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Category: Special Collections

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Gelukkige verjaardag! Eugène Ysaÿe at 155

Posted by: David Plylar

On June 16, 1858, the great Belgian violinist, composer and conductor Eugène Ysaÿe was born. A well-known icon to most violinists, he was a major transitional figure in the development of modern violin performance practice. In addition to his compositional work, Ysaÿe was also an advocate of transcription, and made interesting forays into that world. …

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PagaNewni: Composers Rise to the Paganini Challenge–A Paganini Project Update

Posted by: David Plylar

Friday, February 1, 2013. The following is a guest post provided by Peter Sheppard Skærved, who recently appeared at the Library in events dedicated to its Paganini holdings and collection of Cremonese instruments. I am powerfully aware of the constant dialogue between past and present. Working as a violinist equally involved with the discovery of …

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NOT Breaking Records: The History of Recording at the Library of Congress

Posted by: David Plylar

While the Library of Congress is known for housing a treasure trove of materials ripe for the scholarly plucking, any library is only as good as the access it can provide to information. The accessibility of the collections—that less tangible but essential asset—is made possible by the Library’s employees, who possess a remarkable set of …