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Archive: January 2019 (6 Posts)

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

Film Music from 1923 and the Public Domain

Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld

Multiple news articles have heralded the many works and publications that entered the public domain on January 1st of 2019. Pieces of music, novels, and films alike have become available within the United States without copyright permissions. With the changes in copyright status, I wondered exactly how much of the Music Division’s substantial collection of …

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

Rudolph and Joseph Schildkraut: Austrian-American Stars of Stage and Screen

Posted by: Cait Miller

The following is a guest post from music archivist Anita M. Weber. At a recent production of Paula Vogel’s Indecent, the sight of renowned Austrian-American actor Rudolph Schildkraut depicted on stage reminded me of the four remarkable scrapbooks in the Music Division that document the careers of Rudolph (1862-1930) and his son, fellow actor Joseph …

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

Seasons of Love: Do the Math

Posted by: Cait Miller

Fans of composer Jonathan Larson and his revolutionary show, Rent (aka, Rentheads), are eagerly anticipating Fox’s live broadcast of the musical this Sunday night. The Library of Congress is home to the Jonathan Larson Papers, a rich collection of papers and recordings that reveal Larson’s creative process behind Rent as well as other projects and …

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

An Expanded Federal Theatre Project Website Guarantees Hours of Entertainment

Posted by: Pat Padua

Who was this caped costume designed for? The answer may surprise you! The Music Division has greatly expanded the amount of materials available online from the Federal Theatre Project Collection. A selection from this popular collection was first put online over 20 years ago, and this updated version contains more than 6,500 digital items, including costume designs, …

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

Happy 95th Birthday to Max Roach

Posted by: Larry Appelbaum

Today marks the 95th birthday of jazz drummer, bandleader and educator Max Roach (1924-2007). His papers are among the most heavily researched jazz archival collections in the Music Division revealing much about jazz and the intersection of modernism and the development of Black political consciousness in 20th-century music. And though the collection includes a draft …

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

It’s Showtime, Folks! FRAUDWAY Dazzles the Pickford Theater in January

Posted by: Pat Padua

On Thursdays this month the Music Division hosts Fraudway in the Mary Pickford Theater.  Inspired by the outrageous production numbers in such ‘80s films as The Fan and Staying Alive (which screens Jan. 24),  the series celebrates the often bizarre and always dazzling cinematic spectacles that imagine a Great White Way that can only exist on …