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Archive: May 2019 (2 Posts)

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

Johann Baptist Wanhal and the First Viennese School

Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld

The mention of late-eighteenth century Vienna frequently conjures thoughts of well-known composers like Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. But since I joined a project reporting pre-1800 imprints and manuscripts to RISM (Répertoire International des Sources Musicales, an open-access database that lets you see which libraries have a certain published score or unique manuscript), I would like …

Posted in: Birthdays, Composers, Newly Cataloged

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

Celebrating Walt Whitman’s 200th Birthday

Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld

Since publishing Leaves of Grass in June 1855, Walt Whitman and his poetry have captured the American imagination. Not until the early twentieth century, however, did composers begin to draw from and set to music Whitman’s work in earnest. Today, 200 years after Whitman’s birth, his settings have inspired over 500 composers to write over …

Posted in: Birthdays, Composers, Exhibitions