The Mid-Atlantic United States has weathered an unusual amount of snow this winter. In the Muse rang in the season with wintry songs to while away the eve of a storm that left the Washington, D.C. area with a blanket 19 inches thick. Today’s forecast predicts a storm to match or exceed that total. The […]
The East Coast is bracing for another major snowstorm this weekend, but some readers may already have plans to stay glued to the television Sunday night. Today my colleage Donna Scanlon takes a look at Super Bowl ads on Inside Adams: Science, Technology, & Business, while In the Muse delves into the musical origins […]
Celebrate African-American History month with a presentation of African-American Band Stocks on the Performing Arts Encyclopedia. This collection of “stock” arrangements – published orchestrations for instrumental groups – is written by some of the most important African-American composers of the early 20th century. Among those represented are J. Rosamond Johnson, whose most famous song, ”Lift Ev’ry Voice […]
I was recently invited by the Palace of Arts in Budapest to moderate a panel discussion during their Hungarian Jazz Showcase. The audience was a mix of music students and faculty from the Liszt Academy, as well as professional musicians and enthusiasts who wanted to participate. My fellow panelists included a record producer, music journalist […]
The following is a guest post by Julianne Mangin, Library Services. National Kazoo Day, recognized on January 28th, celebrates what is perhaps the most accessible of all musical instruments, the kazoo. If you can hum a tune, you can play a kazoo, which takes your voice and changes its timbre to give it a comically […]
From Dolly Parton to Django Reinhardt to Robert Burns, the strange bedfellows whose birthdays we have celebrated this past week demonstrate the breadth of the Music Division’s collections. Today’s guest of honor is none other than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born on this day in 1756. The Performing Arts Encyclopedia features a number of the maestro’s […]
Reference Specialist Larry Appelbaum has helped welcome a diverse array of musical luminaries to the Music Division. Here are just a few. Herbie Hancock, upon receiving his Living Legends award. Dave Brubeck’s 2003 performance in the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium can be heard here. Larry recently interviewed Mr. Brubeck and his wife and lyricist Iola Brubeck. […]
The following is a guest post by Elizabeth Fulford Miller, Library Services, with an h/t to Stephen Winick of the American Folklife Center. Scotland’s national “bard” was born on January 25, 1759, and all around the world “Burns suppers” – complete with bagpipes, a special Scottish dish called “haggis,” poetry and song – will be […]
There are but a handful of musicians whose innovations changed the way their instrument is played. Among these is guitarist Django Reinhardt, born January 23rd, 1910. Let us remember his centenary with this photo by William P. Gottlieb (whose birthday is January 28th). Listen to Gottlieb talk about Django and this photo session here.
January 19th was the birthday of country music legend Dolly Parton. The Library awarded Parton Living Legend status in 2004. As a longtime fan, I was privileged to be able to attend the Living Legend concert, and furthered my studies in Dollymania a few years later with a a New Year’s Eve pilgrimage to her […]