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Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
An event took place at the Library on Friday, January 12, 2024, in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland and the Phillips Collection, about the American painter, poet, pianist, and composer Louis Eilshemius. This blog post explores the Music Division's display as if you were there, too!
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Exhibitions, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
Tonight at sunset (Friday, September 15, 2023) through Sunday after nightfall, Jewish Americans and Jews around the world celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, to welcome the year 5784 in the Jewish calendar! The Music Division does not disappoint with its holdings of both religious and secular music for this time. Here is a small sample of the gems in our holdings so that we may celebrate together.
Posted in: Composers, Conductors, Holidays, Jewish American History, Special Collections
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
Dutch composer, pianist, and teacher Louis Andriessen (1939-2021) passed away on July 1, 2021. He is connected to the Music Division through his 1993 Koussevitzky Music Foundation commission.
Posted in: Commissions, Composers, In Memoriam
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
The Music Division has commissioned new works of music since 1925, and this post celebrates the artistic contributions of commissioned composers from the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month, May 2021.
Posted in: Asian American History, Commissions, Composers
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
At the end of my January blog post about 19th-century French composer Louise Angélique Bertin, I promised that a feature was forthcoming about her contemporary Marie Felicie Clémence de Reiset, the Vicomtesse de Grandval (1828/30-1907). I can’t wait to share some Music Division treasures of hers with you in honor of Women’s History Month!
Posted in: Composers, Women in Music
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
January 15, 2021 is the 216th birthday of Louise Angélique Bertin. She was a French composer, poet, librettist, and painter. She was the only composer to work directly with Victor Hugo, the first French composer to set Goethe’s Faust as an opera, and the first woman of the 19th century to have an opera performed at the Opéra de Paris. The Music Division has wonderful resources about Louise Angélique Bertin.
Posted in: Birthdays, Composers, Women in Music
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
On October 30, the Music Division musically celebrates the birthday of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge as Founder’s Day. Musicians who befriended Mrs. Coolidge sent her birthday greetings as musical scores, including Darius Milhaud, Paul Hindemith, Leo Sowerby, Sir Eugene Goossens, and more!
Posted in: Birthdays, Composers, Special Collections
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
Mississippi-born composer William Grant Still (1895-1978) holds a significant place in the history of American music, and May 11, 2020 is his 125th birthday! I hope that this birthday blog post piques your interest about the many research possibilities in the Music Division about William Grant Still.
Posted in: African American History, Birthdays, Composers
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
On March 29, the musical world lost a giant - Polish composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki. The Library of Congress Music Division remains connected to Penderecki through primary sources in our collections, and we hope that you can remain connected to him in this way, as well.
Posted in: Composers, In Memoriam, New Music