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Category: Special Collections

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Of Thee We Sing! Happy 112th, George!

Posted by: Cait Miller

One hundred twelve years ago on September 26th, Jacob Gershwine entered the world (the family name morphed around the turn of the century from “Gershovitz”, to “Gershvin”, to “Gershwin”; “Gershwine” was likely just an alternate spelling of “Gershvin”). This boy, raised in New York City with his three siblings by Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, would grow …

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

Happy Birthday John Coltrane!

Posted by: Pat Padua

One of the great tenor (and soprano) saxophone voices, composer John Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926.  The Music Division has a number of  lead sheets that Coltrane submitted to copyright for compositions such as “Blue Train” and “Moment’s Notice.” The Library is also home to a set of tapes recorded at a performance by …

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Elevator Music

Posted by: Pat Padua

“We consider Music by Muzak a definite part of the modern office. It goes naturally with good lighting, soft colors and intelligent layout. After the installation of Muzak, our best estimates show that efficiency increased 5%.” –R.R. Harley, Assistant Treasurer, National Gypsum Co., Buffalo NY, in a 1965 Muzak brochure. On September 20, 1853, Elisha …

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

Twelve-tone Candles

Posted by: Pat Padua

Composer Arnold Schoenberg was born on this date in 1874. The Music Division is home to the Arnold Schoenberg Collection. Highlights of this collection include a correspondence between Schoenberg and his students Alban Berg and Anton Webern; a Wassily Kandinsky letter (Schoenberg exhibited his paintings with the Blue Rider group in 1912) that deals with …

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

From Ella to Pocahontas

Posted by: Pat Padua

Every other Friday, a new batch of photos from the William P. Gottlieb collection  is uploaded to Flickr. This week’s selection includes iconic photos of Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie, and  portraits of jazz greats such as Errol Garner, Benny Goodman, and Lionel Hampton. But in addition to the well-known names are intriguing  portraits of  lesser- …

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Jesse James and John Cage Match!

Posted by: Pat Padua

“You probably know the one about the two monks, but I’ll tell it anyway.” –John Cage, Indeterminacy. Sunday, September 5th marks the birthday of two legendary Americans: outlaw Jesse James and composer John Cage. The astonishing range of Cage’s works is just hinted at by the names of the diverse artists he worked with: choreographer Merce Cunningham; pianist David Tudor, …

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

The Music Division Takes You To School

Posted by: Pat Padua

September always brings back memories of my school  days, when I walked to class barefoot four miles in chin-high snow (winter coming dreadfully early in those times), dodging packs of rabid wolves and feral children. But the modern age provides you, the reader, with sundry opportunities to learn from the comfort of your own coffee …