New Video Series: Michael Feinstein on Musicals & Songs at the Library of Congress

Michael Feinstein on Musicals & Songs at the Library of Congress
Series 1 – Rodgers & Hammerstein
Episode 1 – Introduction & Oklahoma!

View Series 1 Episode 1 on Youtube

Michael Feinstein explores the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein in this first of a series of videos. The first episode introduces Rodgers & Hammerstein as two leading figures in American musical theater history and delves into the creation of Oklahoma!’s most famous song, “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’.”

This video is part of “The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America,” an online initiative that offers the opportunity to see and hear American history through song. Several items from the Library’s Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II Collections are available for viewing and study.

Coming soon: “My Favorite Things” (Series 1, Episode 2)

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The Richard Rodgers Collection

The Oscar Hammerstein II Collection

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II in 1959 (New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Library of Congress)

Courtesy of Michael Feinstein

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN, the multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time GRAMMY-nominated entertainer, dubbed “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook,” is considered one of the premier interpreters of American standards. His 200-plus shows a year have included performances at Carnegie Hall, the White House, Buckingham Palace, Sydney Opera House and the Hollywood Bowl. Feinstein has received national recognition for his commitment to celebrating America’s popular song and preserving its legacy for future generations. In 2007, he founded the Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Initiative, dedicated to celebrating the art form and preserving it through educational programs, as well as the annual High School Vocal Academy and Competition. Michael serves on the Library of Congress’ National Recording Preservation Board.

Feinstein earned his fifth GRAMMY nomination in 2009 for The Sinatra Project. Other recordings include The Sinatra Project, Volume II: The Good Life, The Power of Two, Cheek to Cheek and We Dreamed These Days, featuring a song he co-wrote with Dr. Maya Angelou. This year he released a CD in collaboration with André Previn. His Emmy-nominated television special, Michael Feinstein–The Sinatra Legacy, currently airs across the country. The 2011 PBS series Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook was the recipient of the ASCAP Deems-Taylor Television Broadcast Award. Feinstein hosts a nationally syndicated public radio program Song Travels. His book The Gershwins and Me was published by Simon & Schuster in October 2012. The widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant introduced Feinstein to Ira Gershwin in July 1977. He became Gershwin’s assistant for six years, which earned him access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, many of which he has since performed and recorded. Feinstein serves as Artistic Director of the Palladium Center for the Performing Arts and is the director of the Jazz and Popular Song Series at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center. Feinstein hosted the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song concert in honor of Carole King.

Credits:
Made possible by the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Fund in the Library of Congress
Produced by special arrangement with Imagem/Williamson Music, Inc.

Host – Michael Feinstein
Librarian of Congress – Dr. James H. Billington
Executive Producer – Susan H. Vita, Chief, Music Division
Senior Producer – Michele Lambert Glymph
Producer/Co-Director – Nicholas Alexander Brown
Curator/Co-Director – Mark Eden Horowitz
Production Manager for Michael Feinstein – Andy Brattain
Curator – Raymond A. White
Production Design – Solomon E. HaileSelassie
Videographer – Thom Wolf
Recording Engineer – Michael E. Turpin
Video and Audio Editor – James L. Wolf
Technical Assistant – Sandie “Jay” Kinloch

Special thanks to Terrence Flannery

Click here to access the transcript of the video and a version with captions