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Category: Piano Music

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American Composers and Musicians from A to Z: C (Part 2 – Copland, Aaron)

Posted by: Juliette Appold

In our last blogpost we introduced blind musician Francis Joseph Campbell. Today’s entry is about one of the most famous American composers who had close connections to the Library of Congress: Aaron Copland. Aaron Copland was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 14, 1900. He studied music from an early age and received formal …

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New BARD additions: December- January

Posted by: Katie Rodda

The Music Section has been very busy over the past month adding new and newly digitized music materials to BARD. From Mozart, to bluegrass, to method books for alto and bass flute, there is a little bit of something here for everyone! If you have any questions on how to use BARD or to obtain …

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American Composers and Musicians from A to Z: B (Part 2 – Bischoff, John W.)

Posted by: Katie Rodda

John Bischoff was an American composer and organist who worked at the First Congregational Church in Washington, D.C. from 1874 until his death in 1909. Blind since the age of two, Bischoff attended the Wisconsin School for the Blind and later studied singing and organ before moving to Washington, D.C. His obituary from the May …

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American Composers and Musicians from A to Z: B (Part 1 – Beach, Amy)

Posted by: Juliette Appold

Have you ever noticed that there are many composers whose last names start with the letter B? Let’s choose one who has an anniversary. This year the music world celebrates Amy Beach’s 150th birthday. Amy Marcy Cheney Beach was born in Henniker, New Hampshire, on September 5, 1867. From her earliest childhood, she showed extraordinary …

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Celebrating that “Parisienne Gaiety”

Posted by: Gilbert Busch

When I was a teenager, I began learning about classical music by listening to radio programs in the evening. Often the shows would begin with an overture or “light classic”, such as the Light Cavalry Overture (which our school band played), or the William Tell Overture (the “Lone Ranger” to me). There was also a …

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A Gem in the Music Appreciation Collection

Posted by: Donna Koh

One of the most nerve-racking events I ever experienced as a music student was participating in master classes. I remember one class in particular vividly; the feeling of slight panic as the master class teacher repeated for the fourth time, “no, not like that, try again.” I could hear the audience shifting in their seats …

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¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Ernesto!

Posted by: Gilbert Busch

August 6 is the birthday of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, who lived from 1895 to 1963. While some composers’ names might stir a vague recollection of some concert I attended, Lecuona brings to mind an indelible childhood memory. It happened on a Monday afternoon when I was five or six years old. I was lying …

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There’s No Song Like an Old Song

Posted by: Mary Dell Jenkins

I’m always reminding myself how fortunate I am to live in an area that offers not only great classical music, theater and dance performances, but many popular music performers make a stop, especially during the summer. Being a child of the sixties, rock and roll concerts usually meant performances in smoky nightclubs (missed out on …