Tickets Available December 13th!

The following is a guest post from Lara Szypszak of the Music Division.

It’s that time of year again–time to reserve your tickets for all upcoming Concerts from the Library of Congress events from January through June 2018! This is a chance to attend an outstanding range of free events, and an opportunity to experience featured music held in the Library’s collections!

Tickets will be released at 10:00 am (ET) on Wednesday, December 13, 2017 via Eventbrite. All programs are free and open to the public. Concerts, films, and evening lectures require tickets. No tickets are required to attend pre-concert talks.

The second half of our season opens on January 12 as Fabio Biondi leads the Italian period-instrument ensemble Europa Galante with a program sure to dazzle. For quartet lovers, there are several opportunities to get your fix! Doric Quartet (February 17) has a program sure to please, including a performance of Beethoven’s op. 130 with its original finale, the still avant-garde Grosse Fuge.  Quatuor Diotima’s (March 1) performance will also feature a world premiere of a new quartet by Rebecca Saunders, co-commissioned by the Library. Artemis Quartet (April 6) also has a splendid lineup prepared, as Shostakovich and Schumann complement Mozart’s K.590, his final string quartet. An additional commissioned piece by Sir Harrison Birtwistle performed by Colin Currie and Nicolas Hodges (March 24) will unite music for percussion, piano, and their combination.

A performance by Canadian pianists Louis Lortie and Hélène Mercier (April 11) will also be celebrating the Library’s acquisition of the manuscript of the two-piano version of Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, a work for which the Library now possesses all major source materials! In March, double performances with the high energy Spektral Quartet and pianist Winston Choi also offer a chance to soak in as much Schoenberg, Babbitt, and others as you can! Back to back concerts with two different programs are on the menu! Come on March 30 at 9pm for the Library Late event, and March 31 at 2pm for the second concert, with a preconcert lecture by scholar Walter Frisch (at 12:30pm).

We also welcome the youthful exuberance and experienced talents of the Julian Lage Trio (March 8).
Lage recently received Grammy nominations for his album with Chris Eldridge titled Mount Royal. The trio’s second studio album, Modern Lore, is set to be released February 2, 2018, and what better way to get a taste of their new sounds than seeing them perform the album live? Another young talent performing this spring is composer, bassist, vocalist, and all around phenomenal performer, Esperanza Spalding (May 4). The three-time Grammy Award-winning artist will also unveil a new violin and piano commission from the Library that evening!

Toward the end of the season, take advantage of the excellent assembly of events coinciding with the Bernstein Centennial celebrations! Attend the lectures, films, and concerts on offer and spend a day with us on May 19^th examining Bernstein and his work. The program begins with a #DECLASSIFIED look at collection materials related to “Bernstein and Social Identity” and continues throughout the day with short performances and lectures that expose you to both favorites and unknown gems along with cut songs from Bernstein’s works you only thought that you knew. Take this opportunity to get up close and personal with items from the Library’s valuable collections!

Can’t get enough Bernstein? Grab tickets to any and all related events:
May 12, 12 pm              FILM: Bernstein Conducts Mahler and Liszt
May 15, 7 pm                Lecture: “Bernstein Conducting Himself”
May 18, 8 pm                Bernstein Centennial Concert
May 19, 11 am              Leonard Bernstein’s America: Celebrating the Collection

OTHER UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS:
January 19, 8 pm           Camerata RCO
February 3, 11 am         #DECLASSIFIED: New and Used Kreislers: Exploring the Fritz Kreisler                                                    Collection at the Library of Congress
February 24, 2 pm         Vienna Piano Trio
April 11, 8 pm               Louis Lortie and Hélène Mercier
April 25, 8 pm               Gerald Finley and Julius Drake
May 10, 7 pm                Lecture with scholar Robert O’Meally: “Transblucency: Duke Ellington,
The Washingtonians, and the Realm of the Visual”
June 2, 2 pm                 Boston Modern Orchestra Project

Enjoy films? Check out the titles we’ll be screening in February in the Pickford Theater!
February 1, 7 pm           Little Shop of Horrors
February 8, 7 pm           Labyrinth
February 15, 7 pm         Beetlejuice
February 7, 12 pm         The Neverending Story
February 22, 7 pm         Gremlins

For more information about the many events available to you this season, please check out our 2017-2018 Concerts from the Library of Congress Season BROCHURE, your open source for great music, and the 2017-2018 Concerts from the Library of Congress Season At-A-Glance.

Didn’t get a ticket? If the event you wish to attend is listed as “Sold Out” on Eventbrite, do not worry! RUSH passes are available free of charge at the door, beginning 2 hours prior to each performance. Patrons are strongly encouraged to try for a RUSH pass, as most patrons are able to be seated. We rarely turn anyone away; due to no-shows and returned tickets, some seats are always available at the door for sold-out events. RUSH passes are offered on a space-available basis and seats are not guaranteed.

Stay up to date by following our Facebook page and the Library’s Twitter account. We look forward to seeing you in 2018!

Contact us at (202) 707-5502 or [email protected] if you have any questions!