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Category: Performing Arts

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

“Maestro” — A Look at Leonard Bernstein’s Papers at the Library

Posted by: Neely Tucker

"Maestro," the high-profile film biography of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein, hits theaters this week, starring Bradley Cooper. The Library holds a vast trove of Bernstein's papers, some 400,000 items that document every stage of his life and career. In a brief video, Mark Horowitz, a senior music specialist at the Library and the archivist for the Bernstein Collection, gives a tour of the material and its cultural significance.

Against a black background, an illustration of an elegantly dressed woman, in 1920s-style attire, stands with her right arm cocked on her hip and her left holds a long cigarette holder. Her eyes are closed, and her face is turned away from the viewer.

New! “The ‘Canary’ Murder Case” from Library’s Crime Classics Series

Posted by: Neely Tucker

“The ‘Canary’ Murder Case,” by S. S. Van Dine, is the latest in the Library’s Crime Classics series. The publication gives readers a new look at an influential 1927 detective novel featuring the urbane detective Philo Vance.

Colorful mural of a actress Delores Del Rio, with her face in shades of blue, at the center

Hispanic Heritage Month: Two Mexican Stories, Including Dolores del Rio

Posted by: Neely Tucker

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month, which makes it an excellent time to check in on the Library's collection of Free to Use and Reuse images, this time from a set devoted to Hispanic life and culture. We look at two photos of two young Mexican women who came to work in the U.S. One is of a mural devoted to the legendary actress Delores del Río, the first Latina to become a Hollywood icon. The second is Dorothea Lange's unforgettable Depression-era image of the daughter of a Mexican field laborer in rural Arizona.

Color photo of a man and woman ballroom dancing on an open patio.

Dancing the Danzón: Hispanic Heritage Month

Posted by: Maria Peña

Born in 19th-century Cuban dance halls, danzón eventually became the country’s official national dance. Influenced by African and European music and dance traditions, it continues to thrive outside the big island’s borders, in Mexico and beyond, in orchestra halls and dance salons, leaving an indelible mark on Latin American culture. It’s a genre all its own and a lovely bit of romance to remember during Hispanic Heritage Month here in the U.S. The Library has plenty of music, films and books to help you explore its rich history.

Missed You Much: The Library’s ASCAP Concert Bursts Back into Life

Posted by: Neely Tucker

Pop hits, R&B grooves and Broadway anthems thumped through the Coolidge Auditorium Wednesday night as the We Write the Songs concert burst back into life for the first time in four years, featuring songwriters such as Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Madison Love and Matthew West. The 90-minute showcase is an annual event (save for the recent COVID-caused gap) by the Library and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Foundation. It demonstrates to an audience heavy with members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers, often in danceable fashion, why the rights of creative artists have to be protected.

A laughing Jimmy Buffett, wearing a baseball cap and facing the camera.

Fair Winds and Following Seas to You, Jimmy Buffett

Posted by: Neely Tucker

Jimmy Buffett, whose iconic "Margaritaville" was inducted into the National Recording Registry this year, died yesterday at age 76. We interviewed him in March for the NRR. Here, we remember that conversation, his story of writing the song, his performance at the Library in 2008 and how his songs inspired the author long ago, even before Buffett was a star.

Let’s Dance!

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

When the Library acquired choreographer Garth Fagan’s papers earlier this year, it wasn't just about his work on "The Lion King." Fagan's papers built on Music Division collections of an array of dance luminaries: Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Bronislava Nijinska, Katherine Dunham and the American Ballet Theatre. The Library’s dance-related materials cover the American art form from Colonial times to the present. Together, they present a dazzling history of American dance.

Dr. Carla Hayden and Tony Bennett pose onstage with the Gershwin Prize.

Remembering Tony Bennett, Gershwin Prize Winner

Posted by: Neely Tucker

Tony Bennett, the Gershwin Prize-winning singer who knew his way around torch ballads, jazz standards and just about every nook and cranny of the Great American Songbook, has passed away at 96. He dazzled and charmed everyone at his Gershwin Prize concert in 2017 and we won't forget him, his grace and his impeccable touch with a song, anytime soon

Paul Newman, Marilyn Monroe, Harry Belafonte: A Star-Studded Day at the Actors Studio

Posted by: Neely Tucker

The Lee Strasberg papers, held in the Manuscript Division, provide a unique glimpse into his Actors Studio, which created the influential style of Method Acting. In 1955, attendees signed in by hand, giving a snapshot of a galaxy of stars at work and producing a collector's dream of celebrity autographs: Paul Newman, Marilyn Monroe, Harry Belafonte, Eva Marie Saint, Patricia Neal, Rod Steiger, Geraldine Page and Eli Wallach, among many others.