The following is a guest post from Dr Elena Artamonova, Lecturer and Deputy Director of the Research Centre for Slavonic Studies and Member of the Lancashire Research Centre for Migration, Diaspora, and Exile (MIDEX), University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom.

September 28 marked the 100th Birthday Anniversary of violist, composer-orchestrator and conductor, Rudolf Barshai, whose papers arrived at the Music Division the same month.

The name Rudolf Borisovich Barshai (1924-2010) is recognized around the globe. One of the legendary musicians of the second half of the twentieth century, his tireless and far-reaching commitment and enduring dedication to music are striking even today. He actively collaborated with Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergey Prokofiev, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Isaac Stern, Steven Isserlis CBE, Emil Gilels, Sviatoslav Richter, Peter Donohoe CBE, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Julia Varady, Dame Janet Baker, Sir Thomas Allen and many more. The Moscow Chamber Orchestra (MCO) under the direction of Barshai, its founder and permanent artistic director and conductor throughout 1955-1976, won international recognition for its exceptional level of performance and expressiveness of musical reading of works of different eras and styles.

The recipient of international awards, including the Gramophone Award and Cannes Classical Music Award, Barshai’s numerous recordings with leading orchestras starting from the early 1950s on the Melodiya, EMI, ICA, Decca, and Deutsche Grammophon labels won critical acclaim. Barshai’s unique instrumentations for viola, for string quartet, his chamber symphonies, and his completion of Gustav Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 10 and Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Art of Fugue” (BWV 1080), are endless sources of inspiration for new generations. The name of Rudolf Barshai is inseparable from the achievements of Russian musical culture and of the world musical heritage.

A significant part of the currently unprocessed Rudolf Barshai Papers consists of scores and orchestral parts enriched with his personal annotations. This material offers tremendous value to future generations of musicians. It reveals the maestro’s dedication and thorough work in bringing the original intention of the composer to the fore and in achieving the ideal orchestral sound.

Now that this remarkable heritage is available for study, it preserves great importance for the musical community. It will undoubtedly inspire deeper research and understanding and enhance the quality of musicianship.

While every week at the Library offers something exciting for visitors, researchers and staff, there are certain occasions (like this week) when there is a confluence of musical activity that should perk up everyone’s ears. Three major events will grace the Coolidge Auditorium stage, featuring a Broadway and film star, a stellar vocal group comprising graduates of the Thomanerchor in Leipzig (that’s the chorus that J.S. Bach led at Thomaskirche) and a blockbuster evening of chamber music with the Belcea and Ébène Quartets. Attendees of each event will have a unique chance to see items from the Music Division’s collections.

On Wednesday, November 13 at 12 p.m., the Library is hosting Tony and Grammy Award-winning performer Leslie Odom, Jr. in Conversation with Ken Biberaj. This highly anticipated event offers attendees a chance to hear a consummate creator and performer who is accomplished on Broadway, on the silver screen, as an author (“Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Give Up”), and as a recording artist. You might know Odom Jr. from his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton, or for his more recent sensational performance in Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch. The Library is grateful to co-presenters Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Speakers and Coffee with Ken for their collaboration. A display of musical theater collections and items from the Alexander Hamilton Papers will be on display in the Whittall Pavilion immediately following the event. A limited number of advance tickets are available here. If the event is listed as sold out, RUSH passes will be distributed at the door for space available admission.

The hundredth anniversary celebration of the Music Division’s concert series, Concerts from the Library of Congress, continues on Friday, November 15 at 8 p.m. with an appearance by amarcord. The five voices of amarcord take us on a journey half a millennium in the making. The quintet was founded over thirty years ago by graduates of the famed Thomanerchor in Leipzig—the “a ca-fellas” of amarcord are in their prime and equally at home with music old and new. The program traverses Renaissance fare from Josquin to Schütz, German Romantics from Schubert to Wagner, Ethel Smyth, and music by living composers including Joanne Metcalf, Vanessa Lann, Sydney Marquez Boquiren and Steven Sametz. There will be a preconcert conversation with the artists at 6:30 p.m. in the Whittall Pavilion. A limited number of advance tickets are available here. If the event is listed as sold out, RUSH passes will be distributed at the door for space available admission.

On Saturday, November 16 at 8 p.m., the Belcea Quartet and Quatuor Ébène—two of Europe’s most distinguished string quartets—come together for a splendid concert offering masterly performances of monumental works of the chamber music repertoire. Written when both composers were still in their teens, the Mendelssohn and Enescu octets are prodigious creations, symphonic in concept and impact, with gorgeous melodies and rich, multilayered textures. Seize the opportunity to experience these two extraordinary works in one evening. There will be a preconcert lecture by David Plylar of the Music Division at 6:30 p.m. in the Whittall Pavilion. A limited number of advance tickets are available here. If the event is listed as sold out, RUSH passes will be distributed at the door for space available admission.

We invite you to explore the remainder of the fall 2024 concert series lineup (click the image below). Stay tuned for the winter/spring 2025 series announcement in December.

The following is a guest post by Loras John Schissel, Senior Music Specialist, Music Division.

To commemorate Veterans Day (known formerly as Armistice Day), we present a sketch of an important American arranger, composer, and conductor who broke the color barrier in the U.S. armed forces in 1918. This man was Bandmaster William “Will” Henry Bennet Vodery (1885-1951). Vodery was born in Philadelphia and raised in a home that was frequented by many notable Black theater performers. He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he studied with Canadian composer and organist Hugh A. Clarke.  He began his professional career as music director of Washington, D.C.’s Howard Theatre.

Several important people figure prominently in this story. By way of a brief introduction, we present the following supporting cast:

General of the Armies John J. Pershing (1860-1948). Decorated five-star U.S. general. He served most famously as commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I from 1917 to 1920. Pershing was deeply committed to the unifying and morale-boosting power of music upon his troops.

Walter Damrosch (1862-1950). An important American conductor, composer, and educator. Damrosch was part of a musical dynasty in the U.S. that still loom large. The family reach can be seen in such institutions as the New York Philharmonic, the Juilliard School, and the Mannes School of Music. Damrosch was the conductor and host of an important music education radio program – “The NBC Music Appreciation Hour” from 1928 to 1942.

André Caplet (1878-1925). A French composer, conductor, and educator. Caplet is largely remembered as a close friend of composer Claude Debussy. Debussy entrusted Caplet with the orchestration of several of his popular works. Caplet enlisted in the French Army and was badly wounded in 1915.

Albert Stoessel (1894-1943). An American conductor, composer, violinist, and educator. Stoessel rose to prominence as a violin soloist before becoming a conductor and composer of note. Stoessel founded the music program at New York University. When the Damrosch School merged with the Juilliard School, Stoessel was hired to develop the orchestra and opera departments. Stoessel was also the Music Director of the Chautauqua Symphony as well as Oratorio Society of New York.

Francis Casadesus (1870-1954). A French composer, critic, and educator. The Casadesus family in French music is rivaled only by the Bach’s of Germany. The family is still a major musical force (within many genres) in France to this day.

What prompted this essay was a chance perusal of a World War I scrapbook created by and preserved in the Albert Stoessel Papers in the Music Division at the Library of Congress. Therein, I found a photograph of the second graduating class from the U.S. Army Bandmaster School at Chaumont, France:

As the war was rapidly coming to its conclusion, General Pershing decided to focus his attention on the developing the quality of musicians and bandmasters under his command. By chance, conductor Walter Damrosch was in France engaged in organizing concerts for the benefit of the Allies. Pershing sent for Damrosch to discuss the establishment of a school of music at his headquarters in Chaumont. With the able assistance of Lieutenant Michel D. Weill (an American serving in the French Army), Damrosch was able to assemble a very distinguished faculty.

Damrosch examined over 200 bandmasters then stationed in France. With the assistance of Francis Casadesus, a faculty of eight musicians from the French Ministry of War as well as Lieutenant Albert Stoessel were assembled in a renovated mill near General Pershing’s headquarters at Chaumont.

One of the outstanding bandmasters examined by Damrosch was a Philadelphia-born composer, arranger, and conductor, Bandmaster Will Vodery. He would go on to a career akin to that of Robert Russell Bennett for Broadway and film, yet while facing the challenges of being a Black man in the early 20^th century. Throughout his long and distinguish career, Vodery was the official arranger for the “Ziegfeld Follies,” numerous Broadway and traveling shows, and one of the arrangers for the first production of Kern and Hammerstein’s “Show Boat.” Vodery would later go to Hollywood as arranger for the Fox Studios. He is best remembered today as the orchestrator of George Gershwin’s early opera, “Blue Monday.”

During the war, Vodery was Bandmaster of the 807^th Infantry, and its successes were carried widely in the Black-owned newspapers of the time. Vodery reported to Chaumont for training sometime after January of 1919. The only Black student in a class of about 40 bandmasters, Vodery distinguished himself honorably by graduating “top of his class.”

The end of the war, and return of the troops back to the United States, would finally close the Bandmaster School at Chaumont. Casadesus and Damrosch thought that their pioneering school was too important to die on the vine. With the assistance of the French government, the U.S. Army Bandmaster School was moved from Chaumont to the Louis XV wing of the Chateau of Fontainebleau in 1921 to become the Conservatoire Américain de Fontainebleau. Numerous Americans have studied there, and names like Nadia Boulanger, Aaron Copland, and our recently departed musical force Quincy Jones comes to mind. But it all started with a stellar musician of impeccable credentials who broke the color barrier 30 years before President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 which stated that “there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.”

So we offer a Veterans Day salute to a distinguished musician and patriot, Will Vodery.

The following is a guest post contributed by Archivist Janet McKinney in the Music Division’s Acquisitions and Processing Section.

As a musical theater enthusiast, I was excited to be the archivist assigned to process the papers of composer, pianist, and conductor Marvin Hamlisch (1944-2012). As I expected, I found some interesting musical theater material in his papers, such as a script and scores for seven selections from a musical based on Tennessee Williams’s “The Glass Menagerie,” written when Hamlisch was 16 years old. As work progressed on the collection, however, I discovered that the richest research potential lies within the film music material.

The film and television scores in the Marvin Hamlisch Papers span the entire duration of Hamlisch’s compositional career, from his first film score in 1968, “The Swimmer,” through the last film Hamlisch worked on, “Behind the Candelabra” (released posthumously in 2013). The documents vary from title to title and offer insight into various stages of the compositional process.

Some films are represented by scores from early in the compositional process—sketch scores or short scores written in Hamlisch’s own hand. They may display cue numbers, click track information, or directions to the orchestrator. Short caption titles indicate the action or scene. The score below for “The Sting” (1973) is for “Cue 101A” and is written for a scene involving the characters Luther and Hooker (played by Robert Earl Jones and Robert Redford). Researchers can see cross-outs and erasures, indicating changes Hamlisch made for the music to better serve the action during the scene.

Orchestrators and arrangers play a vital role in creating the soundscape of a film, and Hamlisch worked with a number of the leading experts of the industry. Thirty-seven arrangers or orchestrators are represented in the collection, the most frequent being Billy Byers (1927-1996), Jack Hayes (1919-2011), Richard Hazard (1921-2000), and Torrie Zito (1933-2009). Film titles in the collection include many full scores hand-written by these musicians. Shown below is the “Main Title” from “The Way We Were” (1973), orchestrated by Herb Spencer (1905-1992) with a vocal line for Barbra Streisand. The Music Division has a long history of collecting the scores of significant orchestrators and arrangers, and Hamlisch’s papers provide a consequential complement to these holdings.

Other types of film music materials found in the Hamlisch Papers include piano-vocal scores, lead sheets, piano-conductor scores, and instrumental parts used for recording sessions. In the piano-vocal score below for “Nobody Does It Better” from “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977), Hamlisch specifies additional piano accompaniment on the second verse, elaborating upon the accompaniment from the first verse.

I have highlighted the film music materials for their research value, but the remainder of the collection is also full of potential. Show music and individual works further document Hamlisch as a composer, while photographs, programs, set lists, and scrapbooks document Hamlisch as a performer and conductor. Hamlisch was honored with all four major American entertainment awards: the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, and the Tony. He also received the Pulitzer Prize, and the Hamlisch Papers is the only location in which all of these awards are maintained as part of a single collection. Visit the Performing Arts Reading Room in the Music Division to discover more about the Marvin Hamlisch Papers and his career!

The following is a guest post by Ray White, Senior Music Specialist, Music Division.

Halloween (or All Hallows’ Eve) marks the beginning of a “triduum” (a Latin term for a three-day period) in which the Western Christian church has traditionally contemplated persons who have died. All Hallows’ Day (or more commonly, All Saints’ Day), with origins dating back to the eighth century and usually observed on November 1, commemorates all Christian saints and martyrs. All Souls’ Day, November 2, is wider in scope, commemorating all Christians who have died. Some Christian practices now combine All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day into a single observance (usually called All Saints’ Day, and sometimes held on the first Sunday in November). The “Día de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead), a two-day observance on November 1 and 2, has its roots in this “triduum;” it was largely developed in Mexico but has come to be commemorated elsewhere as well.

In recognition of this season, the Music Division wishes to highlight an extraordinary recent acquisition—a manuscript volume now termed “Last Rites and Matins of the Dead.” This small volume measures just over eight inches tall and slightly less than six inches wide and was created for the use of itinerant Dominican priests (hence, its small size) as they visited the mortally ill and as they prayed over the deceased. It contains the liturgy, music, readings, and instructions for priests, on 53 handwritten pages (22 of them with the appropriate chants notated on four-line staves). It shows evidence of long and steady use.

One of the most remarkable features of this volume is its sheer age. Although it is undated, the style of the manuscript notation indicates that it was produced in Southern France probably between the years 1375 and 1425, thus making it between 600 and 650 years old. It provides an excellent addition to the Music Division’s already-rich holdings of medieval chant manuscript sources but which do not include any example comparable to this one. Furthermore, France is the least-represented country of origin among the Music Division’s collection of books and fragments of liturgical chants, so this volume expands the opportunities to study the geographical differences in notation, format, and illuminations.

The first section of the manuscript relates to the Visitation of the Sick, during which the priest would bless the house with holy water, confess the individual, administer communion, and anoint the individual with holy oil. This part of the manuscript follows with the “commendation anime” (the commendation of the soul for its transition to the afterlife) which includes a lengthy litany and several prayers and blessings.

The second and longer section of the manuscript provides the liturgy performed on the eve of a funeral, consisting of antiphons, versicles and responses, nine readings from the biblical Book of Job, responsories, and alternative prayers for men, women, and bishops. In addition, there are prayers for the Absolution of the Dead, to be recited over the coffin after the funeral mass and before the entombment. The manuscript concludes with the opening of “In Paradisum” (In Paradise), which would be sung during the procession to the burial site.

And to return to the season of Halloween (or Allhallowtide), this manuscript is a significant addition to the Music Division’s resources for projects relating to music composed on the topic of death. The Music Division already holds scores for numerous Requiem mass settings as well as for many individual works relating to death, such as Franz Liszt’s “Totentanz” (or Dance of the Dead, for piano and orchestra, 1849/1859), Sergei Rachmaninov’s symphonic poem “Isle of the Dead” (1909), Frederic Chopin’s “Funeral March” (the third movement of his Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat major, composed in 1837) and hundreds of shorter works from every period of music history. This one volume broadens the scope of the Music Division’s holdings on this topic back to the Middle Ages and represents some of the earliest examples of this area of music.

This manuscript has been cataloged with the call number BX2035.6 .F85 1375 Music Case, and it may be examined in the Performing Arts Reading Room of the Library of Congress.

Each year on October 30, the Library’s Music Division presents its Founder’s Day concert. This homage to Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (1864-1953), namesake of our concert hall and founder of our world-renowned concert series, is a longstanding tradition that ensures our appreciation for Mrs. Coolidge’s impact remains strong. We also find joy in sharing Mrs. Coolidge’s story and impact with audiences who are new to the series. This year’s Founder’s Day concert (October 30, 2024, 8 p.m.) features flutist Emi Ferguson and ruckus in an eclectic concert that juxtaposes the music of Georg Philipp Telemann and György Ligeti. Click here to learn more.

Mrs. Coolidge: The Legend

Mrs. Coolidge was born and raised in Chicago to two parents who doted on her and were major supporters of the arts. She trained as a pianist, studied composition, and became one of the first women to appear as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony. After attending boarding school and traveling throughout Europe, she returned to the U.S. and married Frederic Shurtleff Coolidge (1865-1915). Tragedy struck in 1915 and 1916, with Coolidge’s father, mother, and husband all passing away within 18 months of each other. During this period, she began to carry on her father’s work as a philanthropist, providing an initial $100,000 endowment to create Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s musicians’ pension fund. She also built her first of four concert halls, Sprague Hall at Yale University, as a tribute to her late father. She also built the South Mountain Concert Hall (Pittsfield, Massachusetts; 1918), the Coolidge Auditorium (Library of Congress, Washington, DC; 1925), and the concert hall at Mills College (Oakland, California; 1928).

Mrs. Coolidge was a devoted listener and performer of chamber music, both standard repertoire and contemporary. She believed firmly in the importance of exposing American audiences to chamber music and invested extensive financial resources in presenting chamber music concerts at festivals, libraries, and cultural institutions. She also believed in advancing chamber music repertoire by commissioning living composers and ensuring their works would be performed and heard, even if they were not always to her own liking.

In the early 1920s, Mrs. Coolidge developed a friendship with Carl Engel (1883-1944), who was the Chief of the Music Division at the time. The two spent many months corresponding about Mrs. Coolidge’s desire to find a home for the manuscripts of works she commissioned and to explore the possibility of her sponsoring concerts in Washington, D.C. These discussions were in part motivated by Mrs. Coolidge’s desire to ensure that her efforts in promoting chamber music would sustain far past her own time on earth. Having a stable institutional partner was viewed as the key ingredient.

After many months of advocating to Librarian of Congress Dr. Herbert Putnam, Coolidge and Engel received the approval to present a series of “pilot” concerts in February 7-9, 1924, at the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery, which had recently built a charming auditorium suitable for chamber music. These performances drew members of Congress, diplomats, and dignitaries from as far away as Boston and New York. They were a huge success and gave Coolidge and Engel the proof of concept needed to go to the next stage of their plan: to establish a concert series at the Library of Congress.

While several obstacles stood in their way, Mrs. Coolidge and Engel persisted in their efforts. When they were told there could not be concerts at the Library because there was no concert hall, Mrs. Coolidge said she would fund the construction of an auditorium. When she was told there was no legal mechanism for the Library to accept private funds to build the concert hall, save a new act of Congress, she was more than happy to go straight to Congress to get support for her plan. The first legislation to accept Mrs. Coolidge’s funds for the building the hall was introduced in November 1924 and it was on President Coolidge’s desk (no relation) in January of 1925 for signature. Separate legislation was required to accept and create the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation in the Library of Congress, which would fund the concerts and commissioning program in perpetuity. Mrs. Coolidge’s endowment was the first trust fund established within the Library of Congress using private funds.

The Coolidge Auditorium was miraculously built in ten months, a feat that nobody can envision being repeated in modern times. Coolidge moved the federal government in a way few have managed, but her staying power is revealed in the purpose of her efforts, as she expressed to Putnam in 1926:

“If the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation might foster the interests of musicians, both creative and interpretative, by freeing them from the power of advertising middlemen such as manufacturers, managers, publishers and critics, I should consider it a service, rendered by a small corner of our Government, to Art, to America, and therefore to the idealism of the world.”

Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge desired to invite others into the world of music that saved her during her darkest hours. She believed in the good that government could do in nurturing the arts, and her vision was larger than just building concert halls and presenting free concerts. She wanted the arts to be central to American civic identity.

Since 1925, the Music Division has presented thousands of concerts, radio broadcasts, lectures, films, and educational programs. While Mrs. Coolidge’s efforts inspired many to follow in her footsteps with financial support—including the Friends of Music, Gertrude Clarke Whittall, and more—she is, without question, the reason why the series exists. Millions of Americans and people around the world have been touched by the concert series, whether through tuning in to a concert on the radio from California or traveling to the Library to hear unique performance by leading artists, presented in the presence of the manuscripts and archival material that tell the story of the creative process.

All of us in the Music Division owe Mrs. Coolidge our gratitude for her vision, fortitude and savvy as a philanthropist. The traditions she started at the Library have resulted in almost 700 new works in the musical canon (the manuscripts of which become part of the Library’s collections), enriching cultural experiences that many experience over decades and proof that a “government of the people, for the people, and by the people” (The Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln, 1863) can and should have a role in preserving and advancing the arts.

We invite you to experience Concerts from the Library of Congress this season, as we continue our celebration of its centennial.

Founder’s Day Concerts from the Archive

For Further Study

• Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Uncut: Conversation with Coolidge Exhibit Curators & Filmmaker Marjorie Short (October 31, 2015)
• Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation Collection – Finding Aid
• “The Coolidge Legacy” by Cyrilla Barr (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1997) – e-book
• “Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge: American Patron of Music” by Cyrilla Barr (New York: Schirmer Books, 1998)
• Cyrilla Barr Research Materials on Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge – Finding Aid

Previously on In the Muse

• Musical Birthday Wishes to Mrs. Coolidge (October 29, 2020)
• A Musical League of Nations: The 1918 Berkshire Festival of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (September 19, 2018)
• Coolidge Uncut (October 28, 2015)
• New Exhibit! Chamber Music: The Life and Legacy of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (August 27, 2015)
• Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge @ 150 (October 29, 2014)

On Friday, October 18, the Music Division had the honor of presenting 10-time Grammy winner, NEA Jazz Master, “El Sonero Mayor,” American pianist, composer, arranger, band leader and social activist, Mr. Eddie Palmieri. In 1975, Palmieri won the first-ever Grammy in the category of Best Latin Music Recording with his album “The Sun of Latin Music.” In 2009, the Library of Congress inducted his album “Azucar Pa’ Ti” in the National Recording Registry to preserve it for future generations due to its cultural significance. With a career that spans for over seven decades, Eddie Palmieri is a true living cultural legend.

In an evening full of talent and charisma, Palmieri put the entire audience a gozar (“[to enjoy]”) proving that age is just a number. At 87 years young, he has so much joy to share. The evening began with a screening of the short documentary produced by Red Bull, “Eddie Palmieri: Revolution on Harlem River Drive.” The film centers on Eddie’s 1971 crossover album Harlem River Drive, which he described as “the the past, present and future.” Inspired by the shared struggles of the Latin and African American communities in New York, “Harlem River Drive” was a sonic call for union, justice and peace, blending Latin rhythms, funk and soul. Palmieri explained that the album didn’t achieve the commercial success he had hoped for. Despite the album’s commercial results, it was a musical success, with many referring to it as a work ahead of his time that will ultimately gain the recognition it deserves.

As the documentary concluded, the screen rose to reveal Palmieri  seated at the piano. He was met with a standing ovation and the rumba began.  He opened the evening with his characteristic sense of humor saying, “The rest of the band didn’t show up yet because I have them at minimum wage and they are having a meeting.” Accompanied by virtuoso musicians Luques Curtis on bass, Louis Fouche on alto saxophone and Camilo Molina on drums, Palmieri performed many of his legendary masterpieces arranged for piano quartet, including “Life,” a sentimental ballad dedicated to his late wife Iraida, “Adoración” from his album “Sentido,” and Tito Puente’s “Picadillo,” a piece included in his collaboration album with Cal Tjader “El Sonido Nuevo.” “Tito Puente to me was the greatest bandstand warriors of all times. He loved to perform, and he performed extremely well. He played the timbales uniquely and he also played vibraphone,” Palmieri shared. 

The program offered generous space for virtuosic improvisation, giving the audience the opportunity to witness fantastic music-making in real time. It was inspiring to observe the communication among musicians, their reactions to each another, and their ability to adapt to Palmieri’s unpredictable repertoire choices, called out spontaneously from the piano. During “Picadillo,” Palmieri stood up and shouted “clave, clave!”, and the enthusiastic audience joined in by clapping the clave rhythm to accompany bassist Luques Curtis in his solo. At the end of the piece Palmieri said, “You are such a great audience, that wherever we travel we are going to take you with us. So, when you get home, pack your suitcases!” 

Throughout his performance, the audience witness Palmieri’s signature piano technique, which showcases an intense finger and hand disassociation that allows him to play montuno with his left hand and other intricate rhythms and improvisations with his right. As he mentioned during the conversation we recorded, this technique was developed early in his career and notably present in his 1965 album “Azúca Pa’ Ti,” which solidified his reputation as a sonero (a leader/lead singer and improviser in some Latin music styles).   

For his final piece, Eddie took the mic and introduce his famous piece “Azúcar” and shared the story behind it. For years, his legendary orchestra La Perfecta, closed its shows at The Palladium Ballroom in New York with this piece. “Azúcar” became a challenge between the dancers and the orchestra, with the dancers almost always losing because it was nine minutes and thirty seconds-long. “The dancers would say to each other, if you are going to dance ‘Azúcar’ make sure you leave after the piano solo; otherwise, you won’t make it,” Palmieri shared, making everyone laugh. The audience followed him as he screamed, groaned, laughed and reveled in the music through a nearly two- hour concert without intermission.

At the end of the evening, Susan Vita, Chief of the Music Division, took the stage to recognize Palmieri. She presented him with a certificate for his 2009 National Recording Registry induction for his album “Azuca Pa’ Ti” and a facsimile of the first page of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Palmieri is one of a select few living artists whose work is being preserved by the Library  and who has also performed at the historic Coolidge Auditorium stage.  

Thank you, Palmieri, for your many contributions, your talent and your humanity. Your gifts will remain with us forever.

This year we celebrate the 150^th anniversary of Arnold Schoenberg’s birth. The Library of Congress is the home to nearly all of Schoenberg’s music for string quartet, and over the course of two concerts given by the superb Quatuor Diotima, we will explore most of what we have, including:

• String Quartet in D major (1897)
• String Quartet no. 1 in D minor, op. 7
• String Quartet no. 3, op. 30
• String Quartet no. 4, op. 37

Two of these—the final two quartets—were commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. While we are unable to program the second quartet this time (which includes a vocal part in two of the movements), we are making up for it by including two more classic works by other composers in Schoenberg’s orbit:

• Alban Berg’s “Lyric Suite”
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 34

This is essential repertoire of incredible depth and vitality—rarely can one access live performances of such a collection of works. Preceding the first concert will be a lecture by Harvey Sachs, author of “Schoenberg: Why He Matters,” and then we will hear from the performers before the matinee concert the next day.

As a bonus, this is a unique opportunity to hear this incredible music on the Library’s Stradivari instruments.

Learn more about Arnold Schoenberg at the Library of Congress.

Please check for ticket availability because returned tickets will be available as we receive them. If the concert is sold out, no worries! You can still come the day of the concert. Starting 2 hours in advance of the start time we will have numbered RUSH space available passes. While we cannot guarantee seats for walk-up guests, there is a high likelihood that they will be seated due to the percentage of no-shows and last-minute returns. Any seats not occupied 5 minutes before the start time of the concert will be released to RUSH pass holders. For more information about each concert, please see below. We hope to see you there!

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Friday, October 25, 8 p.m., Coolidge Auditorium: Quatuor Diotima, Program I
6:30pm: Lecture by Harvey Sachs, author of “Schoenberg: Why He Matters,” Whittall Pavilion

In honor of the 150th anniversary of Arnold Schoenberg’s birth, we will survey many of his works for string quartet held in manuscript at the Library of Congress. The eloquent and indefatigable Quatuor Diotima offers two striking programs over the course of two days that are not to be missed, putting on display the passion, wit and craft of this oft-misunderstood artist. The first program includes the unnumbered D-major quartet that Schoenberg composed in 1897, a harbinger of other Romantic works to come. It is paired with Schoenberg’s final quartet, commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge in 1936. Both manuscripts are held at the Library, along with sketch material for Alban Berg’s enigmatic “Lyric Suite” from 1925-26.

Program:
Arnold Schoenberg
String Quartet in D major, 1897
String Quartet no. 4, op. 37

Alban Berg
“Lyric Suite”
Find more information here

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Saturday, October 26, 2 p.m., Coolidge Auditorium: Quatuor Diotima, Program II
12:30pm: Conversation with the Artists, Whittall Pavilion

In honor of the 150th anniversary of Arnold Schoenberg’s birth, we will survey many of his works for string quartet held in manuscript at the Library of Congress. The eloquent and indefatigable Quatuor Diotima offers two striking programs over the course of two days that are not to be missed, putting on display the passion, wit, and craft of this oft-misunderstood artist. The quartet’s second program includes the exciting third quartet by Erich Korngold, whose collection is held at the Library. We will also hear two more Schoenberg quartets: the third quartet from 1927, which was also commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, and the first string quartet, composed over twenty years earlier—a monumental endeavor cast in a single movement.

Program:
Erich Korngold
String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 34

Arnold Schoenberg
String Quartet no. 3, op. 30
String Quartet no. 1, op. 7
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The Music Division’s Annegret Fauser and Tim Carter Research Fellowship (“the Fellowship”) is made possible by a generous donation of Drs. Fauser and Carter in 2022. For decades, Drs. Fauser and Carter have been regular researchers in the Performing Arts Reading Room and good friends to the Music Division.

The purpose of the award is to ensure support for post-doctoral (or equivalent) researchers of any nationality engaging in projects centered on collections held within the Library’s Music Division. Recipients may engage with other research collections in the Library or elsewhere in Washington, DC, but the primary focus will be the Music Division collections. The award will be a stipend of up to $2,000 and is to be used to cover travel (e.g., airfare, train, mileage, etc.) to and from Washington, D.C., overnight accommodations, as well as other research expenses. The Fellowship will be awarded to applicants proposing well-conceived projects that will primarily use the Music Division’s collections.

Eligibility

Post-doctoral (or equivalent) researchers with a need for the Fellowship support are encouraged to apply. All researchers must meet the requirements of the reading rooms that they plan to access during their research visit. Consult Performing Arts Reading Room requirements on the Reading Room website. Individuals who are not U.S. residents but who otherwise meet the above academic qualifications may also apply and be considered for a Fellowship, contingent upon the applicant’s visa eligibility.

In the interest of increasing awareness and extending documentation of Library of Congress collections, Fellows are required to make use of the Music Division’s extensive collections; be in residence for a minimum of at least five business days during the award period; and share information derived from their research at the Library through a publication, public lecture (or other event), or digital humanities project within twelve months of completing their research at the Library (or have acceptance for publication within twelve months). Each Fellowship recipient must also notify the selection committee once their publication is completed and provide a hyperlink to the work. There must be some form of acknowledgment within all related presentations, events, and publications that research was supported by the Fellowship.

What are the application requirements?

Please submit the following via email submission to [email protected] (accepted only via email):

1. An up-to-date résumé or curriculum vita (brief) providing information as to education, degrees received, fellowships and honors, publications, positions held, and other pertinent information.
2. A one-page abstract (250 words maximum) that specifies how the proposed project is related to the research that features the Music Division’s collections or more broadly within the field of music; and identifies specifically which Library collections the applicant intends to utilize in research during the required period of residency at the Library of Congress.
3. A description of the proposed project (no longer than five pages) including (a) accomplishments to date, (b) a timetable for completion, (c) an itemized budget (including necessary travel and research expenses), (d) plans for use of the Library of Congress collections, and (e) other pertinent information, including plans for publication. (Font no smaller than 11 point, double-spaced).
4. Two letters of recommendation. Please give your recommenders copies of your proposal and ask them to comment on your strengths and weaknesses, the value of the proposed project, and your abilities to carry out the project as described.
5. Applications lacking any of these required components will automatically be eliminated from review.

When will the Fellowship begin? 

The Fellowship can start at the Music Division in the James Madison Building after May 12, 2025, but should complete by August 29, 2025. The Fellowship is required to be conducted in person. Completed applications are due by midnight February 17, 2025; notification will occur in March 2025.

Selection process

Each application will be reviewed by the selection committee composed of the Music Division’s Assistant Chief, the Head of Acquisitions and Processing, and the Head of Reader Services. The Library reserves the right to not award the Fellowship or to award more than one Fellowship.

Additional benefits for the applicant during their residency at the Library

The Fellow will receive a welcome tour of the Library by the Music Division’s Head of Acquisitions & Processing and Head of Reader Services. The tour will include how to find relevant reading rooms, the location of various amenities, and introductions to appropriate staff. This overview will allow the Fellow to focus on their research rather than losing valuable time trying find out how to navigate the Library.

The following is a guest post from Dr. Paul Sommerfeld, Senior Music Reference Specialist.

In celebration of Henry Mancini at 100 and the opening of the Henry Mancini Archive in the Music Division, we take particular pride in announcing a celebratory concert to be performed tonight, on September 28^th at 8pm, in the historic Coolidge Auditorium in the Library of Congress.  This program will feature Monica Mancini and husband Gregg Field, and the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra of the Frost School of Music at the University Of Miami, conducted by Scott Flavin.

With over 900 archival boxes spanning 393 linear feet (for context, a football field spans 360 feet), the papers of Henry Mancini rank among the Music Division’s largest collections. Mancini’s original manuscripts, sketches, and printed scores account for nearly 85% of the collection. His manuscript materials for all the film and television works featured on tonight’s program—including “The Pink Panther,” “The Thornbirds,” “Charade,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Days of Wine and Roses,” “Two for the Road,” “Peter Gunn,” and the iconic “Baby Elephant Walk” from “Hatari!”—demonstrate the composer’s proliferation in American culture. Beyond the well-known films and television programs themselves, Mancini’s signature arrangements of their famous tunes for live performances, album projects, and other productions also exist within the collection. These arrangements provide us vital glimpses into the composer’s deftness at orchestration and arrangement to suite the needs of a moment, his ability to spin new life into familiar tunes, and our ability to explore and understand his career through its many developments.

Equally compelling within the collection are the production files, business papers, cue sheets, correspondence, photographs, and other materials that document how not only films and television series are made but also how music can and does maintain a pivotal role in shaping production. Mancini’s scoring innovations for “Peter Gunn” (1958–1961), which featured more original music than any previous television series, infused television music with the sounds of popular genres like jazz and rock and roll. In addition to the manuscript scores and sketches, the collection includes over forty scripts from the series as well as cue sheets that tracked what pieces of music appeared in each episode. These materials allow us to explore the business of television production and how music operates at the center of art and commerce within it.

Those individuals wishing to learn more about Mancini’s thoughts on music, orchestration, and his own life will find similar richness in the collection Included are the composer’s own drafts of his many writings, including his book on orchestration, Sounds and Scores, and annotated drafts of his autobiography. Thus, anyone wishing to study, understand, and enjoy Mancini’s music can do so from several vantage points: his musical scores and arrangements, production files, and his own writings. Together, these perspectives help us explore and understand Mancini and his signature, quintessential sound.