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Posted by: Pat Padua
On Thursdays this month the Music Division hosts Fraudway in the Mary Pickford Theater. Inspired by the outrageous production numbers in such ‘80s films as The Fan and Staying Alive (which screens Jan. 24), the series celebrates the often bizarre and always dazzling cinematic spectacles that imagine a Great White Way that can only exist on …
Posted in: Film Music
Posted by: Pat Padua
This year we’ve lost too many beloved figures in the entertainment world. Among them, the deaths of David Bowie and Prince struck the Music Division particularly hard. These two iconic performers made a lot of great records, and a lot of perhaps less-than-great movies. Many of their films have been screened in area repertory theaters, …
Posted in: Film Music, Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
For those unable to attend Friday night’s program in the film series Time Capsule: 1966, here’s a guest post by Brian Taves of the Motion Pictures, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Divsion at the Library of Congress. I want to thank Pat Padua for selecting tonight’s program and asking if I would introduce it. He knows …
Posted in: Film Music, Guest bloggers
Posted by: Pat Padua
In the Muse is excited to announce our January film series, The 80s: The Decade that Musicals Forgot. The movie musical was in its death throes in the 1980s, with many of the era’s contributions to the genre considered gaudy jokes. But these films have a vibrant, colorful energy and a core optimism that contemporary musicals …
Posted in: Film Music
Posted by: Pat Padua
In the Muse is excited to announce our September film series, Directed by Ken Russell. The late director, who died in 2011, had a vividly colorful, operatic vision of cinema, and was attracted to music that was similarly bold and romantic. With co-sponsors DCist and Brightest Young Things, we present four evenings of Russell’s most …
Posted in: Film Music
Posted by: Pat Padua
This Friday, the Music Division’s popular jazz film series returns to the Mary Pickford Theater. Senior Reference Specialist Larry Appelbaum curated the series and provided program notes. Friday evenings at 7:00 pm – Mary Pickford Theater, 3rd Floor, James Madison Building. No tickets or reservations needed. Limited seating begins at 6:30pm. Programs subject to change without …
Posted in: Film Music, Jazz, Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by Daniel Walshaw, Music Division. Danny Kaye’s contributions to American culture and entertainment are unmatched. He mastered nearly every aspect of show business – stage, film, television, radio, recordings, and even orchestral conducting. Despite his demanding performance schedule, he was also one of the most generous celebrity humanitarians donating …
Posted in: Exhibitions, Film Music, Guest bloggers, Women in Music
Posted by: Pat Padua
With the help of Elizabeth Fulford Miller, who provided web metrics, In the Muse looks back at the past year to see our most popular blog posts. 11. 1750: Berlin on the Potomac. A look at Berlin chamber music under Frederick the Great, the subject of a program in our Spring 2012 lecture series. 10. Our …
Posted in: Dance, Film Music, Jazz, Pic of the Week, Sheet Music, Special Collections, Staff
Posted by: Pat Padua
Henning Lohner’s riotous film, Musicircus is a three-and-a-half-hour documentary of the “Musicircus” homage to John Cage, presented at New York’s Symphony Space shortly after his death in 1992. Preceding and following this film, screened for the first time in the United States, is Elliot Caplan’s haunting “Beach Birds for Camera,” an adaptation of a dance …
Posted in: Composers, Film Music