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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: 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
Posted by: Libby Smigel
Guest blogger Mary Galvin shares her exploration of the newly available music materials of Peggy Seeger, found in the Seeger Family Collection held by the Library of Congress Music Division.
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, Special Collections, Women in Music
Posted by: Libby Smigel
Ed Zanders, a British composer and musical director based in London, shares some of his discoveries of Sondheim's creative process, found amongst the Stephen Sondheim Papers held by the Library of Congress Music Division. The finding aid to the newly acquired Stephen Sondheim Papers is now available online, and a small set of materials from the collection is on display in the Performing Arts Reading Room.
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, Musical Theater, New Acquisitions, New finding aid, Special Collections
Posted by: Libby Smigel
A fitting blog post for the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations on July 4th, Morgen Stevens-Garmon, senior music archivist in the Library of Congress Music Division, reminisces about a favorite Broadway show, "1776," and other musicals set during the American Revolution.
Posted in: American history, Guest bloggers, Holidays, Musical Theater, New finding aid, Special Collections, Uncategorized
Posted by: Libby Smigel
In a memorial blog post, Senior Music Specialist Loras John Schissel celebrates President Jimmy Carter's appreciation for music and the arts in a selection of letters and photographs from the Music Division's collections.
Posted in: American history, Composers, Guest bloggers, In Memoriam, Special Collections
Posted by: Libby Smigel
The Music Division staff spotlight the Top 5 acquisitions of 2024, including the papers of composers Burt Bacharach and Anthony Braxton, manuscripts from the iconic "Wizard of Oz," records of the Kronos Quartet, and two Lizst song manuscripts.
Posted in: Composers, Electronic Music, Film Music, Guest bloggers, New Acquisitions, Special Collections