Library of Congress Announces Spring 2023 Concert Series
Series Presents World Premieres of Library Commissions by
Marcos Balter, Danny Elfman
The Library of Congress will present a series of concerts and more this spring, with chamber music, jazz, dance and film events. Conversations with artists and composers, curated displays, and educational projects will enhance the season’s offerings and provide opportunities for encounters with the Library’s unparalleled music collections.
Events are free and open to the public. Patrons can register to attend events on the Concerts from the Library of Congress website. Masks are optional in Library buildings.
Due to ongoing repairs in the Coolidge Auditorium, many events will be presented in alternative venues. Up-to-date information can be found on each event page, and registered patrons will be sent updates as necessary.
“We are excited about a blockbuster run of events this spring, including great jazz, new music from a diverse group of composers, and concerts that highlight our incomparable instruments,” said Susan H. Vita, chief of the Library’s Music Division. “On Feb. 8, the Quatuor Van Kuijk will play our Stradivari instruments in a special concert in the Library’s Great Hall, an extraordinary concert in an extraordinary architectural environment.”
Two jazz projects will honor iconic figures whose collections are held in the Library of Congress: Charles Mingus and Billy Strayhorn. The Mingus Dynasty Quintet will perform in a collaboration with D.C. JazzFest on April 14. The Library will also present “Salute to Billy Strayhorn” from June 8 -11, a mini-festival of concerts, lectures and screening of films celebrating Strayhorn’s work.
Spring 2023 Programs
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 8 p.m.: Klangforum Wien
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
301 A Street SE Washington, DC
One of Europe’s great contemporary music ensembles, Austria’s Klangforum Wien opens the Library’s spring series with works by Beat Furrer, Liza Lim, Iannis Xenakis, and Morton Feldman’s “Spring of Chosroes,” a Library of Congress McKim Fund commission. Register for tickets here.
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 8 p.m.: Quatuor Van Kuijk
Great Hall, Thomas Jefferson Building
The Paris-based ensemble plays the Library’s Stradivari instruments in the Great Hall of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building. The U.S. premiere of Benjamin Attahir’s Al Dhikrâ will be performed, with Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, and transcriptions of works by Claude Debussy, Francis Poulenc and Gabriel Fauré. Register for tickets here.
Saturday, Feb. 11, 8 p.m.: Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki, conductor and harpsichord and Roderick Williams, baritone
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
301 A Street SE Washington, DC
Masaaki Suzuki leads an intimate ensemble of stellar musicians from the Bach Collegium Japan with music by J.S. Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and a slightly younger compatriot, the stile galant composer Johann Gottlieb Janitsch. Joining the collegium is British baritone Roderick Williams, a distinguished figure on opera and concert stages worldwide, who performs two solo cantatas, including Bach’s “Ich habe genug.” Register for tickets here.
Tuesday, Feb. 21, 1 p.m.: Washington Men’s Camerata with Frank Albinder, artistic director
Virtual Performance and Webinar
Watch Frank Albinder and the Washington Men’s Camerata take us through a survey of music by Barber, Beach, Fine, Foote, Weber, Wagner and more in this virtual concert, available on Feb. 21. This program of music for men’s chorus by American and German composers is drawn mostly from music that the Library holds in manuscript. As a bonus, join James Wintle of the Library’s Music Division in a webinar for a special behind-the-scenes look at this music at 1 p.m. on Feb. 21. This concert was made possible with the generous support of the Irving and Verna Fine Fund in the Library of Congress. Register for the webinar here.
Monday, March 20, 8 p.m.: Ars Nova Copenhagen
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
301 A Street SE Washington, DC
Led by conductor Paul Hillier, the 12 voices of Ars Nova Copenhagen link the worlds of Machaut and Gibbons to those of the 20th century and beyond with pieces by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Per Nørgård, Gavin Bryars and Caroline Shaw. Register for tickets here.
Tuesday, March 21, 8 p.m.: Stephen Hough, piano
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
301 A Street SE Washington, DC
Sir Stephen Hough presents a recital with music from the mysterious and mystical realms of Mompou and Scriabin to the evocative imagery of Liszt and Debussy plus Hough’s own Partita. Register for tickets here.
Friday, March 31, 8 p.m.: Immanuel Wilkins Quartet
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater
1101 6th St SW, Washington, DC
Saxophonist, composer and arranger, Immanuel Wilkins is a vital voice in a new generation of jazz thinkers. Wilkins references John Coltrane and the music of the Baptist and Pentecostal churches of his Philadelphia childhood. Presented through the generous support of the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family. Register for tickets here.
Friday, April 14, 8 p.m.: Mingus Dynasty Quintet
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater
1101 6th St SW, Washington, DC
The Library joins forces with D.C. JazzFest to celebrate the 100th birth year and legacy of the virtuoso bassist, bandleader and prolific composer Charles Mingus. The celebration features a display of selections from the Library’s Charles Mingus Collection, which includes manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, artwork, artifacts and writings by and about Mingus. Presented through the generous support of the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family. Register for tickets here.
Friday, April 21, 8 p.m.: Harlem Quartet with Michael Brown, piano
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
301 A Street SE Washington, DC
The Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet and Michael Brown perform a program featuring the versatility of the string quartet and piano, with music from Beach, López-Gavilán, Strayhorn, von Schauroth, Mendelssohn and Schumann. Register for tickets here.
Thursday, May 4, 8 p.m.: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Chad Hoopes, violin
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
301 A Street SE Washington, DC
An evening with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra honors the legacy of conductor Andre Kostelanetz. Chad Hoopes performs Mendelssohn’s violin concerto, and a new Library of Congress commission from acclaimed film and concert composer Danny Elfman, funded through the generous support of the Andre Kostelanetz Royalty Pool. Jannina Norpoth’s arrangement of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” gives the Orpheus players a moment to shine. Register for tickets here.
Friday, May 5, 2 p.m.: Symposium: New Musical Discoveries from the Era of Madame Pompadour (1745-1764)
Room 119, Thomas Jefferson Building
Susan H. Vita, chief, Music Division, Library of Congress
Mathias Auclair, director, Music Department, Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Sylvie Bouissou, director of research, National Center of Scientific Research (CHRS)
Ryan Brown, artistic director and founder, Opera Lafayette
The Library in collaboration with Opera Lafayette present French and American scholars involved with the rediscovery, completion and premieres of two significant 18th-century opéra-ballets: Jean-Philippe Rameau’s “Io” and Pierre de la Garde’s “Léandre et Héro.” The panelists will discuss issues regarding research and editing for performance editions of operas from this period, and examine the role of great national libraries in acquiring and preserving artifacts of cultural patrimony. Register for tickets here.
Tuesday, May 16, 8 p.m.: Signum Quartet [Please note – the date of this event has changed.]
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
301 A Street SE Washington, DC
Germany’s Signum Quartet plays Franz Schubert's masterpiece, “Death and the Maiden,” with works by Joseph Haydn, Priaulx Rainier and Matthijs van Dijk. Register for tickets here.
Wednesday, May 24, 7 p.m.: How Do You Measure a Year? Jonathan Larson and the Creation of the Musical “Rent”
Montpelier Room, James Madison Building
In a lecture co-presented with the American Musicological Society, Alex Bádue discusses his research on Jonathan Larson’s “Rent,” based on lyric sketches, letters and scripts held in the Library’s Jonathan Larson Collection. Bádue focuses on the final year of the composition process, from 1995 to 1996, and establishes a timeline that includes major events in the making of the musical that have not yet been accounted for in the historiography of “Rent” and its original production. Register for tickets here.
Thursday, June 8, 8 p.m.: Bill Charlap Trio, Jon Faddis, trumpet
The Bill Charlap Trio and Jon Faddis perform Strayhorn’s unforgettable songs — and some piano solos. Presented through the generous support of the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family. Join for a pre-concert conversation with A. Alyce Claerbaut, president of Strayhorn Songs, Inc. at 6:30 p.m. in the Whittall Pavilion. Part of the Library’s “Salute to Strayhorn” celebration. Register for tickets here.
Friday, June 9, 6 p.m. Screening of “Anatomy of a Murder”
Mary Pickford Theater, James Madison Building
The music of Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington plays an important role in this film nominated for seven Academy Awards. Presented through the generous support of the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family. Part of the Library’s “Salute to Strayhorn” celebration. Register for tickets here.
Saturday, June 10, 2 p.m.: Screening of “Paris Blues”
Mary Pickford Theater, James Madison Building
“Paris Blues” is a classic love story about American expatriate jazz musicians in Paris, with memorable performances by figures including Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier and Louis Armstrong. Presented through the generous support of the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family. Part of the Library’s “Salute to Strayhorn” celebration. Register for tickets here.
Saturday, June 10, 4 p.m.: Strayhorn Known and Unknown Symposium
Room 119, Thomas Jefferson Building
David Hajdu, author of “Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn”
Robert G. O’Meally, Zora Neale Hurston Professor of English, Columbia University
Lisa Barg, associate professor, Schulich School of Music of McGill University
A. Alyce Claerbaut, president, Strayhorn Songs, Inc.
Join for the keynote lecture at 4 p.m. by Strayhorn biographer David Hajdu, followed by a panel discussion at 5 p.m. Presented through the generous support of the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family. Part of the Library’s “Salute to Strayhorn” celebration. Register for tickets here.
Saturday, June 10, 8 p.m.: Big Band Evening: Strayhorn Known and Unknown
Loren Schoenberg, conductor, Russell Malone, guitar
Saxophonist and conductor Loren Schoenberg, senior scholar at The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, has delved into the Library’s archives to design a standout big band evening bringing to life both Strayhorn classics and rediscovered works. You’ll hear lesser-known Strayhorn masterpieces like “Overture To A Jam Session,” “Orson,” and “Boll Weevil Ballet,” along with the classics: “Take the A Train,” “Satin Doll,” “Lost In Meditation,” “Chelsea Bridge” and others. Russell Malone will share his new interpretations of Strayhorn’s music, in a rare chance to hear electric guitar paired with Strayhorn arrangements. Presented through the generous support of the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family. Part of the Library’s “Salute to Strayhorn” celebration. Register for tickets here.
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Media Contact: Leah Knobel, lknobel@loc.gov
Public Contact: Anne McLean, amcl@loc.gov
PR 23-009
01/20/2023
ISSN 0731-3527