Conversation with Tania León
Claudia Morales sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning Cuban American composer, conductor and educator Tania León. They discuss León’s musical journey, her influences and the creative process behind her latest Library of Congress commission, “Para violin y piano,” which premiered that evening at the Coolidge Auditorium, performed by Jennifer Koh and Thomas Sauer.
Contributor:
Morales, Claudia - León, Tania
Date:2025-04-11
Film, Video
“The Great Gatsby” at 100: A Public Reading
On the exact 100th anniversary of the publication date of “The Great Gatsby,” the Library of Congress is producing a full reading of the novel, livestreamed from our Thomas Jefferson building on Capitol Hill. Be an old sport and join us in-person or online to experience this classic American novel which entered the public domain in 2021.
Contributor:
Klitzman, Zach - Charles, Ron - Philion, Norm - Martin, Michael - Smith, Monica M. - Montgomery, Mimi - Broughton, Jason - Smith, Clay - Thuronyi, George - Encina, Roswell ...
Klitzman, Zach - Charles, Ron - Philion, Norm - Martin, Michael - Smith, Monica M. - Montgomery, Mimi - Broughton, Jason - Smith, Clay - Thuronyi, George - Encina, Roswell - Fox, Susan - Neary, Denise - Werb, Bret - Harcourt, Xander - Choie, Diane - Long, Marissa - Sommers, Hannah - Werb, Shari - Amar, Chilli - Harbster, Jennifer "Jj" - Montelongo, Ofelia - Dickerson, Ashley - Lofton, Jeffrey - Riddell, Julia - Schraf, Kim - Chenevey, Steve - Newlen, Robert - Baiorunos, Karen - Yang, Eun - Ramsey, Ryan
Date:2025-04-10
Film, Video
Documenting Ourselves: Impacts, Outcomes & Insights (Session 2)
The second of four sessions in a day-long public symposium on the Library’s Community Collections Grant program (2022-2024) featured presentations by awardees on their grant-supported cultural documentation projects. This session featured Kamilah Thurmon, Junious Brickhouse and Phanat Xanamane.
Kohala Mountain Boys: Traditional Music from Hawai’i Island
Led by Boots Lupenui, the Kohala Mountain Boys are committed to uncovering and preserving musical treasures that helped to define the moku of Kohala on Hawai’i Island. Old-time Kohala music is soulful, playful, poetic and fierce, the manifold voice of a vibrant and extraordinary people. We want to recover and share the heirloom songs currently known only to a few isolated and precious old…
Documenting Ourselves: Impacts, Outcomes & Insights (Session 1)
The first of four sessions in a day-long public symposium on the Library’s Community Collections Grant program (2022-2024) featured presentations by awardees on their grant-supported cultural documentation projects. This session featured Myron Jackson and Sandra A.M. Bell.
Contributor:
Jackson, Myron - Bell, Sandra A. M.
Date:2025-04-10
Film, Video
National Recording Registry 2025: Musicians Break Down Their Iconic Hits
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announces the annual selection of 25 inductees for the National Recording Registry for 2025. This year, the inductees cover a broad timeline: starting in 1913 with the beloved song “Aloha ‘Oe” which was composed by a Hawaiian Queen, a collection of folk music from the mines of West Virginia by Nimrod Workman, a riotous album from the master of…
Contributor:
Taupin, Bernie - Miller, Steve - Loughnane, Lee - John, Elton - Miranda, Lin-Manuel - Pankow, James - Hayden, Carla - Blige, Mary J. - Chapman, Tracy
Date:2025-04-09
Film, Video
Conversation with Boots Lupenui
Led by Boots Lupenui, The Kohala Mountain Boys are committed to uncovering and preserving musical treasures that helped to define the moku of Kohala on Hawai’i Island. Lupenui was selected as a 2022 awardee of the AFC Community Collections Grant to document unrecorded or “heirloom songs” of the Kohala region of the Big island of Hawai’i.
Manuscript Encounters: Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis
Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis joined the Library’s David Plylar for a closer look at manuscripts by a variety of composers. A special focus was Fritz Kreisler, whose collection the Library holds. Mutter performed some of Kreisler’s music using the Library’s “Kreisler” Guarneri del Gèsu in her concert with Orkis on April 8, 2025. Other composers featured in the discussion include Mozart,…
Contributor:
Orkis, Lambert - Mutter, Anne-Sophie - Plylar, David
Contributor:
Orkis, Lambert - Mutter, Anne-Sophie - McLean, Anne
Date:2025-04-08
Film, Video
Conversation with the String Queens
Claudia Morales sits down with the String Queens for a conversation about their evolution as a string ensemble, their dual roles as educators and performing musicians, and the new projects they’re bringing to life. They also reflect on a curated music display they viewed at the Library and receive a surprise visit from Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.
Conversation with Anthony Braxton
Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and “professional student of music” Anthony Braxton (b. 1945) has been praised as “one of the most important musicians, educators, and creative thinkers of the past 50 years” (Tri-Centric Foundation). In this conversation with Senior Archivist Stephanie Akau, Braxton discusses his musical influences, prolific output, as well as the philosophies that underpin his unique approach to performance and composition.
Contributor:
Braxton, Anthony - Akau, Stephanie
Date:2025-04-03
Film, Video
Discovery Night: Mindy Weisberger and Rebecca Lemov
At a special discovery night at the Library, nonfiction writers Mindy Weisberger and Rebecca Lemov discussed their new books. In “Rise of the Zombie Bugs,” Weisberger reveals the history of zombifying parasitic insects. Lemov’s “The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persuasion” details the hidden history of brainwashing.
Conversation with Fröst-Tamestit-Wosner Trio
Martin Fröst, Antoine Tamestit, and Shai Wosner speak with Anne McLean about their concert at the Library of Congress. Topics include the evening’s program of works by Dvořák, Brahms, Bach/Gounod, and others. The unique transcriptions created for the concert by Wosner and others are also explored in the conversation.
Contributor:
Fröst, Martin - Tamestit, Antoine - Wosner, Shai - McLean, Anne
Date:2025-03-29
Film, Video
Conversation with Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla
Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla sit down with Stephen Winick of the American Folklife Center to discuss their personal musical histories prior to their concert at the Library. Louis Michot is best known as the fiddle player and lead singer for the Grammy-award-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers. He is passionate about Louisiana French and local folklore, and about sustainability in the fastest disappearing landmass in…
Contributor:
Winick, Stephen - McCalla, Leyla - Michot, Louis
Date:2025-03-26
Film, Video
Photomechanical Prints: History, Identification, and Care
Join the John W. Kluge Center and Library of Congress Senior Photograph Conservator and Kluge Staff Fellow Alisha Chipman for an event looking at the history of photomechanical printmaking and its relevance to academic communities and cultural heritage professionals. Alisha will share her research aimed at facilitating increased understanding, appreciation, and preservation of these worthy materials.
Contributor:
Chipman, Alisha - Butterfield, Kevin
Date:2025-03-26
Film, Video
Two Georges Opening Celebration
The Library of Congress is opening a new exhibition that marks a significant addition to the Library’s Visitor Experience. The Two Georges exhibit showcases the similarities and difference between George Washington and King George III. This conversation dives deeper into what we know and think these two men were like.
Contributor:
Fraser, Flora - Butterfield, Kevin - Blatchford, Sir Ian - Petri, Dede - Hayden, Carla
Date:2025-03-26
Film, Video
Happy Little Seahorses: Brahms’ Unwritten “Melusine” Opera
Laurie McManus of Shenandoah Conservatory discussed an unfamiliar opera libretto that was given to Johannes Brahms for consideration. While Johannes Brahms excelled in many musical arenas, he never managed to compose an opera, despite a lingering interest and encouragement from his friends. The most persistent of those friends was Hermann Levi, a Jewish conductor whose later advocacy for Richard Wagner overshadowed his relationship with…
Contributor:
Sommerfeld, Paul - Vita, Susan H. - McManus, Laurie
Date:2025-03-26
Film, Video
Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla from Louisiana
Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla performed traditional French-language music from Louisiana. Louis Michot is a fiddle player and lead singer for the Grammy-award-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers. He is passionate about Louisiana French and local folklore. These interests fuel his career as a musician. In addition to fiddle and vocals, Louis plays guitar, bass, ti-fer (triangle), and accordion–all the instruments of a typical Cajun band.…
Contributor:
McCalla, Leyla - Michot, Louis
Date:2025-03-26
Film, Video
Radical Harmonies: Woodstock Meets Women’s Liberation
Academy Award nominee Dee Mosbacher discussed “Radical Harmonies,” her 2002 documentary chronicles the history of queer music by women. The film is a compilation of festival and performance footage, interviews, and archival material from the 1960s to the 1990s. “Radical Harmonies” delves into a musical culture based on a commitment to feminism, diversity, equity, and inclusion. The film movingly illustrates how the Women’s Music…
Contributor:
Sandstrom, Boden - Metcalf, Meg - Mosbacher, Dee
Date:2025-03-22
Film, Video
Music of Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton has played a key role in contemporary and avant-garde music as a composer, multi-instrumentalist, music theorist, teacher and visionary. Inspired by Jazz, European art music, and music of global cultures, Braxton labels his output Creative Music. The Library of Congress celebrates the acquisition of his collection with a concert featuring an array of stellar collaborators. For a composer known for his expansive…
Contributor:
Testa, Carl - Regev, Reut - Smythe, Cory - Reid, Tomeka - Cook, Jean - Laubrock, Ingrid - Jonas, Chris - Richards, Steph - Rhodes, Anne - Dicker, Erica ...
Testa, Carl - Regev, Reut - Smythe, Cory - Reid, Tomeka - Cook, Jean - Laubrock, Ingrid - Jonas, Chris - Richards, Steph - Rhodes, Anne - Dicker, Erica - Young, Katherine - Matlock, Adam - Peck, Dan - Siegel, Aaron - Fei, James - Hallett, Nick
Date:2025-03-18
Film, Video
Conversation with Brandee Younger
Claudia Morales sits down with Grammy-nominated and 2024 NAACP Image Award winner Brandee Younger, a celebrated harpist, composer, and educator who stands as a leading voice for the harp today. Younger is described by The New York Times as combining “all of the modern harp traditions– from Salzedo, through Dorothy Ashby, through Alice Coltrane– with such strength, grace, and commitment.”
Chanoyu, Japanese Tea Culture and Special Exhibit of Japanese Tea Ware
The Library of Congress will host keynote lecture by Yūyūsai Sen Sōsa on Chanoyu, Japanese Tea Culture. The lecture is in conjunction with the Library’s special exhibit of tea ware collection. Yūyūsai will be introduced by Dr. Ryuji Ueno, the President of Omotesenke Domonkai, Eastern Region, USA. Yūyūsai is the 15th generation Iemoto of Omotesenke, the main family of the Way of Tea practitioners,…
Contributor:
Ueno, Ryuji - Sōsa, Yūyūsai Sen - Penwell, Cameron
Date:2025-03-13
Film, Video
Documenting COVID-19
Every American was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. But every American’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic was different. On March 11th, exactly five years since COVID-19 was designated as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, this panel discussion will bring together four documentarians of the COVID-19 pandemic to explore what it means to undertake cultural documentation in various communities during a public health…
Contributor:
Musgrave, Nicole - Peach, Douglas - Martin, Allie - Vergara, Camilo Jose - Dellinger, Midge
Film, VideoConversation with Tania León Claudia Morales sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning Cuban American composer, conductor and educator Tania León. They discuss León’s musical journey, her influences and the creative process behind her latest Library of Congress commission, “Para violin y piano,” which premiered that evening at the Coolidge Auditorium, performed by Jennifer Koh and Thomas Sauer.
Film, Video“The Great Gatsby” at 100: A Public Reading On the exact 100th anniversary of the publication date of “The Great Gatsby,” the Library of Congress is producing a full reading of the novel, livestreamed from our Thomas Jefferson building on Capitol Hill. Be an old sport and join us in-person or online to experience this classic American novel which entered the public domain in 2021.
Film, VideoDocumenting Ourselves: Impacts, Outcomes & Insights (Session 2) The second of four sessions in a day-long public symposium on the Library’s Community Collections Grant program (2022-2024) featured presentations by awardees on their grant-supported cultural documentation projects. This session featured Kamilah Thurmon, Junious Brickhouse and Phanat Xanamane.
Film, VideoKohala Mountain Boys: Traditional Music from Hawai’i Island Led by Boots Lupenui, the Kohala Mountain Boys are committed to uncovering and preserving musical treasures that helped to define the moku of Kohala on Hawai’i Island. Old-time Kohala music is soulful, playful, poetic and fierce, the manifold voice of a vibrant and extraordinary people. We want to recover and share the heirloom songs currently known only to a few isolated and precious old…
Film, VideoDocumenting Ourselves: Impacts, Outcomes & Insights (Session 1) The first of four sessions in a day-long public symposium on the Library’s Community Collections Grant program (2022-2024) featured presentations by awardees on their grant-supported cultural documentation projects. This session featured Myron Jackson and Sandra A.M. Bell.
Film, VideoNational Recording Registry 2025: Musicians Break Down Their Iconic Hits Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announces the annual selection of 25 inductees for the National Recording Registry for 2025. This year, the inductees cover a broad timeline: starting in 1913 with the beloved song “Aloha ‘Oe” which was composed by a Hawaiian Queen, a collection of folk music from the mines of West Virginia by Nimrod Workman, a riotous album from the master of…
Film, VideoConversation with Boots Lupenui Led by Boots Lupenui, The Kohala Mountain Boys are committed to uncovering and preserving musical treasures that helped to define the moku of Kohala on Hawai’i Island. Lupenui was selected as a 2022 awardee of the AFC Community Collections Grant to document unrecorded or “heirloom songs” of the Kohala region of the Big island of Hawai’i.
Film, VideoDel Sol Quartet Pop Up at the Lincoln Memorial As part of its 2025 engagement at the Library of Congress, the Del Sol Quartet presents a pop-up concert on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial.
Film, VideoManuscript Encounters: Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis joined the Library’s David Plylar for a closer look at manuscripts by a variety of composers. A special focus was Fritz Kreisler, whose collection the Library holds. Mutter performed some of Kreisler’s music using the Library’s “Kreisler” Guarneri del Gèsu in her concert with Orkis on April 8, 2025. Other composers featured in the discussion include Mozart,…
Film, VideoConversation with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis talk about their careers and the music they perform with the Library’s Anne McLean.
Film, VideoConversation with the String Queens Claudia Morales sits down with the String Queens for a conversation about their evolution as a string ensemble, their dual roles as educators and performing musicians, and the new projects they’re bringing to life. They also reflect on a curated music display they viewed at the Library and receive a surprise visit from Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.
Film, VideoConversation with Anthony Braxton Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and “professional student of music” Anthony Braxton (b. 1945) has been praised as “one of the most important musicians, educators, and creative thinkers of the past 50 years” (Tri-Centric Foundation). In this conversation with Senior Archivist Stephanie Akau, Braxton discusses his musical influences, prolific output, as well as the philosophies that underpin his unique approach to performance and composition.
Film, VideoDiscovery Night: Mindy Weisberger and Rebecca Lemov At a special discovery night at the Library, nonfiction writers Mindy Weisberger and Rebecca Lemov discussed their new books. In “Rise of the Zombie Bugs,” Weisberger reveals the history of zombifying parasitic insects. Lemov’s “The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persuasion” details the hidden history of brainwashing.
Film, VideoConversation with Fröst-Tamestit-Wosner Trio Martin Fröst, Antoine Tamestit, and Shai Wosner speak with Anne McLean about their concert at the Library of Congress. Topics include the evening’s program of works by Dvořák, Brahms, Bach/Gounod, and others. The unique transcriptions created for the concert by Wosner and others are also explored in the conversation.
Film, VideoConversation with Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla sit down with Stephen Winick of the American Folklife Center to discuss their personal musical histories prior to their concert at the Library. Louis Michot is best known as the fiddle player and lead singer for the Grammy-award-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers. He is passionate about Louisiana French and local folklore, and about sustainability in the fastest disappearing landmass in…
Film, VideoPhotomechanical Prints: History, Identification, and Care Join the John W. Kluge Center and Library of Congress Senior Photograph Conservator and Kluge Staff Fellow Alisha Chipman for an event looking at the history of photomechanical printmaking and its relevance to academic communities and cultural heritage professionals. Alisha will share her research aimed at facilitating increased understanding, appreciation, and preservation of these worthy materials.
Film, VideoTwo Georges Opening Celebration The Library of Congress is opening a new exhibition that marks a significant addition to the Library’s Visitor Experience. The Two Georges exhibit showcases the similarities and difference between George Washington and King George III. This conversation dives deeper into what we know and think these two men were like.
Film, VideoHappy Little Seahorses: Brahms’ Unwritten “Melusine” Opera Laurie McManus of Shenandoah Conservatory discussed an unfamiliar opera libretto that was given to Johannes Brahms for consideration. While Johannes Brahms excelled in many musical arenas, he never managed to compose an opera, despite a lingering interest and encouragement from his friends. The most persistent of those friends was Hermann Levi, a Jewish conductor whose later advocacy for Richard Wagner overshadowed his relationship with…
Film, VideoLouis Michot and Leyla McCalla from Louisiana Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla performed traditional French-language music from Louisiana. Louis Michot is a fiddle player and lead singer for the Grammy-award-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers. He is passionate about Louisiana French and local folklore. These interests fuel his career as a musician. In addition to fiddle and vocals, Louis plays guitar, bass, ti-fer (triangle), and accordion–all the instruments of a typical Cajun band.…
Film, VideoRadical Harmonies: Woodstock Meets Women’s Liberation Academy Award nominee Dee Mosbacher discussed “Radical Harmonies,” her 2002 documentary chronicles the history of queer music by women. The film is a compilation of festival and performance footage, interviews, and archival material from the 1960s to the 1990s. “Radical Harmonies” delves into a musical culture based on a commitment to feminism, diversity, equity, and inclusion. The film movingly illustrates how the Women’s Music…
Film, VideoMusic of Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton has played a key role in contemporary and avant-garde music as a composer, multi-instrumentalist, music theorist, teacher and visionary. Inspired by Jazz, European art music, and music of global cultures, Braxton labels his output Creative Music. The Library of Congress celebrates the acquisition of his collection with a concert featuring an array of stellar collaborators. For a composer known for his expansive…
Film, VideoConversation with Brandee Younger Claudia Morales sits down with Grammy-nominated and 2024 NAACP Image Award winner Brandee Younger, a celebrated harpist, composer, and educator who stands as a leading voice for the harp today. Younger is described by The New York Times as combining “all of the modern harp traditions– from Salzedo, through Dorothy Ashby, through Alice Coltrane– with such strength, grace, and commitment.”
Film, VideoWomen Collectors and Authors: The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells Rebecca Rego Barry discussed her most recent book researched at the Library of Congress, “The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells: Investigations into a Forgotten Mystery Author.”
Film, VideoChanoyu, Japanese Tea Culture and Special Exhibit of Japanese Tea Ware The Library of Congress will host keynote lecture by Yūyūsai Sen Sōsa on Chanoyu, Japanese Tea Culture. The lecture is in conjunction with the Library’s special exhibit of tea ware collection. Yūyūsai will be introduced by Dr. Ryuji Ueno, the President of Omotesenke Domonkai, Eastern Region, USA. Yūyūsai is the 15th generation Iemoto of Omotesenke, the main family of the Way of Tea practitioners,…
Film, VideoDocumenting COVID-19 Every American was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. But every American’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic was different. On March 11th, exactly five years since COVID-19 was designated as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, this panel discussion will bring together four documentarians of the COVID-19 pandemic to explore what it means to undertake cultural documentation in various communities during a public health…