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Category: Composers

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John Philip Sousa Plays Violin in Jacques Offenbach’s Centennial Orchestra: Philadelphia 1876

Posted by: Cait Miller

The following is a guest post from Senior Music Specialist Loras Schissel. In 1930, John Philip Sousa set down his memories of playing in the first violin section in a special grand orchestra assembled for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia during the summer of 1876.  The conductor of this orchestra was the celebrated composer Jacques …

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Concerts from the Library of Congress presents The Boccaccio Project

Posted by: David Plylar

My experience reading works like Cervantes’ Don Quixote or Boccaccio’s Decameron always leaves me with a sense of déjà vu. How is it that people who lived so many centuries ago can still sound so modern, so relevant? While there is a “liter-heiry” influence of these writers to be felt in recent works, it also …

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Intimate, absorbing, engaging—the Music Division enters the world of the virtual concert hall

Posted by: Claudia Morales

The following is a guest post from Anne McLean, Senior Producer in the Music Division. On May 28 Concerts from the Library of Congress launches a virtual programming initiative and premieres a new Library commission online Aural Explorations: Farrin, Fure and Messiaen features the stellar International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)  in a special livestreamed concert capping …

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Chucho Valdés in Conversation

Posted by: Claudia Morales

On Saturday, October 16, 2019, Concerts from the Library of Congress hosted Afro-Cuban jazz master, Chucho Valdés. Founder and director of the legendary Cuban jazz band Irakere, winner of six GRAMMYs and four Latin GRAMMYs, Chucho Valdés is not just an authority in the jazz world, he is a living legend. As part of his engagement at …