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Archive: 2013 (82 Posts)

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Kendra Preston Leonard on Louise Talma

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

The following is a guest post by musicologist Kendra Preston Leonard of the Journal of Music History Pedagogy. Leonard delivers the Fall 2013 American Musicological Society Lecture at the Library of Congress on September 24, 2013. When American composer Louise Talma died in 1996, the Library of Congress and the executors of her will descended …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Graham Nash: WILD TALES

Posted by: David Plylar

The Library is pleased to welcome iconic musician Graham Nash to “Our House” on Monday, September 16 to talk about his new book, WILD TALES: A Rock & Roll Life. Nash has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, for his work with The Hollies and Crosby, Stills & Nash (also …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

International Standard Music Number Conference & Concert

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

The following is a guest post by Mary Wedgewood, Administrator, U.S. ISMN Agency and Senior Metadata Specialist, Music Division, Library of Congress. The ISMN (International Standard Music Number), which is first cousin to the ISBN and ISSN, is alive and well, and – here in the U.S. ! The Music Division of the Library of …

Black and white photographic print portrait of Amy Beach, capturing her head and shoulders as she faces slightly left.

Happy Birthday to Amy Beach!

Posted by: Cait Miller

Composer Amy Beach (1867-1944) was the first American woman to achieve widespread recognition as a composer of large-scale works with orchestra. Read about correspondence between Oscar Sonneck, first Chief of the Music Division, and Beach regarding her Piano Concerto and the idea of sending manuscripts to the Library of Congress for preservation.

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

The “Perfect” Problem: A Sketch

Posted by: David Plylar

Occasionally it is a worthwhile exercise to pose the “perfect” problem—that is, how do perceptions of perfection influence our encounters with art? The scope of this question is vast, so I will raise just a few considerations one might have on a visit to the Music Division of the Library of Congress or a concert …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

“We’ll walk hand in hand someday” – Music and the March on Washington

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

Our nation is in the midst of commemorating one of the single most significant days in our history, the March on Washington of August 28, 1963. That momentous occasion has shaped generations of Americans, from activists to community leaders and the President of the United States to the singer-songwriter performing original songs in an eclectic …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Jacopo, Jacopo, wherefore art thou Jacopo?

Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres

      Many of us who are lucky enough to work here at the Library of Congress get to experience giddiness frequently. We are surrounded by amazing treasures of all types and forms day-in and day-out. Every day leads to a new discovery in the collections. One of the topics that makes us particularly …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Sheet Music of the Week: World Mosquito Day Edition

Posted by: Pat Padua

The following is a guest post by Stephanie A. Hall, American Folklife Center. World Mosquito Day, August 20th,  commemorates the day in 1897  when Dr. Ronald Ross of Great Britain discovered that female mosquitoes transmit malaria. Many items in the Music Division of the Library of Congress and other performing arts materials throughout the Library …