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Posted by: Pat Padua
In a recent interview with Smokey Robinson, recipient of this year‘s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the songwriter told the Music Division about the birth of Motown, which he co-founded with Berry Gordy, Jr. Asked about the crossover appeal of the label, Robinson passed on something that Gordy had said to him: “I’m going to …
Posted in: Concerts and Events, Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
Gershwin Prize Honoree Billy Joel met Beethoven this week thanks to the Music Division, who showed the six-time Grammy-winning composer manuscripts and artifacts from one of his favorite composers, including a lock of Beethoven’s hair. Joel was an engaged audience, humming along to Gershwin’s “Summertime” when he was showed a holograph from Porgy and Bess, …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
A member of the audience at Tuesday’s Copyright Matters event in the Coolidge Auditorium asked songwriter Jimmy Webb about Donna Summer’s version of his song, “MacArthur Park.” Webb explained that it was his first number one record as well as Summer’s first number one record. “I’m not a fan of disco, but I was crazy …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
“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 …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by David H. Plylar, Concert Office. On Thursday, November 29th, the Library of Congress will present the outstanding Baroque ensemble La Risonanza in cooperation with the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington, DC, in its first appearance in the United States. Half of the program …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by Nicholas A. Brown, Music Specialist, Concert Office. GRAMMY-nominated British violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved returns to the Library of Congress this December for a fascinating examination of the Music Division’s Niccolò Paganini collection, which includes posters, playbills, letters, manuscripts and memorabilia collected by the legendary violin virtuoso himself. This …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by Nicholas A. Brown, Music Specialist, Concert Office. Here in the Concert Office we are all very excited for the upcoming launch of our LIBRARY LATE series on Friday, November 30! Anything but your average concert experience, LIBRARY LATE offers you an enjoyable evening out at the Atlas Performing …
Posted in: Concerts and Events, Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by Nicholas A. Brown, Music Specialist, Concert Office. John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), the famed composer and bandmaster, holds a very special place in the history of Washington, D.C., the Library of Congress, and of course, the United States. The John Philip Sousa Collection, which includes music manuscripts, photographs, literary …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by David H. Plylar, Music Specialist, Concert Office. Update: Out of concern for our patrons’ safety and in consideration of the extreme weather in the Washington area, the Library of Congress has rescheduled the concert originally scheduled for Tuesday, October 30, 2012. LUCY: Song & Dance, an Opera without Words will …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events