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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: Cait Miller
Does the name “Coolidge” sound familiar? If you’re a regular LC concert goer, or have taken a tour of the Jefferson Building, then you know about the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium. Were you to assume that this venue was funded by or named for President Calvin Coolidge, you would be wrong! Our famous auditorium was constructed …
Posted in: Concerts and Events, Women in Music
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is the second part of a two-part guest post by Kevin Lavine, Senior Music Specialist. The vampire made its musical début on this side of the Atlantic in a slight piece for piano solo titled “Vampire Polka” (Boston, 1850), of unknown authorship (its composer is identified as “Four Eyes”), a work undoubtedly intended for performance …
Posted in: Sheet Music, Special Collections
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
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a part one of a guest post by Kevin LaVine, Senior Music Specialist. If you’ve ever sat around a campfire, listening intently to a ghost story almost against your will; or have peered through half-closed eyes, with fascination and horror, at a slasher film; or have simply heard inexplicable bumps in the …
Posted in: Sheet Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
Tickets are now available for two concerts that demonstrate the eclectic range of the Music Division’s programming. Friday, December 3, 2010 @8:00 pm On LOCation Lionel Loueke Trio West African harmonies and jazz rhythms are seamlessly blended by guitarist/singer/composer Lionel Loueke with Massimo Biolcati on bass and Ferenc Nemeth on drums. Visit his web site to …
Posted in: Concerts and Events, Jazz, Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
With the fantastic rescue of thirty-three Chilean miners, the whole world can breathe a sigh of relief. But none can be more relieved than the miners, emerging into the sunshine again after seventy days trapped underground. Chilean president Sebastian Pinera sang their national anthem with Luis Urzua, the last of the miners rescued. Celebrate their return …
Posted in: Sheet Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
In the Muse has been known to make unlikely connections along the musical spectrum, from Lawrence Welk to the Velvet Underground, from Paul Williams to DJ Shadow. And if you have a second, we’ll explain how the disco-era novelty singles of Rick Dees, (the bell-bottomed Jekyll and Hyde of “Disco Duck;” “Bigfoot,” which imagines that the …
Posted in: Musicians
Posted by: Pat Padua
The thirteenth of October may fill the superstitious with dread, but today we celebrate the birthdays of three great musicians whose work fills the Music Division’s precious vaults. Celebrate gospel singer Shirley Caeasar (born October 13, 1938) with a medley including “You’re Next in Line,” an excerpt from Gospel: A Joyful Sound, a concert Caesar and her …
Posted in: Birthdays, Composers, Concerts and Events, Jazz, Musicians, Special Collections