Pacifica Quartet
Jan. 23 at 8:00 PM
Pacifica joins forces with German composer and clarinetist Jorg Widmann
Music from Marlboro
Jan. 25 at 8:00 PM
Vocal and instrumental chamber music from Austria, Germany, and Great Britain
Author Talk
Jan. 26 at 7:00 PM
“The Rhythmic Imagination in African Music;” by Kofi Agawu, PhD
Film Screening
Feb. 3 at 7:00 PM
Princess Mononoke, part of “Toon Tunes with Solomon HaileSelassie”
Jordi Savall
Feb. 4 at 8:00 PM
Savall and Hespèrion XXI illuminates the rich musical history of “La Serenissima”
Film Screening
Feb. 10 at 7:00 PM
Feb. 11 at 12 PM
Beauty and the Beast, part of “Toon Tunes with Solomon HaileSelassie”
Lecture
Feb. 14 at 12 PM
“Rewriting Rachmaninoff: Transcriptions and Revisions in the Library’s Collections;” David Plylar, PhD
Film Screening
Feb. 17 at 7 PM
Feb. 18 at 12 PM
The Nightmare Before Christmas, part of “Toon Tunes with Solomon HaileSelassie”
Either/Or
Feb. 18 at 8 PM
A selection of works exploring the commonalities and distinctions between a wide range of composers
Lecture
Feb. 21 at 21 PM
“The Costume Designs of Miles White” with Walter Zvonchenko
Lecture
Feb. 23 at 7 PM
“Harry T. Burleigh: From the Spiritual to the Harlem Renaissance;” with author Jean E. Snyder
Film Screening
Feb. 24 at 7 PM
Feb. 25 at 12 PM
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, part of “Toon Tunes with Solomon HaileSelassie”
Lecture
Feb. 28 at 12 PM
“Hindemith’s Musical Responses to WWI,” with Nicholas Alexander Brown
Interview
March 1 at 12 PM
Jazz curator Larry Appelbaum interviews Library of Congress Jazz Scholar Ingrid Monson
Hagen Quartet
March 3 at 8 PM
A program featuring works by Schubert, Shostakovich, and Brahms
Lecture
March 7 at 12 PM
“Dayton C. Miller, an American Collector of Flutes” Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford and Paul Runci
Lecture
March 9 at 7 PM
Library of Congress Jazz Scholar Ingrid Monson discusses her research in the Music Division’s collections
Kyogen Plays
March 21 at 8 PM
A special evening of Kyogen with the Shigeyama Kyogen Troupe
Musicians from Marlboro
March 22 at 8 PM
Alexi Kenney, Robin Scott, Shuangshuang Liu, Peter Stumpf, and Zoltán Fejérvári
Arditti Quartet
March 24 at 8 PM
Guitarist Eliot Fisk joins the quartet for a premiere of a new co-commission by Wolfgang Rihm
Ella Fitzgerald Centennial
March 31 at 8 PM
"Dianne Reeves Sings Ella," a special intimate concert featuring award-winning singer
Lecture
April 4 at 12 PM
“World War I Sheet Music at the Library of Congress,” Paul Frauenfelter
World Premiere
April 7 at 6:30 PM
"Fierce Grace—Jeanette Rankin," a song cycle about the first woman elected to Congress
Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
April 8 at 8 PM
Orion String Quartet with Tony Arnold, Brett Dean and Juho Pohjohnen
Lecture
April 11 at 12 PM
“Choreographer Erick Hawkins and Composer Lucia Dlugoszewski;” with Libby Smigel and Kate Doyle
Isserlis / Shih
April 21 at 8 PM
Cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Connie Shih in a program of Fauré, Hahn, Shostakovich, and more
#DECLASSIFIED
April 22 at 11 AM
“In Bach’s Hand: Notes and Accounts,” with Anne McLean and Jan Lauridsen
Steve Coleman
April 22 at 8 PM
Saxophone player and composer Coleman with his band, Five Elements
Lecture
April 25 at 12 PM
“Celebrating the 100th Birthday of Ella Fitzgerald,” with Larry Appelbaum
#DECLASSIFIED
April 29 at 11 AM
"Sketches and Sources for Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage, Troisiéme Année," with David Plylar
Lecture
May 9 at 12 PM
“Sidney Robertson Cowell and the WPA California Folk Music Project, 1938-40,” with Cathy Kerst
AMS Lecture
May 18 at 7 PM
"Johnnies, Tommies, and Sammies: Music and the WWI Alliance"
Ambrose Akinmusire
May 20 at 8 PM
Trumpeter Akinmusire, one of the hottest artists on the jazz scene today, with his quartet
The 91st season of Concerts from the Library of Congress builds on our continuing mission: to give the music on the shelves of the Library a living voice.
Bringing the Library’s phenomenally rich music collections to life in performance and conversation, we present concerts, lectures, and encounters with remarkable artists, composers and scholars, plus film screenings and book talks: experiences to invigorate and inspire.
Join us for an exciting 65-event series launching October 17, offering classical music, jazz, pop, American musical theater and more. Coming up: luminaries like The Tallis Scholars, Mark Padmore, Tony Arnold, and Jordi Savall; world premiere performances of Library of Congress commissions from Wolfgang Rihm, Brett Dean and Steve Coleman; great jazz programs made possible through the generous support of the Reva and David Logan Foundation; and an 80th anniversary celebration for our Stradivari instruments, the gift of Gertrude Clarke Whittall.
Curious about music? You can immerse yourself in our Declassified presentations and curator talks, and investigate a range of musical topics, from heavy metal to Rachmaninoff. Take an evening for a transformative experience at the Library of Congress, all absolutely free of charge to everyone.
Radio Series
The Library of Congress and WETA Classical 90.9 launched a new radio series on April 1, 2016, presenting 13 one-hour programs produced from the Library's 2015-2016 concert season. Produced by Classic Digital Syndications, the series is offered free of charge to public radio stations nationwide. The series is hosted by Bill McGlaughlin with special guest hosts David Plylar, Nicholas Alexander Brown, James Wintle, Nicholas Kitchen, and WETA's Dan DeVany.
Learn more and listen to programs
Library of Congress on Q2 Music
The Library of Congress and Q2 Music, the online stream of contemporary classical music presented by New York-based public broadcaster WQXR Radio, partners to release live recordings of recent Library of Congress commissions and U.S. and world premiere performances of contemporary works.
Full 2016-2017 Season
Download the 2016-17 season description and concert repertoire [PDF, 95KB]
Opera Portraits Exhibition
August 11 - January 21, 2017 | Performing Arts Reading Room, James Madison Building.
The Charles Jahant Collection in the Library of Congress Music Division contains nearly 2,000 photographs of opera singers from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many of which are inscribed to him. The photographs on exhibit represent a cross section of important singers who performed in the United States.