News from the Library of Congress
August 14, 2012
Library of Congress Presents a Season of “American Voices” in 2012-2013
Songs of America Project, John Adams Residency Are Highlights
The 2012-2013 Concerts from the Library of Congress season offers a packed lineup of 40 concerts, lectures, film screenings, master classes and workshops, all celebrating the rich tapestry of the nation’s musical heritage. Concerts kick off
Saturday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m., with a performance by the Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir.
The Library’s 87th concert season salutes great American voices from the past, including Woody Guthrie, John Philip Sousa, Victor Herbert, and John Cage. New voices in American composition are in focus throughout the year, in Library of Congress commissions from Nico Muhly, whose "Autogram" will be premiered by violinist Daniel Hope and pianist Jeffrey Kahane; and Chaya Czernowin, whose chamber ensemble work will be unveiled by Orchestra 2001. Top contemporary music ensembles ACME and yMusic will introduce new works by American composers under age 35.
October brings the launch of a two-year Songs of America project, which explores American history through five centuries of songs. Highlighting the project is George Crumb’s epic seventh and final volume of the American Songbooks song cycle.
Commemorating the Civil War sesquicentennial, the Library’s Music Division curators present a three-part miniseries mining its unmatched collections from the period: a 2,500-item
Civil War Sheet-Music Collection and the personal archive of President Abraham Lincoln’s bandmaster, Francis M. Scala. On tap is a workshop and performance on the legacy of African American spirituals during the Civil War, a panel discussion on the role of music in the Lincoln White House and a concert by "The President’s Own" United States Marine Band. These events are presented in conjunction with a major Library of Congress exhibition, "
The Civil War in America," Nov. 12, 2012-May 2013.
Wrapping up the season in May 2013 will be the week-long residency of composer John Adams. Under the auspices of the Library’s Dina Koston and Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music, Adams will curate an exciting mini-festival showcasing young artists, including the Attacca Quartet and violinist Jennifer Koh.. Adams will also conduct the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) in works by Stravinsky and Schoenberg and Adams’s "Son of Chamber Symphony."
The Concerts from the Library of Congress series is made possible through the generous support of endowments given to the Library by private donors. The series is presented free of charge to the public but requires tickets for admission. Tickets are distributed by TicketMaster at (202) 397-7328, (410) 547-7328 and (703) 573-7328. Various ticketing service charges apply. Although the supply of tickets may be exhausted, there are often empty seats at concert time. Interested patrons are encouraged to come to the Library by 6 p.m. on concert nights to wait in the standby line for no-show tickets. Tickets for events at the Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H Street, NE) are available through the Atlas Box Office at (202) 399-7993 or
www.atlasarts.org (external link).
Concerts from the Library of Congress 2012-2013
Unless otherwise noted, all concerts will be held at 8 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium located on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. Pre-concert presentations will be at 6:15 p.m. in the Whittall Pavilion unless otherwise noted, and these presentations do not require tickets. All programs are subject to change without notice.
*Asterisks indicate Songs of America programs.
Thursday, Sept. 6, at noon, Mary Pickford Theater *
John Cage Centennial Festival Event
"Musicircus"Henning Lohner’s riotous Musicircus film is a three-and-a-half-hour documentary of the "Musicircus" homage to John Cage, presented at New York’s Symphony Space shortly after his death in 1992. Preceding and following this film, screened for the first time in the United States, is Elliot Caplan’s haunting "Beach Birds for Camera," an adaptation of a dance work originally created for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
No tickets required
Tuesday, Oct. 2, at noon *
Barbara Heyman of Brooklyn College, City University of New York, presents "Samuel Barber: Serendipitous Discoveries."No tickets requiredPresented by the Library of Congress and the American Musicological Society
Saturday, Oct. 6
Moscow Sretensky Monastery ChoirThe world-renowned Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir performs a concert of sacred music from the Orthodox liturgy.
Ticket sale date: Sept. 5
Wednesday, Oct. 10
Violinist Pamela Frank and FriendsDvořák: Miniatures for two violins and viola, op. 75a; Schoenberg: "Verklärte Nacht," op. 4; Brahms: Sextet in B-flat major, op. 18;
Ticket sale date: Sept. 5Pre-concert presentation: David Plylar of the Library presents a lecture on "Developing Variations: Brahms, Schoenberg, and ‘Verklärte Nacht.’"
Friday, Oct. 12
Daniel Hope, violin and Jeffrey Kahane, pianoRavel: Sonata no. 1 in A minor, op. posthumous; Brahms: Sonata no. 1 in G major, op. 78; Muhly: "Autogram," world premiere (McKim Fund commission); Mendelssohn: Sonata in F major, MWV Q26
Ticket sale date: Sept. 5Pre-concert presentation: Composer Nico Muhly discusses his work.
Saturday, Oct. 13, at 2 p.m. *
Woody Guthrie and the Library of CongressBob Santelli, GRAMMY Museum executive director, hosts a performance and conversation celebrating "the nation’s greatest folk troubadour and songwriter."
Ticket sale date: Sept. 5Presented by the Music Division and the American Folklife Center, in cooperation with the Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration and the GRAMMY Museum.
Wednesday, Oct. 17
Ron Carter TrioThe Ron Carter Trio presents an all-acoustic jazz performance.
Ticket sale date: Sept. 5
Saturday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m. *
Rose of Sharon: 100 Years of American Music 1770-1870The Rose of Sharon project presents an afternoon of Americana, featuring ballads, folksongs, Shaker hymns and spirituals, music from revival meetings and battlefields, and products of America’s first composers, Francis Hopkinson and William Billings.
Ticket sale date: Sept. 5
Friday, Oct. 26
Pieter Wispelwey, cello and Lois Shapiro, pianoBeethoven: Sonata no. 3 in A major, op. 69; Twelve Variations in F major on "Ein Mädchen oder Weibschen" (from Die Zauberflöte), op. 66; Ligeti: Sonata for solo cello; Stravinsky: Suite Italienne for violoncello and piano; Shostakovich: Sonata for cello and piano in D minor, op. 40
Ticket sale date: Sept. 19Pre-concert presentation: John Moran, president of the Kindler Cello Society, is the featured guest speaker.
Tuesday, Oct. 30 *
Founder’s Day Concert (Honoring Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge)
"Lucy: Song and Dance, an opera without words"Morton Subotnick, composer and keyboard; Joan LaBarbara, voice; Jenny Lin, piano; Lillevan, multi-media artist
Ticket sale date: Sept. 19Pre-concert presentation: Morton Subotnick discusses his work.
Saturday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m.
Prazak QuartetHaydn: Quartet in B-flat major, H. III: 69; Janáček: String Quartet no. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata"; Dvořák: Quartet in F major, op. 96, "American"
Ticket sale date: Sept. 19
Sunday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m., Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital *
Film ScreeningJohn Philip Sousa, IV, great-grandson of the noted composer and conductor, joins Loras Schissel of the Music Division in a discussion of the legend’s life and legacy, including a screening of Henry Koston’s classic film "Stars and Stripes Forever" (1952). Reservations can be made by calling (202) 549-4172 or through the Hill Center’s website,
hillcenterdc.org/home/ (external link). The Hill Center is located at 923 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E., one block from the Eastern Market Metro).
Tuesday, Nov. 13
Takács Quartet with Marc-André Hamelin, pianoSchubert: Quartet no. 13 in A minor, D. 804, "Rosamunde"; Britten: String Quartet no. 1 in D major, op. 25 (Coolidge Foundation commission); Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor, op. 57
Ticket sale date: Sept. 26Pre-concert presentation: Nicholas A. Brown of the Music Division presents "20th Century Masters: Britten's Coolidge Commission and Shostakovich's Soviet Redemption"
Friday, Nov. 16
Apollon Musagète QuartettHaydn: Quartet in C major, op. 76, no. 3, "Emperor"; Szymanowski: Quartet no. 1 in C major, op. 37; Suk: Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale "Saint Wenceslas," op. 35a; Mendelssohn: Quartet no. 2 in A minor, op. 13
Ticket sale date: Sept. 26
Saturday, Nov. 17 *
Country Music Association Songwriters’ SeriesBob DiPiero returns to host another evening of country music from some of the nation’s great country artists.
Ticket sale date: Sept. 26
Thursday, Nov. 29
La RisonanzaVivaldi: Ouverture da "Dorilla in Tempe," Concerto per violino e violoncello RV 547, and "L’Estate," from Il Quattro Stagioni ("The Four Seasons"); Concerto in G major, RV 437 for flute and orchestra; Handel: Notte placida e cheta HWV 142, for soprano, two violins and basso continuo; Armida abbandonata, HWV 105 for soprano, strings, and basso continuo and Passacaille da "Il Rodrigo"
Ticket sale date: Oct. 17Presented in cooperation with the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute
Pre-concert presentation: Fabio Bonizzoni, artistic director of La Risonanza, and Alberto Manai, director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C., are featured guest speakers.
Friday, Nov. 30, at 9:30 p.m., Atlas Performing Arts Center
Library Late Night: new music double bill at the Atlas
ACME and yMusicTwo new music groups, inhabitants of a number of interesting and intersecting sound worlds, come together with "all the attitude and energy of an indie rock band" (Paste).
Ticket sale date: Oct. 17, Atlas Performing Arts Center Box Office, 1333 H Street, NE, (202) 399-7993
Monday, Dec. 3 *
The Musical Worlds of Victor HerbertWilliam Hicks, music director/piano; Korliss Uecker, vocalist; Jerry Grossman, cello; Additional Performers To Be Announced
Highlighted will be Herbert’s operetta classics "Babes in Toyland," "Naughty Marietta," and moments from the "Ziegfield Follies."
Ticket sale date: Oct. 24
"The Musical Worlds of Victor Herbert," a special exhibit of items from the Library’s Victor Herbert Collection, will be open in the foyer of the Performing Arts Reading Room, LM-113, James Madison Building, through Jan. 26, 2013. Hours for the exhibit are Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 15, at 2 p.m.
Lecture-Demonstration
The Paganini Project
Peter Sheppard-Skærved, violinBritish violinist Peter Sheppard-Skærved delves into the Library’s fascinating Niccolò Paganini collection.
Ticket sale date: Oct. 31
Tuesday, Dec. 18
Antonio Stradivari Anniversary Concert
Miró Quartet with Ricardo Morales, clarinetSchubert: String Quartet no. 15 in G major, D. 887; Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, op. 115
Ticket sale date: Oct. 31Pre-concert presentation: David Schoenbaum talks about his new book, "The Violin: A Social History of the World's Most Versatile Instrument."
Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 *
Panel Discussion, 1 p.m.Scholars discuss "Music in the Lincoln White House," including a dialogue on Francis M. Scala, President Abraham Lincoln’s bandmaster and the first musician designation leader of "The President’s Own."
Concert, 3 p.m.
"The President’s Own" United States Marine BandTicket sale date: Call or email Nicholas Brown at (202) 707-8437, nbrown@loc.gov.
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, 10 p.m., Atlas Performing Arts Center *
Theo Bleckmann, vocalist and Ben Monder, guitarPart of Intersections: A New American Arts Festival at the Atlas Performing Arts Center
Ticket sale date: Feb. 1, Atlas Performing Arts Center Box Office, 1333 H Street, N.E. (202) 399-7993
Saturday, March 2, 2013, 2 p.m.
Paul Lewis, pianoSchubert: Sonata in C minor, D. 958, Sonata in A major, D. 959
Ticket sale date: Jan. 23Pre-concert presentation, 1 p.m.: Lawrence Kramer, distinguished professor of English and music at Fordham University, discusses "The Virtuoso Schubert."
Friday, March 15, 2013
The U.S. Army Band, "Pershing’s Own" Concert Band plays music of George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Stephen Sondheim and others.
Ticket sale date: Call or email Nicholas Brown at (202) 707-8437, nbrown@loc.gov.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013, noon *
"Making Show Boat: Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II, and the Power of Performers"Lecture by Todd Decker of Washington University in St. Louis
No tickets requiredPresented in cooperation with the American Musicological Society
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Workshop and Performance
African-American Spirituals and the Civil War
10:30 a.m.: Spirituals Performance Workshop with James Weldon Norris, director of chorale activities at Howard University, and the Baltimore City College High School Choir
1 p.m.: James Weldon Norris, Steven Cornelius of Boston University and Samuel Perryman of the Music Division participate in a panel discussion on "The Legacy of Civil War Spirituals."
2 p.m.: Baltimore City College High School Choir and the Howard University Chorale are the featured performers.
Ticket sale date: Feb. 20Presented in cooperation with the Daniel A.P. Murray African American Culture Association of the Library of Congress
Friday, April 5, 2013
Gabriel Kahane and Timo AndresIn this rare appearance together, the two musicians perform piano music and songs of their own and others, including Hanns Eisler and Charles Ives.
Ticket sale date: Feb. 29Pre-concert presentation: Gabriel Kahane and Timo Andres are the featured guest speakers.
Saturday, April 13, 2013, 2 p.m.
Christophe Rousset, harpsichordCouperin: Quatrième Livre de Pièces de clavecin - Vingt-septième ordre (si mineur) - L’Exquise, Les Pavots, Les Chinois, Saillie; Rameau: Nouvelles Suites de Pièces de clavecin - Suite en sol - Les Tricotets, L’Indifférente, La Poule, Menuets I & II, Les Triolets, Les Sauvages, L’enharmonique, L’Egyptienne, Les Indes galantes; Suite de ballet transcrite pour clavecin - Les Indes galantes; Suite de ballet transcrite pour clavecin - Quatrième Concert (do mineur) - Les Incas du Pérou, Vivement, Ritournelle, Air Grave pour les Incas du Pérou, Adoration du Soleil, Loure en Rondeau sans lenteur, Rondeaux gracieux, Gavottes I and II
Ticket sale date: Feb. 27Presented in cooperation with the Maison Française at the Embassy of France and the French-American Cultural Foundation.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Stile Antico: Treasures of the RenaissanceGombert: Magnificat primi toni; Clemens non Papa: Ego flos campi; Lassus: Veni dilecte mi; Byrd: Laetentur coeli, Vigilate; Tallis: O Sacrum convivium,Why fum’th in fight; McCabe: Woefully arrayed; Sheppard: The Lord’s Prayer; Tomkins: O Praise the Lord; Gibbons: I am the resurrection and the life; Palestrina: Exultate Deo; de Ceballos: Hortus Conclusus; de Vivanco: Veni, dilecti mi; de Victoria: O magnum mysterium; Praetorius: Tota pulchra es
Ticket sale date: March 6Pre-concert presentation: The Music Division’s Susan Clermont talks about and displays a collection of the Library’s rare, first-edition Renaissance part books and anthologies.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Pavel Haas QuartetSchnittke: Quartet No. 3; Shostakovich: Quartet No. 8 in C minor, op. 110; Tchaikovsky: Quartet No. 1 in D Major, op. 11
Ticket sale date: March 6Pre-concert presentation: Top American instrument makers, luthiers and scholars John Montgomery, Christopher Germaine and Kenneth Slowik talk about the impressive results of a recent project to copy the Library’s superb "Betts" violin, from the Golden Period of master instrument-maker Antonio Stradivari.
Presented in cooperation with the Embassy of Italy
Saturday, April 20, 2013 *
Left Bank Concert Society with Patricia Green, sopranoKoston: In Two Parts, for violin and piano (McKim Fund commission); Walker: String Quartet no. 1 and Poem for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble, "The Hollow Men"; Brahms: String Quintet no. 2 in G major, op. 111
Ticket sale date: March 6Pre-concert presentation (Coolidge Auditorium): Washington-born, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Walker talks about his seven-decade career and introduces the world premiere of his newest composition, "Bleu," for solo violin, performed by his son Gregory.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Orchestra 2001 with Ann Crumb, soprano and Patrick Mason, baritoneCrumb: "Night of the Four Moons"; "Voices from the Heartland" (American Songbook VII); Czernowin: World premiere (Dina Koston and Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music)
Ticket sale date: March 20Pre-concert presentation: George Crumb and Chaya Czernowin are featured guest speakers.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Attacca Quartet
Part of the John Adams ResidencyAdams: "Fellow Traveler" and Selections from John's Book of Alleged Dances; Janáček: String Quartet no. 2, "Intimate Letters"; Beethoven: String Quartet in F major, op. 18, no. 1; Adams: String Quartet
Ticket sale date: April 10
Thursday, May 23, 2013, Atlas Performing Arts Center
Jennifer Koh, violin and Reiko Uchida, piano
Part of the John Adams ResidencyJanáček: Sonata; Salonen: "Lachen verlernt"; Schubert: Sonata in A major, D. 574, op. 162; Bartók: Sonata for solo violin, Sz. 117; Adams: "Road Movies" (McKim Fund commission)
Ticket sale date: April 10. Atlas Performing Arts Center Box Office, 1333 H Street, NE (202) 399-7993
Friday, May 24, 2013
International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), John Adams, conductor
Part of the John Adams ResidencyStravinsky: "L’Histoire du soldat"; Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony no. 1, op. 9 (1906); Adams: Son of Chamber Symphony
Ticket sale date: April 10Pre-concert presentation: John Adams is the featured guest speaker.
Saturday, May 25, 2013 Atlas Performing Arts Center *
Big Band Night with the U.S. Army Blues
Part of the John Adams ResidencyThe U.S. Army Blues trace John Adams' musical lineage back to the era of swing bands and his grandfather's New Hampshire dance hall, performing Duke Ellington's big band music from the golden age of swing, Charles Mingus' avant-garde compositions and the free jazz of Gil Evans.
Ticket sale date: April 10. Atlas Performing Arts Center Box Office, 1333 H Street, NE (202) 399-7993
Film Screenings
The Library of Congress hosts six great evenings of music on film, presented as a pilot program with the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital as part of an ongoing outreach effort for broad and diverse audiences. The beautifully-renovated Hill Center was built in 1866 for the treatment of wounded Civil War soldiers and is now a lively community hub for activities and programs of all kinds.
All screenings are free. Reservations can be made by calling (202) 549-4172 or through the Hill Center’s website,
hillcenterdc.org/home/ (external link). The Hill Center is located at 923 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E., one block from the Eastern Market Metro).
Jazz Film Fridays with Larry Applebaum
Music Division jazz curator and host of WPFW's "Sound of Surprise," Larry Appelbaum rediscovers a trove of great programs from the pioneering television series "The !!!! Beat: Legendary R&B and Soul Shows from 1966." Screenings are at 7 p.m.
Sept 7: Volume One includes performances by Little Milton, Frank Howard & the Commanders, Esther Phillips, Gatemouth Brown, Joe Tex, Etta James, Lattimore Brown, Roscoe Shelton, Lee "Shot" Williams & Gerri Taylor, Carla Thomas, Art Grayson, Cleo Randle, Mighty Joe Young and Jimmy Church.
Sept 14: Volume Two includes performances by Jimmy Church, Freddie King, Gatemouth Brown, Gerri Taylor, Frank Howard & the Commanders, Barbara Lynn, The Kelly Brothers, Mighty Joe Young, Art Grayson, The Beat Boys, Joe Tex, Freddie King, The Carnations, Little Gary Ferguson, Johnny Jones and Charles "Charlie" Hodges.
Sept. 21: Volume Four includes performances by Freddie King, Martin, Maurice & The Radiants, The Beat Boys, The Poppies, Lee Watson & The Panthers, Johnnie Jones, Freddie King, Louis Jordan & The Tympany Five, Gatemouth Brown, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Gwen Davis, Robert Parker, Jimmy Church, Lattimore Brown, Joe Simon, Mamie Galore and Jamo Thomas.
Sept. 28: Volume Six includes performances by Johnny Larand, Frank Howard & The Commanders, Tammy McKnight, Johnny Jones, Eva Larse, Bobby Hebb, Rodge Martin, The Beat Boys, Earl Gaines & Jimmy Church, The Four M's, Joe Simon, Freddie King, Mabon "Teenie" Hodges & Fred Ford, Willie Mitchell, Big Amos Patton, Veniece Starks, Little Milton, Don Bryant, The Ovations, Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, The Bar-Kays, Mitty Collier, Garnett Mimms, Sam & Dave, and Patti Labelle & The Bluebelles.
Sunday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m.: John Philip Sousa, IV, great-grandson of the noted composer and conductor, joins Loras Schissel of the Music Division in a discussion of the legend’s life and legacy, including a screening of Henry Koston’s classic film "Stars and Stripes Forever" (1952).
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, 2 p.m.: "Say Amen, Somebody" film screening and performance by Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music. Presented in cooperation with the Daniel A.P. Murray African American culture Association of the Library of Congress.
Tuesday Noontime Lectures
Presented at noon in the Whittall Pavilion by curators of the Library’s Music Division, unless otherwise noted. No tickets required.
Oct. 16: The Musical Worlds of Victor Herbert, with Loras Schissel
Oct. 23: Great-Great-Grandma's Piano Bench: 19th-century American Popular Sheet Music from Personal Collections
Nov. 6: Contemporary and Historic Native American Flutes and the Library’s Dayton C. Miller Collection, with Steve Bliven, researcher, and Barry Higgins, instrument-maker and performer
Nov. 20: The Library of Congress Sondheim Interviews, with Mark Horowitz
Nov. 27: Cole Porter in Paris, with Walter Zvonchenko
Dec. 11: Recording the Library’s Concerts Over Eight Decades, with Mike Turpin
Jan. 15, 2013: Uncle Tom's Cabin: A Forgotten American Opera by Harrison Millard, with James Wintle
Jan. 29, 2013: Sister Gregory and The Sound of Music, with Caitlin Miller
Feb. 5, 2013: Pop music in J.S. Bach's Germany, with Andrew Talle, Peabody Conservatory
Feb. 19, 2013: Battle Hymns and Bugle Calls: The Music of the Civil War, with Robin Rausch
March 12, 2013: Augusta Browne: A Nineteenth-Century Life in American Music, with Bonny Miller
April 2, 2013: The Koussevitzky Legacy at the Library of Congress, with Kate Rivers
April 16, 2013: Schoenberg, Nielsen, and the Copenhagen Wind Quintet, with Karen Moses
April 30, 2013: What's Going On: Issues & Controversies in Jazz, with Larry Appelbaum
Master Classes & Workshops
For updates and further information, check the concert website at
www.loc.gov/concerts/. These events, held in the Coolidge Auditorium, are open to students and music lovers of all ages.
No tickets are required.
Master Classes
Saturday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m.
Pieter Wispelwey, celloPresented in cooperation with the Kindler Cello Society
Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, 2 p.m.
Peter Sheppard-Skærved, violinIntroduction to the Library’s Strads
Saturday, May 25, 2013, 10 a.m.
Clair Chase, flute
Workshops
Wednesday, Oct. 17, Time TBD
Ron Carter TrioThe Art of the Ensemble: Techniques for Jazz Performers
Saturday, March 30, 2013, 10:30 a.m.
Spirituals Performance Workshop with Dr. Ysaye M. BarnwellBaltimore City College Choir, Linda R. Hall, Artistic Director
# # #
