Anglophiles and British ex-pats will have a home this Friday in the Coolidge Auditorium at 12pm. The Library of Congress Chorale will perform “Britannia,” a concert celebrating the choral traditions of Great Britain. I happen to be the conductor of said ensemble and am an Anglophile through and through. I had the opportunity to complete …
Michael Feinstein, host of NPR Music’s “Song Travels,” recently interviewed Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal about Cash’s new album The River and the Thread. Rosanne Cash, in-residence at the Library of Congress from December 5-7, 2013, will perform in two concerts and present a talk with U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey. Here’s a special preview …
“I feel this record ties past and present together through all those people and places in the South I knew and thought I had left behind.” Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash is talking about her new album The River and the Thread, which she will premiere during a three-day residency at the Library of Congress that begins …
Friday, November 22, 2013 marks the hundredth birthday of British composer Benjamin Britten, OM, CH (1913-1976), who is known for revolutionizing opera and British art music in the twentieth century. Britten holds a special place in the heart of the Music Division at the Library of Congress, as we house the manuscripts of two of …
There comes a time in every anniversary year when the candles must be blown out—this year it is a necessity, as 200 candles each for Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi constitute a fire hazard, and the Library does not want to host its own “immolation” scene. But Wotan to your seats—Concerts from the Library of …
Concerts from the Library of Congress is gearing up for a month full of events that pay homage to the great German opera composer, Richard Wagner (1813-1883), who would have turned 200 years-young in 2013. Since we cannot present a full production of Der Ring des Nibelungen in the Coolidge Auditorium, we thought we would …
The music world lost one of its most influential voices last Sunday. Lou Reed (1942-2013) headed a legendary rock band before embarking on a solo career that led him from glam-rocker to elder rock statesman. The Velvet Underground released a handful of albums, each with a distinct personality that veered from blistering sonic experimentation to …
Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 29, the Music Division will sponsor a lecture by musicologist Nigel Simeone based on his new book, The Leonard Bernstein Letters. Simeone’s book includes 650 letters spanning Bernstein’s adolescence to the end of his life that provide a rare glimpse into the more private side of the great conductor and composer. Tomorrow’s …
American song is the theme of several music-related programs taking place at this year’s National Book Festival. As part of the Library-wide Songs of America initiative, the Music Division is presenting dozens of events over two years that look at the integral role of song in American social history. These public programs complement the strengths …
