Blog Posts by Subject: Music

In celebration of its anniversary, a current case exhibit on the third floor of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts highlights materials related to 9 Evenings.

Any good youth services librarian will tell you creativity is a huge part of the day-to-day routine.

In the weeks leading up to Halloween we watch scary movies and we read scary stories but are we listening to enough scary music? No, probably not! Here are some suggestions to get you in the spooky spirit.

New Release catalogs are useful today for researchers looking to determine the year a particular recording was released, and for the range of musical genres covered by a certain record label. While going through a section of EMI catalogs and brochures, we came across an interesting promotion for a geographically-themed LP series.

Anahid Ajemian and George Avakian put on an ambitious and eclectic concert series that blended the music and musicians of different worlds.

With the release of the latest film starring Meryl Streep, many people are discovering Florence Foster Jenkins. Long known to many of those involved with music, Jenkins is generally viewed as a society lady who was unable to realize the defective quality of her attempts at singing. Although her biography as outlined in the film is generally correct, I feel there is more to see in this woman than just a deluded society lady.

Get music from the official @POTUS playlist at the library.

Laurie Anderson is one of the great pioneers of American art, combining and redefining various media, including film, music, spoken word, and performance art.

The working and personal friendship of George Avakian and Louis Armstrong.

Today’s episode features a letter from jazz singer, dancer, and nightclub owner Ada Smith, jazz trumpeter, composer, singer, and "auto-archivist" Louis Armstrong.

Housed in our vast collection of materials and resources on black LGBTQ identity, which includes the In The Life Archive, are the portrait collections of blues singers Gertrude Ma Rainey, Ethel Waters, and Bessie Smith in the Photographs and Prints Division.

The violinist Anahid Ajemian, who dedicated her artistic life to performing and fostering new music, died on June 13, 2016.

Live from the Reading Room: Correspondence is a podcast series that aims to share interesting and engaging letters written by or to key historical figures from the African Diaspora.

Six suggestions for your summer.

Strengths and strains of adult-sibling relationships...genetic genealogy, issues of race, slavery reparations and reconciliation...the complex story of the South Street Seaport District...a gritty story of corruption, greed and law enforcement in Brooklyn...the adventures of Sherlock Holmes... Join us this month for one or more of the author talks at Mid-Manhattan.

Often called Harry Belafonte’s protégé or Mama Africa, today is the 56th anniversary of South African singer/songwriter Miriam Makeba’s debut album.

Music For Moderns: The Partnership of George Avakian and Anahid Ajemian will explore the careers of these unique figures and their work with of some of the most important artists of the twentieth century.

Shaun Neblett, aka MC SNEB, is a playwright, educator, and founder of Changing Perceptions Theater.

Part three of three, delving into the performers and performances you can find out of the millions of articles in our clipping files.