Library of Congress Announces 2012-13 AMERICAN VOICES Season

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 (http://lcseb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/civilwar/civilwar-home-html) 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.

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 required
Presented by the Library of Congress and the American Musicological Society

Saturday, Oct. 6
Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir
The 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 Friends
Dvo?ák: 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. 5

• Pre-concert presentation: David Plylar of the Music Division presents a lecture on "Developing Variations: Brahms, Schoenberg, and 'Verklärte Nacht.'"

Friday, Oct. 12
Daniel Hope, violin and Jeffrey Kahane, piano
Ravel: 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. 5

• Pre-concert presentation: Composer Nico Muhly discusses his work.

Saturday, Oct. 13, at 2 p.m. *
Woody Guthrie and the Library of Congress
Bob Santelli, GRAMMY Museum® executive director, hosts a performance and conversation celebrating "the nation's greatest folk troubadour and songwriter."
Ticket sale date: Sept. 5
Presented 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 Trio
The 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 1770-1870
The 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, piano
Beethoven: 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. 19

• Pre-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. 19

• Pre-concert presentation: Morton Subotnick discusses his work.

Saturday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m.
Prazak Quartet
Haydn: Quartet in B-flat major, H. III: 69
Janá?ek: String Quartet no. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata"
Dvo?ák: 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 Screening
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).
Reservations can be made by calling (202) 549-4172 or through the Hill Center's website, hillcenterdc.org/home/. 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, piano
Schubert: 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. 26

• Pre-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 Quartett
Haydn: 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' Series
Bob 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 Risonanza
Vivaldi: 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. 17
Presented 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 yMusic
Two 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 Herbert
William 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. - 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 15, at 2 p.m.
Lecture-Demonstration
The Paganini Project
Peter Sheppard-Skærved, violin
British 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, clarinet
Schubert: String Quartet no. 15 in G major, D. 887
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, op. 115
Ticket sale date: Oct. 31

• Pre-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 Band
Ticket 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, guitar
Part 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, piano
Schubert: Sonata in C minor, D. 958, Sonata in A major, D. 959
Ticket sale date: Jan. 23

• Pre-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 *
Todd Decker of Washington University in St. Louis presents a lecture titled "Making Show Boat: Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II, and the Power of Performers."
No tickets required
Presented 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. 20
Presented 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 Andres
In 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. 29

• Pre-concert presentation: Gabriel Kahane and Timo Andres are the featured guest speakers.

Saturday, April 13, 2013, 2 p.m.
Christophe Rousset, harpsichord
Couperin: 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. 27
Presented 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 Renaissance
Gombert: 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 6

• Pre-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 Quartet
Schnittke: 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 6

*Pre-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, soprano
Koston: 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 6

• Pre-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, baritone
Crumb: "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 20

• Pre-concert presentation: George Crumb and Chaya Czernowin are featured guest speakers.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Attacca Quartet
Part of the John Adams Residency
Adams: "Fellow Traveler" and Selections from John's Book of Alleged Dances
Janá?ek: 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 Residency
Janá?ek: 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 Residency
Stravinsky: "L'Histoire du soldat"
Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony no. 1, op. 9 (1906)
Adams: Son of Chamber Symphony
Ticket sale date: April 10

• Pre-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 Residency
The 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/. 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
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
Steve Bliven, researcher and Barry Higgins, instrument-maker and performer

Nov. 20
The Library of Congress Sondheim Interviews
Mark Horowitz

Nov. 27
Cole Porter in Paris
Walter Zvonchenko

Dec. 11
Recording the Library's Concerts Over Eight Decades
Mike Turpin

Jan. 15, 2013
Uncle Tom's Cabin: A Forgotten American Opera by Harrison Millard
James Wintle

Jan. 29, 2013
Sister Gregory and The Sound of Music
Caitlin Miller

Feb. 5, 2013
Pop music in J. S. Bach's Germany
Andrew Talle, Peabody Conservatory

Feb. 19, 2013
Battle Hymns and Bugle Calls: The Music of the Civil War
Robin Rausch

March 12, 2013
Augusta Browne: A Nineteenth-Century Life in American Music
Bonny Miller

April 2, 2013
The Koussevitzky Legacy at the Library of Congress
Kate Rivers

April 16, 2013
Schoenberg, Nielsen, and the Copenhagen Wind Quintet
Karen Moses

April 30, 2013
What's Going On: Issues & Controversies in Jazz
Larry Appelbaum

MASTER CLASSES AND 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, cello
Presented in cooperation with the Kindler Cello Society

Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, 2 p.m.
Peter Sheppard-Skærved, violin
Introduction to the Library's Strads

Saturday, May 25, 2013, 10 a.m.
Clair Chase, flute

Workshops

Wednesday, Oct. 17, Time TBD
Ron Carter Trio
The Art of the Ensemble: Techniques for Jazz Performers

Saturday, March 30, 2013, 10:30 a.m.
Spirituals Performance Workshop with Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell
Baltimore City College Choir, Linda R. Hall, Artistic Director

 

 

 

 

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