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Posted by: Libby Smigel
Film music and musical theater buffs can now explore the scores and papers of composer-arranger Marvin Hamlisch in the Library of Congress Performing Arts Reading Room. Archivist Janet McKinney describes the range of materials, which include photographs, programs, scrapbooks, staging lists, and even Hamlisch's entertainment trophies.
Posted in: Composers, Conductors, Film Music, Guest bloggers, Musical Theater, New finding aid
Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres
Learn about six new collection finding aids that have been published by the Library's Music Division. These finding aids provide bibliographic access to the Irwin Bazelon Papers, Harry Chapin Collection, Ann Murphy Collection on the Rockettes and Radio City Music Hall, Alfred Newman Film Music Manuscripts, Park Avenue Synagogue Commissioning Project Correspondence and Hans Spialek Papers.
Posted in: Commissions, Composers, Conductors, Curators, Dance, Film Music, Guest bloggers, LGBTQ+, Musicians, New Acquisitions, New finding aid, New Music, Sacred music, Sheet Music, Special Collections, Women in Dance
Posted by: Heather Darnell
During last Sunday’s Oscars, many were quick to note the parallels between Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” and Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” from the 1953 film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. ”The “Ken Dance” took many cues from pop culture and vintage Hollywood to play on gender stereotypes. However, there was …
Posted in: Dance, Film Music, Women in Dance
Posted by: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres
The Library of Congress is proud to offer free digital programming from its collections for the enjoyment of audiences that are not able to attend our live events in Washington, D.C. The Music Division works with colleagues throughout the Library to ensure that past events in the Concerts from the Library of Congress series, educational …
Posted in: African American History, Birthdays, Commissions, Composers, Concerts and Events, Digital Collections, Film Music, Instrumentalists, Interviews, Jazz, Jewish American History, LGBTQ+, Musical Instruments, Musical Theater, Musicians, New Music, Vocalists
Posted by: Cait Miller
This is a guest post from Head of Acquisitions & Processing Vin Novara, with Senior Music Specialists Mark Eden Horowitz, Kate Rivers, and Ray White. Nick Hornby’s book “High Fidelity” (1995) features an entertaining look at the quirks of people who intensely collect on music. Top five lists feature prominently throughout the work. As …
Posted in: Commissions, Composers, Conductors, Curators, Film Music, Guest bloggers, Musicians, New Acquisitions, New Music, Sheet Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Heather Darnell
The following is a guest post by Music Division Assistant Chief, Nicholas Brown. In honor of this Saturday’s National Book Festival, the Music Division is pleased to share a page-to-screen tidbit relating to the new romantic comedy film “Red, White & Royal Blue” (Prime, 2023) that is being released on August 11, 2023. Based on …
Posted in: Composers, Film Music, Musical Theater, Theater, Vocalists
Posted by: David Plylar
We are delighted that our Salute to Strayhorn, a festival of events dedicated to the life and work of Billy Strayhorn, will take place in multiple venues at the Library of Congress from June 8-10. These events have been delayed for years due to forces beyond our control, but at last we will be returning …
Posted in: African American History, Composers, Concerts and Events, Film Music, Jazz, LGBTQ+, Musicians
Posted by: Morgen Stevens-Garmon
On December 3, 1947, A Streetcar Named Desire opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City. It was the third full-length play by Tennessee Williams, a 36-year-old writer whose Broadway debut, The Glass Menagerie, was just two years earlier. Streetcar ran for more than two years clocking in at 855 performances, the longest …
Posted in: Composers, Dance, Film Music, Theater
Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld
An obscure composer from the late 18th and early 19th century, Nicola Sampieri self-published most of his music with programmatic titles, intricate engravings, and specific instructions for performance that included both sound effects and visual displays.
Posted in: Composers, Film Music, Sheet Music