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Posted by: Libby Smigel
Discover the artistry and impact of modern dance choreographer Leni Wylliams (1961-1996) through the Raymond Steehler and David Fullard Collection on Leni Wylliams, now accessible through a new finding aid.
Posted in: African American History, Choreographers, Dance, LGBTQ+, New finding aid, Special Collections
Posted by: Libby Smigel
Music Division Archives Technician Amy Poe reveals the mastery of language and tact found among the letters of philanthropist Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge.
Posted in: chamber music, Composers, Guest bloggers, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Libby Smigel
The Music Division staff spotlight the Top 5 acquisitions of 2025, including the 1690 Tuscan-Medici viola by Antonio Stradivari, Igor Stravinsky's holograph for "The Nightengale," the papers of the composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and the pianist Paul Wittgenstein, and the archives of master of musical theater Stephen Sondheim.
Posted in: Composers, Musical Instruments, Musicians, New Acquisitions, Special Collections, Women in Music
Posted by: Claudia Morales
Concerts from the Library of Congress launches an exciting, yearlong America 250 celebration this January, presenting a broad panorama of the nation’s music in concerts and conversations, lectures, film screenings, educational programs and more.
Posted in: American history, chamber music, Choreographers, Commissions, Composers, Concerts and Events, Conductors, Dance, Early Music, Instrumentalists, Jazz, Musical Instruments, Musical Theater, Musicians
Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres
Andrew Northrup of UCL's Slade School of Fine Art discusses research findings related to the Library's Buchla 100 modular synthesizer in the Vladimir Ussachevsky Collection in the Music Division.
Posted in: Composers, Electronic Music, Musicians
Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres
The Library of Congress recently published “Let the People Hear It: Concerts from the Library of Congress at 100” (Library of Congress, 2025). The book provides a visual journey through the history of the Library’s renowned concert series, which was established in 1925 by philanthropist Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge and Carl Engel, then-chief of the Library’s Music Division. Learn about this new book and where to catch the authors on book tour this coming winter and spring.
Posted in: American history, Commissions, Composers, Concerts and Events, Curators, Music Division history, Musicians, Staff
Posted by: Libby Smigel
Enjoy a sample set of winter holiday cards found in the Music Division's special collections.
Posted in: Guest bloggers, Holidays, Special Collections
Posted by: Libby Smigel
The following blog post on composer Anthony Braxton is contributed by Dr. Stephanie Akau, senior archivist in the Library of Congress Music Division. She introduces the newly available resources in the Anthony Braxton Papers. In spring 2025, Processing Technician Jada Twitty and I processed the papers of composer, pedagogue and multi-instrumentalist Anthony Braxton. Not only …
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, New finding aid, Special Collections
Posted by: Libby Smigel
Meet Mrs. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge and the story behind 100 years of free concerts in the Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress. Mrs. Coolidge's fascinating life and her support of chamber music in the United States is now fully discoverable through the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation Collection held by Music Division.
Posted in: chamber music, Commissions, Music Division history, New finding aid, Special Collections