I hope everyone out there had a relaxing and peace-filled holiday season. Now that the year is almost through, it’s time to look ahead to 2016 and the new beginnings that await us there. In keeping with that spirit, this blog will highlight some of the newest braille and digital talking books that have been …
Ludwig van Beethoven was a prolific and music-history-altering composer. Today we celebrate his life on the anniversary of his baptism, which is the closest date we have to knowing his actual birth day. I can remember, as a young pianist, that Beethoven’s Für Elise was the first “real” piece I learned to play outside of …
A couple of years ago, I received an email inquiry from an NLS music section patron wanting to know if we would accept gift braille music, from his personal collection. I said we would be glad to receive whatever he wanted to send. He, then, responded by asking if we could send him some empty …
Although motion pictures are, for all intents and purposes, a visual art form, one can still appreciate the music from those films on their own without the movie-going experience. For this I am grateful, as, being more drawn to music than film (and having limited spare time to catch all the movies that I’d like …
The NLS Music Section has recently acquired another new title by popular and prolific contributor, Bill Irwin. Patrons of the Music Section, and followers of this blog, may already be aware of Mr. Irwin’s background. If you wish to read more about Bill Irwin, please check out our blog post from June of last year, …
We have written – more than once – about Music Section patron Justin Kauflin. Last October, Justin performed a wonderful jazz set at the Library of Congress celebrating 50 years of service by the NLS Music Section, and demonstrating his prowess and creativity at the keyboard. Thanks to technology, Justin’s performance can now be heard …
I have always considered the NLS Music Section’s home base in Washington D.C. as a very fine perk of my job. There are numerous opportunities for concerts with great venues such as Kennedy Center, the Strathmore, our own home at the Library of Congress and (according to me) the jewel in the crown of museums, …