Music Reference Specialist Heather Darnell has a conversation with Jordan Rudess, keyboardist for progressive rock band Dream Theater, about a letter he wrote to Leonard Bernstein as an eight year-old boy. The letter is now held in the Leonard Bernstein Collection at the Library of Congress.
Senior Music Specialist Mark Eden Horowitz reflects on his friendship with Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021) and Sondheim's connection to the Library of Congress.
Howard University intern Cienna Benn shares her experience work with the papers of distinguished African American opera and concert soprano Jessye Norman
Emily Baumgart helps us celebrate Pride Month with a few LGBTQ+ highlights from our performing arts collections and the announcment of a forthcoming LGBTQ research guide from the Music Division.
The following is a guest post from Archives Processing Technician Dr. Rachel McNellis. In his essay, “The Influence of Peasant Music on Modern Music,” published in 1931, Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881–1945) describes the beauty of folk music and its significance to classical composers: “The right type of peasant music is most varied and perfect …
Processing Technician Pam Murrell shines light on the surprisingly ordinary life of a man who would be deemed one of the extraordinary classical composers of syncopated rhythm.