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Posted by: David Plylar
The following is a guest post from Anne McLean of the Music Division. On Wednesday, December 12 tickets for the spectacular spring season of Concerts from the Library of Congress will be available via Eventbrite. Tickets will be released at 10:00 am (ET), for all events for the second half of the season: January 10 …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Jazz, Musicians
Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld
Renowned pianist Artur Schnabel is best known for his recordings of a complete cycle of Ludwig van Beethoven’s piano sonatas, which he recorded from 1932-1935. His recording, the first ever made of the complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas, to this day places him at the forefront of interpreting the composer’s piano works. Schnabel’s son …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
November 5th is National Love Your Red Hair Day! The Music Division salutes some of music’s great redheads in our own collections: Vivaldi, Berlioz, Lucille Ball, Beverly Sills, and Ariel the Little Mermaid.
Posted in: Composers, Exhibitions, Musical Theater, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
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 …
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, Musicians, Special Collections, World War I
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
The Music Division mourns the immense loss of composer and pianist George Walker. He was closely connected to the Music Division for decades.
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, In Memoriam, Musical Instruments, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Larry Appelbaum
Today marks the 109th birthday of tenor saxophonist Lester Young, the first so-called modernist instrumental stylist in jazz. His playing and hip, creative use of musician’s jargon is admired for breaking from the prevailing saxophone style of Coleman Hawkins. In his classic recordings with Count Basie’s Orchestra, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman and others, he demonstrated …
Posted in: Birthdays, Jazz, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: David Plylar
Concerts from the Library of Congress is pleased to announce the 2018-2019 season, filled with an astonishing roster of artists and speakers. Building on the world-class chamber music you love to hear in the Coolidge Auditorium—which this year includes the Emerson Quartet with David Finckel, the Brentano Quartet with Hsin-Yun Huang and the Tetzlaff-Tetzlaff-Vogt Trio, …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Curators, Dance, Film Music, Interviews, Jazz, Musicians
Posted by: Larry Appelbaum
Today marks the birthday of singer, songwriter, actress, and political activist Abbey Lincoln (Anna Marie Wooldridge August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010). One of many singers influenced by Billie Holiday, she made her breakthrough in 1956 with her first recording, Abbey Lincoln’s Affair, and her appearance in the film The Girl Can’t Help It. Though she …
Posted in: African American History, Birthdays, Interviews, Jazz, Musicians, Special Collections, Women in Music
Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld
This is a guest post by Stephanie Akau, who just completed a 2018 Library of Congress Junior Fellowship. She is working towards a Master of Library and Information Science degree at San José State University and will graduate in May 2019. She is currently a library information specialist at the University of New Mexico. She …
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, Musical Instruments, Musicians, New Acquisitions