She’s all-daring and all-voice, magnificent and maddening, improbable and irreplaceable. You’ll be saying “Hello, Gorgeous” when you join documentary filmmaker and writer Sara Lukinson, whose commentary and abundant sampling of clips set the stage for a fun night to spend with La Streisand.
To kick off the annual worldwide celebration of jazz, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra offers a soundtrack filled with rhythm, texture, and color as it showcases the work of prominent 20th–century visual artists including William Sharp, John Fenton, and Romare Bearden. Works by Dizzy Gillespie, McKinney's Cotton Pickers, and Sun Ra are among the musical selections.
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society audiences are privy to the unparalleled experience of being able to hear two magnificent quartets of instruments—one made by Antonio Stradivari, the other by his teacher Nicoló Amati—in this popular three-concert series on Saturdays. The concert features music composed by Mozart, Bartók, and Beethoven.
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society audiences are privy to the unparalleled experience of being able to hear two magnificent quartets of instruments—one made by Antonio Stradivari, the other by his teacher Nicoló Amati—in this popular three-concert series on Sundays. The concert features music composed by Mozart, Bartók, and Beethoven.
Television is changing in front of our eyes. More and more viewers prefer to watch new online-only channels like Netflix or Disney+. An entire generation of younger viewers has given up on the TV set altogether. Drawing on video clips to illustrate his talk, media expert Brian Rose explains why the old days of simply “watching TV” are fast disappearing.
Looking for a choral program that celebrates memorable music across the decades? This is the one for you. Join fellow music lovers to sing timeless classics from the 1920s and ’30s all the way to ’70s and ’80s hits under the direction of choral conductor and music educator Ernest Johnson. The experience is designed to entertain, challenge, and educate adult singers of all skill levels—and you can take a bow at the performance that concludes the program.
Brooklyn offers plenty of delights for lovers of art, music, nature, and of course, food. On this two-day visit, arts journalist and former Brooklynite Richard Selden introduces you to several of the borough’s top attractions.
With his soaring melodies, rich harmonies, and rhythmic vigor, Johannes Brahms is among the immortals, his name linked with Bach’s and Beethoven’s as one of the “Three B’s” of classical music. Opera and classical music expert Saul Lilienstein examines the breadth of Brahms’ extraordinary career, from his teenage years playing piano in the brothels of Hamburg to his sweeping triumphs in Vienna and international recognition as the greatest living symphonist.
Here are more of those wonderful songs we love, and the stories behind their long lives. In an afternoon series, filmmaker and cultural historian Sara Lukinson combines lively lectures with a wide variety of film clips as she traces how favorite songs by each composer came to be and how different artists, unexpected arrangements, and changing times transformed them into something new but still the same. This session spotlights songs by Irving Berlin.
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society audiences are privy to the unparalleled experience of being able to hear two magnificent quartets of instruments—one made by Antonio Stradivari, the other by his teacher Nicoló Amati—in this popular three-concert series on Saturdays. The concert features music composed by Haydn, Britten, and Beethoven.
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society audiences are privy to the unparalleled experience of being able to hear two magnificent quartets of instruments—one made by Antonio Stradivari, the other by his teacher Nicoló Amati—in this popular three-concert series on Sundays. The concert features music composed by Haydn, Britten, and Beethoven.
Here are more of those wonderful songs we love, and the stories behind their long lives. In an afternoon series, filmmaker and cultural historian Sara Lukinson combines lively lectures with a wide variety of film clips as she traces how favorite songs by each composer came to be and how different artists, unexpected arrangements, and changing times transformed them into something new but still the same. This session spotlights songs by Johnny Mercer.
The silver screen has changed drastically since its beginnings in the 19th century. Media expert Brian Rose looks at the history of movie theaters and considers what might happen next in the age of streaming services. BYOP—bring your own popcorn!
Between them, tenor Frank Kelley and fortepianist Kenneth Slowik have lived with Franz Schubert's great cycle of love, longing, jealousy, and death—the basic subjects of much of the German Lied repertoire—for well over half a century. Their compelling collaboration in Die schöne Müllerin, D795 is a product of this long mutual familiarity in this in-person concert.
Here are more of those wonderful songs we love, and the stories behind their long lives. In an afternoon series, filmmaker and cultural historian Sara Lukinson combines lively lectures with a wide variety of film clips as she traces how favorite songs by each composer came to be and how different artists, unexpected arrangements, and changing times transformed them into something new but still the same. This session spotlights songs by Burt Bachrach.
Twentieth-century jazz and blues artists had a tremendous impact on commercial films from the late 1920s to the early 1960s, where they easily stole any musical comedy, show business biopic, or edgy melodrama in which they had fleeting cameos. Though the cinematic achievements of these remarkable performers have been downplayed or deeply undervalued, film historian Max Alvarez knows the reasons they shined so brightly. Find out for yourself when he leads an electrifying two-part musical journey that begins in 1929 with Bessie Smith’s only screen appearance in St. Louis Blues and culminates in Dave Brubeck’s work in the 1962 British drama All Night Long.
George Gershwin is one of the giants of American music, unique in that he was a brilliant composer of both popular songs (“Swanee,” “I Got Rhythm,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”) and more serious music, including Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, and Porgy and Bess. Pianist and Gershwin authority Robert Wyatt explores the composer’s much too short life (he died at age 38) and legacy. S’wonderful!
How can a composer represent the natural universe through sound? Centuries of exquisite nature-inspired concert works show just how well it can be done. Popular speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin uses her unique live piano demonstrations and fascinating film clips to explore how such masters as Beethoven, Mahler, Wagner, Vivaldi, Holst, Vaughan Williams, Saint-Saëns, and countless others composed beloved works that conjure our natural world.
Timothy Hampton, a professor of comparative literature at the University of California at Berkeley, examines some of Dylan's most famous songs to reveal his deep interest in historical themes and social change, as well as how his music asks us to think about the way the past is remembered and shaped by art.
They’ve been called everything from the Washingtonians to Duke Ellington and His Kentucky Club Orchestra to Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (and more). But the Duke Ellington Orchestra under any name maintains an unparalleled place in the history of American music. This year marks the 100th anniversary of this legendary ensemble, and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra is ready to celebrate its vast musical legacy.
There’s nothing Mickey Mouse about the impact the Walt Disney Company has had on the entertainment business. Media historian Brian Rose traces how the company evolved from a small cartoon studio in 1923 to one of the most powerful forces in worldwide entertainment today.
A popular summer retreat for Bostonians and New Yorkers for well over 150 years, the scenic and historic Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts are alive with music, art, and theater. Arts journalist Richard Selden leads a five-day tour that offers a splendid sampling of cultural attractions in the region, from writers’ historic homes to outstanding museums to music and theater performances.
