The following is a guest post from Music Reference Specialist James Wintle. There is many an old familiar song running through the collective memory of the Western world that will occasionally cause one to sit back with a puzzled look and wonder: “Do I actually understand what I’m saying right now?” Foremost among these is …
The following is a guest post from Senior Theater Specialist Walter Zvonchenko. Miles White (1914-2000) was one of the most admired costume designers for the American stage in the 20th century. He came to New York in the 1930s hoping for a career in high fashion. While that was not to be, his subsequent work …
The following is a guest post by Hallie Chametzky. Dance Archivist Libby Smigel introduces Hallie: Hallie Chametzky completed her summer Junior Fellowship with the Music Division in early August. Working with the papers of choreographer and Martha Graham Dance Company member Sophie Maslow, she discovered a wealth of documentation on a significant performance event, the …
The following post is by retired music cataloger Sharon McKinley. I’ve enjoyed perusing the Library’s World War I sheet music over the past few years as we’ve commemorated the centennial of The Great War. We are now coming to the end of the fighting. Although the Treaty of Paris wasn’t signed until June 28,1919, an …
The following is a guest post from Gershwin Archivist Janet McKinney. It seems there is something utterly compelling about the core story of A Star is Born, as it is now being told in theaters for the fourth time. Originally a 1937 drama starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, it told the story of a …
The following is a guest post by retired cataloger Sharon McKinley. The great city of New Orleans turns 300 this year, and they’re celebrating in a big way. To help commemorate this exciting milestone, we proudly present a few of our musical gems published in one of my favorite cities. New Orleans is best known …
The following is a guest post from Senior Music Specialist Ray White. Composer George Gershwin was born 120 years ago, on September 26, 1898. For most of his adult life, he was a youthful celebrity, indeed a rock star of his time, and his mystique is only enhanced by his tragic death from a brain …
The following is a guest post from Robin Rausch, Head of Reader Services in the Music Division. For three days in September, in 1918, the musical elite gathered in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, for what was billed as the first chamber music festival ever given in America. It took place September 16-18, two months before the November …
The following is a guest post from Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Creative & Programming Director at Feinstein’s/54 Below and author of The Untold Stories of Broadway book series. She is the producer of the musical Be More Chill and the creator of The Jonathan Larson Project, which will premiere this fall. She is also the historian …