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Posted by: Pat Padua
There’s a big game on this Sunday, and while In the Muse does not have a dog in this fight, we can provide music for a victory dance should the Green Bay Packers emerge victorious. Should the Pittsburgh Steelers snack on the opposition, they can celebrate their renewed dynasty with “The Age of Steel,” from …
Posted in: Birthdays, Sheet Music, Sheet Music of the Week, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
Friday we released another batch of images from the William P. Gottlieb Collection to Flickr. This set of images includes figures such as pop singer Frankie Laine (seen posing with a souvenir throw pillow bearing his likeness), blues icon Leadbelly, Latin Jazz legends Machito and Graciella Grillo, just to name a few. Among these pictures is an …
Posted in: Jazz, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following post is by Daniel Walshaw, Music Division. Today is the birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the greatest composers to ever put pen to paper, and what exactly does that mean? I never quite understand our fascination with celebrating the birthdays of our favorite minds that are long gone. Does it make …
Posted in: Birthdays, Composers, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The city and the Nation have their eyes on the Main Reading Room, which is currently hosting an unexpected visitor in the studious form of a Cooper’s Hawk. This edition of Sheet Music of the Week features a pair of creatures that are unlikely to find their way to our workplace – but if they …
Posted in: Sheet Music, Sheet Music of the Week, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
The following is a guest post by Music Division Archivist Chris Hartten. Roy Harris spent a lifetime searching for the American in American music. Born in Chandler, Oklahoma on February 12, 1898, Harris was profoundly influenced by American folksongs and poetry as a young student. He studied with Arthur Farwell and Nadia Boulanger during the …
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, Special Collections
Posted by: Larry Appelbaum
The Music Division has uploaded its latest batch of William P. Gottlieb jazz photos onto our Flickr site. Several are particularly eye-catching, notably the two images of bassist Chubby Jackson: one with dramatic lighting, the other showing Jackson’s irrepressible personality. There is an impressive triple exposure of bandleader Jerry Jerome, and an unusual shot of …
Posted in: Digital Collections, Jazz, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
On this Feast of Three Kings, celebrate the recent birthdays of a pair of musical kings: bandleader Xavier Cugat and rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. Francesc d’Asís Xavier Cugat Mingall de Bru i Deulofeu was born in Spain on January 1st, 1900. Cugat, was dubbed “The Mambo King” in the 1995 Walt Disney feature A Goofy …
Posted in: Birthdays, Musicians, Special Collections