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Posted by: Pat Padua
The Music Division wishes you a happy New Year’s Eve. If you find your midnight kiss watched over by the winking satellite pictured in “Under the Midnight Moon,” from the Historic Sheet Music Collection, 1800-1922 in the Performing Arts Encylcopedia – please, call a cab. Celebrate New Year’s Day with the Bernsteins with this holiday greeting …
Posted in: Holidays, Sheet Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Larry Appelbaum
Pianist, composer Dr. Billy Taylor did so many things so well for so long, it’s hard to believe he’s now gone. Taylor grew up in Washington D.C. and told me a story about being 11 years old and seeing his hero Fats Waller at the Lincoln Theater. He waited around backstage to say how much …
Posted in: In Memoriam, Jazz, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
Earlier this month, the Music Division welcomed five graduate students from The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University for a week-long research experience as they scoured through our collections in hopes of developing a new concert program based on materials only available at the Library of Congress. Tracy Wu (violin), Clara Yang (cello), Makiko …
Posted in: Concerts and Events, Interviews
Posted by: Pat Padua
The first time I read Edgar Allan Poe’s 1845 poem “The Bells,” I thought it was unusually upbeat for a work by the master of the macabre. But upon further reading, those clamorous consonants, that constant clanging, the “time, time, time,” and “tinkle, tinkle, tinkle” are entirely in line with the likes of “The Telltale …
Posted in: Holidays, Sheet Music
Posted by: Cait Miller
The following is a guest post by Contract Archivist Janet McKinney. At a time of year when the airwaves are saturated with holiday music, I continually hear the strains of one man’s iconic songs stand out from the rest – those of Irving Berlin (1888-1989). It occurred to me that many may not associate these …
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, Holidays, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by Senior Music Specialist Mark Horowitz. As it’s the holiday season, it seems appropriate to express thanks for a series of extraordinary opportunities that the Music Division has afforded me…and to celebrate some of the other good things they lead to. It mostly started in 1996 with a grant …
Posted in: Composers, Special Collections
Posted by: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by Senior Music Specialist Robin Rausch. The weekend of December 3-5, I participated in a MacDowell Festival & Symposium at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, to commemorate the 150th birthday (on December 18th) of the distinguished American composer Edward MacDowell. MacDowell is generally acknowledged to be the first American …
Posted in: Composers, 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
The Sybarite5 will bring their eclectic repertoire, which features works by Dvořák, Mozart, Astor Piazolla and Radiohead, to the Coolidge Auditorium Saturday night, December 18th. The group will be performing on Stradivarius instruments from the Music Division’s priceless collection. Advanced tickets are no longer available, but patrons are encouraged to try for stand-by tickets starting at …
Posted in: Concerts and Events, Interviews, Musicians