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Posted by: Pat Padua
The city and the Nation have their eyes on the Main Reading Room, which is currently hosting an unexpected visitor in the studious form of a Cooper’s Hawk. This edition of Sheet Music of the Week features a pair of creatures that are unlikely to find their way to our workplace – but if they …
Posted in: Sheet Music, Sheet Music of the Week, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
On this Feast of Three Kings, celebrate the recent birthdays of a pair of musical kings: bandleader Xavier Cugat and rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. Francesc d’Asís Xavier Cugat Mingall de Bru i Deulofeu was born in Spain on January 1st, 1900. Cugat, was dubbed “The Mambo King” in the 1995 Walt Disney feature A Goofy …
Posted in: Birthdays, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
One year ago today, In the Muse launched with Meet the Music Division, a post that interviewed several staff members about their personal experience with Beatlemania. Since then, we’ve brought you news of Music Division events, including our world-renowned concert programs. We’ve highlighted a wide variety of treasures from the collection – from old maestros like Bach …
Posted in: Composers, Sheet Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
Free tickets will be available on Saturday evening, December 4, for the Country Music Association Songwriters Series featuring Little Big Town. The plantinum-selling vocal quartet is fresh off a wonderful performance at the CMA Christmas show, and will be joined at the Coolidge by songwriters Brett James (“Jesus, Take the Wheel,” recorded by Carrie Underwood; “When …
Posted in: Concerts and Events, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The Library of Congress just hosted the first of a new lecture series organized in conjunction with the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the contemporary art arm of the Smithsonian Institution. Artist Maira Kalman spoke about, And the Pursuit of Happiness, an illustrated book that documents the author’s visit to Washington DC for the inauguration of …
Posted in: Musicians, Sheet Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
Today we release another one hundred images from the William P. Gottlieb Collection to Flickr Commons. This week’s selection offers iconic photos of the trumpet legend Louis Armstrong, clarinet player Sidney Bechet, composer Leonard Bernstein, and vocalist June Christy. And, as is often the case, there is something unexpected in the mix. This week’s surprise is a series of …
Posted in: Film Music, Jazz, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
Every other Friday the Music Division releases a batch of photos from the William P. Gottlieb Collection to Flickr Commons. This week’s release includes portraits of musical legends like Frank Sinatra, Billy Strayhorn, Sarah Vaughan, and Billy Taylor, whose collection resides in the Music Division. You can also view a gathering of Smiths, including violinist Stuff, alto …
Posted in: Composers, Jazz, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
In the Muse recently put out a call to Music Division staff in search of ghost stories, and while nobody would tell me outright that they felt an unexplained cold spot on the Coolidge Auditorium stage, or that sounds of the Stradivarius would emerge mysteriously from an empty hall, the age and history of this …
Posted in: Holidays
Posted by: Pat Padua
Many virtual servings of cake and ice cream are on hand this week in the Music Division, as we celebrate the birth dates of a veritable constellation of stars in the musical firmament. These October children grew to be the august personages who populate the Performing Arts Encyclopedia with dulcet tones – or, in some …
Posted in: Birthdays, Composers, Digital Collections, Jazz, Musicians, Special Collections