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Category: Music

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

“West Side Story” Redux

Posted by: Erin Allen

On August 19, 1957, “West Side Story” began its pre-Broadway tour at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. About a month later, it opened on Broadway, changing the nature of the American musical and challenging the country’s view of itself. The show dealt seriously with violence, adolescent gangs and racial prejudice—themes rarely included in musicals—and …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inquiring Minds: Alan Lomax Goes North

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Guha Shankar, folklife specialist with the Library of Congress American Folklife Center.) A fall landscape of orange and red foliage rushes by a car winding down a long road…a stern-faced singer draws his bow across a single-stringed lute and sings a ballad in Serbian about the 1389 Battle …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

InRetrospect: July Blogging Edition

Posted by: Erin Allen

The Library’s blogosphere kept things cool in the July heat with a variety of posts representing the wealth and breadth of the institution’s collections and initiatives. Here are just a few selections. In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog Ben-Hur and Music to Race Chariots By Robin Rausch talks about musical adaptations of Lew Wallace’s well-known …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

The “Essential” Opera

Posted by: Erin Allen

There are so many things about the upcoming Library of Congress exhibition, “A Night at the Opera,” that I feel personally connected to. Several of the operas highlighted in the 50-item display are like a program of operas I have sung in my last few seasons as part of The Washington Chorus. Each season, we …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Library in the News: May Edition

Posted by: Erin Allen

Let’s take a look back at some of the headlines from last month. The Library had several celebrity visitors in May, including lots of musicians and even Swedish royalty. Making the biggest headlines was singer-songwriter Carole King accepting the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. She was feted at both the Library and …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

InRetrospect: May Blogging Edition

Posted by: Erin Allen

The Library of Congress blogosphere was blooming with great posts. Here are a selection. In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog To Richard Wagner on His 200th Birthday: A Textilian Tale Retold Letters reveal insight into the composer’s private life. Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business The Aeronauts Jennifer Harbster writes about Civil War aeronautics. In …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

A Special Recording to Celebrate Casey’s 125th

Posted by: Gayle Osterberg

There is joy in Mudville today, as we mark the 125th anniversary since “Casey at the Bat” was first published on June 3, 1888, in the San Francisco Examiner. The poem, dubbed the “single most famous baseball poem ever written” by the Baseball Almanac, has inspired everything from political cartoons to entire operas. Written by …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

In Retrospect: April Blogging Edition

Posted by: Erin Allen

The Library of Congress blogosphere published lots of great content in April. Following is just a highlight. In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog An “Appalachian Spring” Collaboration Students from the Baltimore School for the Arts talk about working with the Music Division collections. Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business The Great Sheet Cake Mystery Jennifer …