Broadway's Steven Lutvak, Jeanine Tesori, Davd Yazbeck and More Set for Library of Congress's 2014-15 Concert Season

The 2014-2015 season of "Concerts from the Library of Congress" brings a stellar roster of performers, ensembles and scholars from around the world in commemoration of the 150th birthday of founding patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. The concerts are complemented by guest speakers, curators, panels, film screenings and displays of rarely seen manuscripts, letters and memorabilia from the Library's holdings. Concerts kick off Saturday, Oct. 11, at 8 p.m. with a performance by gospel and soul music legend Mavis Staples.

The Library's 89th concert season celebrates American performers and music through performances by some of the nation's most legendary musicians. They include popular Broadway composers Steven Lutvak ("A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder"), Jeanine Tesori ("Thoroughly Modern Millie" and "Caroline, or Change") and David Yazbek ("The Full Monty" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"); and performers Etienne Charles (Creole Soul) and Nels Cline of Wilco, who explore the potential for label-defying music to embrace diversity in the national community.

Other highlights include a series of concerts and symposia celebrating the Irving Fine Centennial and an all-star field of chamber-music artists, including the St. Lawrence String Quartet and the Chiara String Quartet, with both ensembles performing on the Library's Stradivari instruments. Several special evenings bring together distinguished artists for one-of-a-kind concerts, including musicians well-known to chamber audiences - pianist Wu Han, cellist David Finckel, violist Paul Neubauer and violinist Daniel Hope - offering piano quartets by Mozart, Brahms and a very young Gustav Mahler. Two of Great Britain's favorite chamber music partners - tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Julius Drake - offer a new take on Schubert's song cycle "Winterreise," paired with the U.S. launch of Bostridge's forthcoming book on the songs.

Continuing the Library's tradition of supporting today's music, five Library commissions receive their premieres this season. These include new works by John Adams (St. Lawrence String Quartet), Jefferson Friedman (Chiara String Quartet and Simone Dinnerstein), Jennifer Higdon (Robert Spano, Roberto Díaz, Curtis Chamber Orchestra), George Lewis (Ensemble Dal Niente) and Kaija Saariaho (Jennifer Koh, Anssi Karttunen and Benjamin Hochman).

"Concerts from the Library of Congress" has joined forces with two new collaborators for the 2014-2015 season. The Library Late series is now presented in association with BrightestYoungThings, a web magazine and event production-experiential marketing agency based in Washington, D.C. and New York City. In addition, BrightestYoungThings and DC blog DCist present a new film series, "Film Nights with Pat Padua." Taking advantage of the unparalleled film collections at the Library's Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Va., Padua will introduce and screen films in two mini-series: "Directed by Ken Russell" and "The 80s: The Decade That Musicals Forgot."

Finally, there will be numerous special lectures, panels, interviews and conversations with performers, composers and scholars. Technofiles explores how technology affects the ways we create, perform and experience music. Tony Award-winning playwright and songwriter Stew ("Passing Strange") talks with The Studio Theatre's Adrien-Alice Hansel about his work. The popular #DECLASSIFIED series returns, offering up intimate encounters with artifacts and ideas: "mano a mano y mano a mano" (piano duet treasures from the Library's archives); "Musical Lobbyists"; "IRENE"; and "Fly Space: Inside the Minds of Theatrical Directors and Designers."

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 for programs in the Coolidge Auditorium are distributed by Ticketmaster at (202) 397-7328, (410) 547-7328 and (703) 573-7328. Various ticketing service charges apply. Tickets for events presented at the Atlas Performing Arts Center are available through the Atlas Box Office at (202) 399-7993 or www.atlasarts.org. Tickets are not required to attend preconcert presentations or weekday daytime programs.

Starting on Sept. 3, 2014, patrons can order tickets for any events or films from September through December. Starting on Jan. 7, 2015, patrons may order tickets for events or films scheduled between January and May. A special ticketing policy applies to select programs.

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"Concerts from the Library of Congress" 2014-2015

Unless otherwise noted, all events and 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 6:30 p.m. in the Whittall Pavilion unless otherwise noted. All programs are subject to change without notice.

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014, Noon, Whittall Pavilion
Panel Discussion: National Anthem [remix]
Matt Spivey, vice president of artistic planning at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, anthem enthusiast Neil Grauer, assistant director of marketing and communications at Johns Hopkins Medicine, and the Library of Congress Music Division's Loras John Schissel and Nicholas Alexander Brown discuss the history and value of revamping "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Presented in association with Songs of America
No tickets required

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, Noon, West Dining Room, James Madison Building
Lecture
Hisham D. Aidi of Columbia University discusses his book, "Rebel Music: Race, Empire and the New Muslim Youth Culture."
Presented in conjunction with the Library of Congress exhibition "The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom"
Presented in association with Songs of America and the Library of Congress Daniel A.P. Murray African American Culture Association
No tickets required

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014, Noon
American Musicological Society Lecture
Carol Hess of the University of California at Davis presents "Copland as Good Neighbor: Cultural Diplomacy in Latin America During World War II."
Presented in association with Songs of America, the American Musicological Society and the Library of Congress Hispanic Cultural Society
No tickets required

Friday, Oct. 10, 2014, Noon, Whittall Pavilion
Lecture
Warren Hoffman, a program director, producer, theater critic and playwright, discusses the role of race in American musical theater.
Presented in conjunction with the Library of Congress exhibition "The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom"
Presented in association with Songs of America and the Library of Congress Daniel A.P. Murray African American Culture Association
No tickets required

Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014
Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples is a legend across several musical worlds - gospel, soul, R & B, jazz and rock.
Presented in conjunction with the Library of Congress exhibition, "The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom" and in association with Songs of America and the Library of Congress Daniel A.P. Murray African American Culture Association

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014, 9 p.m., Atlas Performing Arts Center
"Intelligence in The Human-Machine"
Katinka Kleijn, cello
In her collaboration with composers Daniel Dehaan and Ryan Ingebritsen, Kleijn connects to an EEG headset to play a live duet with her brain waves. Program: D. Gabrielli: "Ricercar" no. 1 in G minor; Balter: "memória"; Dai Fujikura: UJIKURA: "Eternal Escape"; Du Yun: "San°"; Dehaan, Ingebritsen and Kleijn: "Intelligence in The Human-Machine"
Presented in association with BrightestYoungThings

Friday, Oct. 17, 2014
Steven Lutvak, Jeanine Tesori, and David Yazbek
Three of Broadway's hottest musical creators perform their own music
Presented in association with Songs of America

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, 7 p.m., Montpelier Room, James Madison Building
Stew
In a special appearance, Stew discusses his career as a playwright, songwriter, poet and lyricist. Adrien-Alice Hansel, The Studio Theatre' literary director, also talks with Stew about the song lyric as poem and as a dramatic text and takes a look at some interesting recent projects, including his song cycle "Brooklyn Omnibus," commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and a new show written for the 2014 Oregon Shakespeare Festival, "Family Album."
Presented in association with The Studio Theatre, Songs of America and the Library of Congress Daniel A.P. Murray African American Culture Association

Friday, Oct. 24, 2014
St. Lawrence String Quartet with Pedja Muzijevic, piano
In a special three-concert project this season, the quartet will perform on the Library's Stradivari instruments, collaborate with pianist Pedja Muzijevic and violist Hsin-Yun Huang as guest artists, and present the regional premiere of a new Library co-commission from John Adams. This evening features the rhapsodic Brahmsian piano quintet written in 1908 by American composer Amy Beach, whose works were premiered by such distinguished institutions as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Handel and Haydn Society. Program: Beethoven: String Quartet in C minor, op. 18, no. 4; Beach: Quintet for piano and strings in F sharp minor, op. 67; Korngold: String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 34
*Preconcert Presentation: The artists discuss their craft.

Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014
Vox Luminis
For its Washington, D.C. debut, Belgian ensemble Vox Luminis offers a celebration of the Italian Baroque, featuring works by Claudio Monteverdi and Domenico Scarlatti. Program: Anonymous-12th Century: "Lamentation de la Vierge au Croix"; Monteverdi: "Adoramus te, Christe," SV 289; Esteves: "Miserere a due Cori, Primeira Lamentação de Quinta-feira Santa"; D. Scarlatti: "Salve Regina," "Stabat Mater"; A. Della Ciaia: "Lamentatio Virginis in depositione Filii de Cruce"
*Preconcert Presentation: The Music Division's Nicholas Alexander Brown presents "Saving Mary: 'Stabat Mater' Settings from Pergolesi to Poulenc."

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014
Founder's Day
Honoring Music Division benefactor Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge
Ensemble Dal Niente
Ensemble Dal Niente features the music of George Lewis, including a new commission from the Library and a recent work written especially for the Chicago-based super group.
Program: Lewis: New Work (world premiere) commissioned by the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress; G.F. Haas: "in vain"
*Preconcert Presentation: George Lewis discusses his work.

Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014, 7:30 p.m., Montpelier Room
"Technofiles" Lecture
Panos Panay of the Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship and Sonicbids and Casey Rae, vice president for policy and education at the Future of Music Coalition, discuss "Technology and the Entrepreneur: The Ever-Evolving Landscape of the Music Industry."
Presented in association with the Future of Music Coalition and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and the Library's Science, Technology and Business Division

Saturday, Nov. 7, 2014
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
The art of fugue is Aimard's special recital for the Library, pairing excerpts from the first book of J.S. Bach's "The Well-Tempered Clavier" with masterworks by Beethoven and Brahms.
Program: J.S. Bach: Selections from "The Well-Tempered Clavier," Book 1; Beethoven: Sonata in A-flat major, op. 110; Brahms: "Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel," op. 24
*Preconcert Presentation: David H. Plylar of the Music Division discusses "Fugal Lords: Subjectivity in Bach, Beethoven and Brahms."

Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, 9 p.m., Atlas Performing Arts Center
The Nels Cline Singers
Nels Cline, hit guitarist of Wilco, brings his "relentlessly exploratory approach" to free jazz with The Nels Cline Singers.
Presented in association with BrightestYoungThings

Friday, Nov. 21, 2014
Ensemble Caprice
Ensemble Caprice performs both secular and sacred music, including a 1631 Peruvian piece written for religious processions: "Hanacpachap cussicuinin," the first polyphonic work published in the Americas. Performing Works by S. De Murcia, Falconieri, G. Fernandes, D. Ortíz, J. De Araujo, Martín y Coll, A. De Salazar, De Bailly and Zipoli
*Preconcert Presentation: Matthias Maute, artistic director of Ensemble Caprice, discusses his craft.
Presented in association with the Library of Congress Hispanic Cultural Society

December 2-6, 2014
Irving Fine Centennial Festival

Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2 p.m., Whittall Pavilion
"The President's Own" United States Marine Band
"The President's Own" United States Marine Band Woodwind Quintet performs the works of Fine.

Thursday, Dec. 4, 2 p.m., Mary Pickford Theater, James Madison Building
Historic Film Screening
Charles Munch conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra performing the works of Fine and Debussy.

Friday, Dec. 5
Chiara String Quartet with Simone Dinnerstein, piano
The GRAMMY-nominated Chiara String Quartet performs on the Library's Stradivari instruments, joining forces with pianist Simone Dinnerstein to commemorate the centennial of American composer Irving Fine, with works by Mozart, Fine and a Library of Congress commission by Jefferson Friedman.
Program: Friedman: New Work (world premiere) commissioned by the Verna and Irving Fine Fund in the Library of Congress; Fine: String Quartet; W.A. Mozart: String Quartet in C major, K. 465, "Dissonance"
*Preconcert Presentation: Jefferson Friedman discusses his Library of Congress commission with David H. Plylar of the Music Division.

Saturday, Dec. 6, 2 p.m.
Irving Fine Centennial Symposium and World Premiere Performance
Irving Fine experts and scholars convene to discuss the noted composer's music and life, his contemporaries and his place in the American Neoclassical School.
The Chiara Quartet, with pianists Daniel Pesca and Oliver Hagen and clarinetist Alan R. Kay, performs Fine's "Toccata Concertante," transcribed for two pianos, and Copland's Sextet

Saturday, Dec. 6, 7 p.m.
The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, U.K.
Graham Ross, director
The Choir of Clare College makes its Library of Congress debut with a commemoration of Irving Fine's legacy as one of the preeminent American composers of choral music.
Program: Fine: "The Hour-Glass," "A Short Alleluia," "Three Choruses from Alice in Wonderland" (Set 1); Monteverdi: "Nisi Dominus," from the 1610 Vespers; Britten/Harrison: "A Ceremony of Carols"; Bernstein: "Chichester Psalms"; Schoenberg: "Friede auf Erden," op.13
Presented in association with Songs of America

Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014, 7 p.m., Mary Pickford Theater
"Technofiles" Lecture
Jonathan Berger, Denning Family Provostial Professor of Music at Stanford University, presents "The Aesthetics of Data," in which he discusses the use of medical and neuroscience imaging in his recent opera, "Theotokia," and in his current collaboration with the Kronos Quartet, "My Lai."
Presented in association with the Library of Congress Science, Technology and Business Division

Friday, Dec. 12, 2014
Jan Vogler, cello, Mira Wang, violin, and Antti Siirala, piano
Legendary violinist and teacher Roman Totenberg is celebrated with this evening of chamber music that features one of his former students, Mira Wang, with chamber music partners Jan Vogler and Antti Siirala.
Program: Beethoven: Sonata for cello and piano in D major, op. 102/2; Harbison: Fantasy Duo for violin and piano; Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, op. 50
*Preconcert Presentation: Nina Totenberg, Mira Wang and Music Division's Daniel Boomhower give a talk on the Roman Totenberg legacy.

Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014
Antonio Stradivari Anniversary Concert
St. Lawrence String Quartet with Hsin-Yun Huang, viola
The second of this season's St. Lawrence String Quartet Project concert is also the Library's annual Stradivari Anniversary concert. The quartet will be joined by violist Hsin-Yun Huang for a performance of Mozart's G-minor string quintet.
Program: Schulhoff: Five Pieces for String Quartet; W.A. Mozart: String Quintet in G minor, K. 516; Beethoven: String Quartet in C-sharp minor, op. 131
*Preconcert Presentation: "Does My Bow Really Need a Passport?" Travels and Travails of the Modern Musician.

Friday, Jan. 23, 2015
St. Lawrence String Quartet
The final concert of the St. Lawrence String Quartet Project features a joint commission of a new work by John Adams.
Program: Haydn: String Quartet in E-flat major, op. 33/2, H.III: 38 ("The Joke"); Adams: New Work (regional premiere) commissioned by Stanford Lively Arts, Carnegie Hall, the Dina Koston and Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music in the Library of Congress, The Juilliard School and Wigmore Hall; Dvo?ák: String Quartet in C major, op. 61
*Preconcert Presentation: Anne E. McLean of the Music Division presents "Opus 90: Celebrating 90 Years of Concerts from the Library of Congress."

Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015
Calefax
With its musicians performing with the core complement of oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bass clarinet and bassoon, Calefax presents its own transcriptions of works originally for voice, organ, piano, orchestra and even player piano.
Program: Ockeghem: "Mort, tu as navré de ton dart"; Franck: "Prélude, fugue et variation," op. 18; Nancarrow: Selected Studies for player piano: Studies 2, 15 and 3c; R. Strauss: "Till Eulenspiegel's lustige Streiche," op. 28; Shostakovich: Selections from Preludes and Fugues, op. 87
*Preconcert Presentation: The artists discuss their craft.

Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, 2 p.m.
Ian Bostridge and Julius Drake
Ian Bostridge brings a masterly command of vocal nuance and style to Schubert's late masterpiece, "Winterreise." After the concert, he will talk about his new book, "Schubert's 'Winter Journey': Anatomy of an Obsession," followed by a book signing.
*Preconcert Presentation, 12:30 p.m.: Susan Youens, J.W. Van Gorkom Professor of Music at the University of Notre Dame, presents a talk about Schubert.

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015
Richard Goode & Friends
Itamar Zorman, violin, Kyle Armbrust, viola, Brook Speltz, cello
This concert - unique to the Library - offers the rare chance to hear Richard Goode in both solo and chamber roles. Convening three talented colleagues for performances of chamber works from the heart of the Romantic repertoire, he also plays Robert Schumann's brilliant, seldom heard "Humoreske" for solo piano. Program: Schumann: Piano Trio no. 2 in F major, op. 80, "Humoreske," op. 20; Brahms: Piano Quartet no. 2 in A major, op. 26
*Preconcert Presentation: David H. Plylar of the Music Division presents "Humorisks and Rewards in the Music of Schumann and Brahms."

Friday, Feb. 20, 2015
Claremont Trio with Misha Amory
Twins Emily and Julia Bruskin and Andrea Lam present Helen Grime's "Three Whistler Miniatures," a piece commissioned by the trio in 2012 and inspired by artwork by James McNeill Whistler in addition to works by Mendelssohn's sister and Brahms.
Program: F. Mendelssohn Hensel: Piano Trio in D minor, op. 11; Grime: "Three Whistler Miniatures"; Brahms: Piano Quartet no. 3 in C minor, op. 60
*Preconcert Presentation: The artists discuss their craft.

Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, 2 p.m.
"Technofiles" Lecture
"HABITAT" Composition, Performance, Technology, Spaces
Composer Steve Antosca, music technologist William Brent and percussionist Ross Karre discuss the November 2013 premiere performance of "HABITAT" for percussionist and computer transformations. The talk focuses on composition processes and design elements and their integration with performance and technology.

Saturday, March 7, 2015
Roberto Díaz, Robert Spano, viola, and the Curtis Chamber Orchestra
Robert Spano, music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, leads the Curtis Chamber Orchestra in an exclusive Washington, D.C. appearance.
Program: Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D major ("Classical"), op. 25; Higdon: Viola Concerto (world premiere) co-commissioned by the Library of Congress; Spano: "Hölderlin-Lieder"; Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 ("Jupiter")
*Preconcert Presentation: Composer Jennifer Higdon discusses her work.

Friday, March 13, 2015
Kim Kashkashian and Peter Nagy, piano
This is one of a trio of concerts this season highlighting the 1690 "Tuscan-Medici" viola, on loan to the Library from the Tuscan Corporation. Program: Schumann/Kashkashian: "Fantasiestücke," op. 73, for viola and piano; Bartók: Rhapsody no. 1 for violin and piano, BB 94a, Sz. 87; Tihanyi: "Eight Invocations to the Lunar Phases"; Brahms: Sonata for viola and piano in E-flat major, op. 120, no. 2
*Preconcert Presentation: The artists discuss their craft.

Saturday, March 21, 2015
Leipzig String Quartet
With a program featuring a Romantic-era classic by Borodin and favorites by Debussy and Stravinsky, the quartet will demonstrate some of its most dramatic works, highlights from its 50 recordings.
Program: Borodin: String Quartet no. 2 in D major; Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet; Wagner: "Albumblatt" (für Cosima Wagner); Debussy: Premier quatuor in G minor, op. 10
Presented in association with the Wagner Society of Washington, D.C.

Friday, April 10, 2015
Daniel Hope, Paul Neubauer, David Finckel and Wu Han
Performing together for distinguished presenters and festivals since 2010, this group of collaborators and friends plays Brahms, Schumann and a one-movement piano quartet premiered in 1876 by a 16-year-old Gustav Mahler.
Program: Mahler: Piano Quartet in A minor; Schumann: Quartet in E-flat major for piano and strings, op. 47; Brahms: Quartet in G minor, for piano and strings op. 25
*Preconcert Presentation: The artists discuss their craft.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015, Noon
American Musicological Society Lecture
Paul Laird, professor of Musicology at the University of Kansas, discusses "A Hint of 'West Side Story': The Genesis of Bernstein's 'Chichester Psalms' as Seen in the Library of Congress Leonard Bernstein Collection."
Presented in association with Songs of America and the American Musicological Society
No tickets required

Friday, April 24, 2015
Katherine Chi, Aleksandar Madžar and Yura Lee
Pianists Katherine Chi and Aleksandar Madžar perform one of the masterworks of the 20th century: Karlheinz Stockhausen's 1970 "Mantra" for two pianos, percussion and electronics, in addition to Elliott Carter's Duo for violin and piano, commissioned by the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress.
*Preconcert Presentation: Paul Miller, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Music Theory at Cornell University, discusses Stockhausen's masterwork.

Saturday, April 25, 2015, 2 p.m.
Jory Vinikour, harpsichord
Program: Handel: Suite in A major, HWV 426, Suite in F-sharp minor, HWV 431; J.S. Bach: "Ouverture nach französicher Art," BWV 831

Saturday, May 2, 2015, 2 p.m.
Two Thousand Flutes: From the Vaults of the Library's Miller Collection
Lorna McGhee, flute; Ryo Yanagitani, piano; Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford, curator of Musical Instruments at the Library of Congress
This introduction to the Library's Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection features a few of the Library's nearly 2,000 instruments.
Presented in cooperation with the S & R Foundation

Tuesday, May 19, 2015, Noon, Whittall Pavilion
Lecture
Leonard Schmieding, DAAD Visiting Researcher at the BMW Center for German and European Studies at Georgetown University, gives a lecture titled "Breakin' Around the Bloc: Hip-Hop in East Germany During the Cold War."
Presented in association with European Month of Culture and the German Historical Institute
No tickets required

Friday, May 22, 2015
Jennifer Koh, violin, Anssi Karttunen, cello, Benjamin Hochman, piano
A special collection of artists combines forces to present a new piano trio by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, commissioned in part by the Library of Congress.
Program: Debussy: Sonata for violoncello and piano, Sonata for violin and piano; Saariaho: Prelude for piano | Ballade for piano; Ravel: Sonata for violin and violoncello; Saariaho: "Light and Matter" [regional premiere) co-commissioned by the Aeolian Chamber Players in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Dina Koston and Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music in the Library of Congress, Britten Sinfonia and Norrbotten NEO
*Preconcert Presentation: The artists discuss their craft.
Presented in association with the European Month of Culture

Friday, May 29, 2015
Etienne Charles
Trumpeter Etienne Charles' Creole Soul project explores the musical connections between Afro-Caribbean, Creole, New Orleans and American traditions.
*Preconcert Presentation: Chef David Guas of Bayou Bakery (Arlington, Virginia) gives a talk on "Creole Soul Food."
Presented in association with Songs of America, the Library of Congress Hispanic Cultural Society, the Daniel A.P. Murray African American Culture Association, and the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital

#DECLASSIFIED: Encounters with Artifacts and Ideas

All lectures are at 11 a.m., in the Jefferson Studio (LJ 32) in the Thomas Jefferson Building, unless otherwise noted. The events are free, but tickets are required. Seating is limited.

Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014, 7 p.m., TBA, James Madison Building
Peter Alyea, digital conservation specialist in the Library's Preservation Reformatting Division, discusses "Recovering and Preserving Sound Images: An Encounter with IRENE."

Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015
Stephen Yusko, head of Acquisitions and Processing in the Music Division, and Music Specialist David H. Plylar present a talk titled "Mano a mano y mano a mano: Exploring the Library's Treasures for Piano Duet."

Saturday, May 9, 2015
Nicholas Alexander Brown of the Music Division takes a look at noted musicians who developed strong relationships with politicians, including Leonard Bernstein and Frank Sinatra.

Saturday, May 16, 2015
Solomon E. HaileSelassie, production manager for the Music Division, presents "Fly Space: Inside the Minds of Theatrical Directors & Designers."

High Noon Curator Lectures

Music Divison curators present informal presentations and performances showcasing the Library's collections. All lectures are Tuesdays at noon in the Whittall Pavilion, unless otherwise noted. No tickets or reservations are required; seating is first-come, first-served.

Oct. 21, 2014: Mark Eden Horowitz presents "I Bet You Didn't Know We Had This ..."
Nov. 4, 2014: James Wintle discusses "The Audacity of Hopekirk: Cultural Identity in the Songs of Helen Hopekirk" in the Coolidge Auditorium.
Dec. 2, 2014: Nicholas Alexander Brown speaks on "Irving Fine and the American Woodwind Quintet."
Jan. 27, 2015: Walter Zvonchenko presents "Letters from Dukelsky."
Feb. 24, 2015: Christopher Hartten discusses "Chameleon as Composer: The Colorful Life and Works of Lukas Foss."
March 17, 2015: Sharon McKinley presents talk on "Geraldine Farrar, American Diva."
April 7, 2015: David H. Plylar discusses Liszt's "Historical Hungarian Portraits" in the Coolidge Auditorium.

Film Nights with Pat Padua

Presented in association with BrightestYoungThings and DCist
All films will be shown in the Mary Pickford Theater, located on the third floor of the Library of Congress James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., S.E. Fridays at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 pm. The films are free, but tickets are required.

"Directed by Ken Russell" Film Series

Sept. 5, 2014: "Lisztomania" (1975, *R-rated)
This is not just a tale of the 21st century, but of 19th-century composer Franz Liszt (as played by The Who's Roger Daltrey) onscreen.
*No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.

Sept. 12, 2014: "The Music Lovers" (1970, *R-rated)
Russell's life of Tchaikovsky (played by Richard Chamberlain) is filled with nightmarish dream sequences and fantasies set to the master's music.
*No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.Sept. 19, 2014: "Mahler" (1974)
The director continued his streak of surreal biographies of the great composers with this wildly inventive fantasia on Gustav Mahler (Robert Powell) and his wife Alma (Georgina Hale). The film ostensibly takes place entirely on a single train ride, with the kind of over-the-top flashbacks and dream sequences that make Russell so unpredictable.

Sept. 26, 2014: "Tommy" (1975)
Russell used The Who's seminal rock opera as a template for what Roger Ebert called the director's gift for "three-ring cinematic circuses with kinky sideshows." Roger Daltrey leads the cast of all-stars, including Ann-Margret as Tommy's mother.

"The 80s: The Decade That Musicals Forgot" Film Series

Jan. 16, 2015: "Streets of Fire" (1984, *R-rated)
Fans of classic musicals know that RKO Pictures produced the great Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies, but they may not know that a later incarnation of the company produced this ill-fated musical made by a director normally associated with action movies. Diane Lane and Willem Dafoe star in this dystopian rock 'n' roll fantasy.
*No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.

Jan. 23, 2015: "Xanadu" (1980)
Critics raved about the ironic Broadway revival of this notorious box-office bomb, which cast Gene Kelly in a supporting role as a nod to the classic musical.

Jan. 30, 2015: "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo" (1984)
Dance moves and Day-Glo fashions set the tone for this sequel to the breakdancing film "Breakin'," released the same year.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride

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