fans of the Library of Congress National Book Festival – it’s going to be two days again this year, with more than 100 authors, following last year’s successful launch of the full-weekend approach. The festival will be held on the National Mall between 9th and 14th Streets on Saturday, Sept. 22, …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Concerts, Education, Events, LC Web site, Music, National Book Festival, Podcasts, Veterans History Project, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
If you follow popular music, you likely saw in June that Sir Paul McCartney—in Washington to receive the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song—not only sang at the White House but also, the night before that elegant gig, performed at a venue at the Library known as the Coolidge Auditorium. You might also …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, Concerts, Events, History, Music, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
One of the complaints heard from non-fans of classical music is that so much of it reaches back centuries. As one wag, who preferred jazz, put it: “Mozart hasn’t written anything decent in 200 years!” And yet classical, as a genre, continues to unfold even in our lifetimes. Which means there may be among us the …
Posted in: Books, Concerts, Events, Music, Thomas Jefferson Building, Uncategorized, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
What is dance? Is it storytelling, using human forms to advance the storyline? Is it movement with music? Is it movement alone? Merce Cunningham, a giant of modern dance, asked these questions and answered them–affirmatively in each case–over seven decades. He died, at age 90, on Sunday in Manhattan. From his introduction to the avant-garde composer …