Tag: Music

Bob Dylan Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature

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The news seemed so odd – what relevance does Bob Dylan have now? Is his work literature?  Which work, or works, merit this prize? If the prize is in recognition of a body of work, where is the corpus? The collection?

What does Dylan mean to those interested in what was, at least in the past, known as the fine arts? How is his work different from the horde of largely forgotten singers and songwriters, back to the Brill Building and Tin Pan Alley? Continue reading “Bob Dylan Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature”

Collection Spotlight: Maria Ascarra papers

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Maria Ascarra was an actress who performed in multiple productions around the United States. The principal material in this collection was collected during her prime performing years in New York City and elsewhere. The collection includes clippings, correspondence, ephemera, documents, programs, publicity, published works, scripts and 3 dimensional objects (primarily theatre props) relating to theatre, dance and classical music. Most of the material originates from Dallas, Texas, but there is also material from New York City and other states and cities.

The Maria Ascarra Collection includes a variety of materials such as artwork, clippings, correspondence, documents, ephemera, programs, publicity, published works, scrapbooks, scripts, photographs, costumes and three-dimensional objects.

Please take a look at the detailed finding aid available through Texas Archival Resources.

Image: Courtesy of Maria Ascarra papers, Bywaters Special Collections, Hamon Arts Library, Southern Methodist University.

Get in formation: a Lemonade syllabus

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Many of us have been on an emotional rollercoaster since Beyoncé gifted us with her visual album Lemonade on April 23. Putting aside our concern for Bey and Jay’s marriage, the album itself is aurally and visually stunning and has received high critical acclaim. Lemonade premiered on HBO, and being especially proud of the part they played in its release, the network plans to submit Lemonade for Emmy consideration. Continue reading “Get in formation: a Lemonade syllabus”

We made you a playlist

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Just in time for finals, the Libraries staff have released a playlist to help you focus while meeting your deadlines. A variety of musical styles are represented, including The Smiths, Leon Bridges, and W.A. Mozart (Rock me, Amadeus was an honorable mention). Here are some highlights, and you can experience the full playlist on Spotify. Continue reading “We made you a playlist”

David Bowie as art critic

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Following the announcement of David Bowie’s death in January, a number of memorials have been published praising and critiquing the singer’s other contributions in the arts.  Indeed, he was not just a cultural icon involved in music, fashion, film, and theater; in the 1990s, he also wrote about contemporary art.

Continue reading “David Bowie as art critic”

Making the write moves: Grant writing workshop April 5

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This workshop presents organizational steps to help you begin your research for funding sources and craft clear and compelling proposals. Presented by Beverly Mitchell, Art and Dance Librarian. Continue reading “Making the write moves: Grant writing workshop April 5”

Ed Bland: American urban classical composer

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Several years ago when I was brainstorming for a doctoral performance project, I knew that I wanted to deal with something that had to deal with African-American composers.  This was because through all my studies I found that black composers were seldom represented in the classroom and on the performance stage.  After some initial research I came across the works of Ed Bland mostly because it seemed he had many compositions for clarinet (my instrument).  After acquiring his album Urban Classical, I became fascinated by the music I was listening to and decided to focus my research on him. Continue reading “Ed Bland: American urban classical composer”

Pictorial: Meadows singers learn from masters Jake Heggie, Joyce DiDonato, and Frederica von Stade

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Three judges
The master teachers, Jake Heggie, Joyce DiDonato, and Frederica von Stade (from left to right).

On November 3, Mezzo sopranos Joyce DiDonato and Frederica von Stade and composer Jake Heggie took time between performances of Heggie’s opera Great Scott to give a master class for singers in the Division of Music in the Meadows School of the Arts. Five students performed art songs and opera arias for the artists and a sizable audience of fellow music students and faculty. Each performer was then given feedback and comments from Heggie, von Stade, and DiDonato. Here are some of the highlights of the two-hour class. Continue reading “Pictorial: Meadows singers learn from masters Jake Heggie, Joyce DiDonato, and Frederica von Stade”

Pierre Boulez (1925-2016): A personal remembrance

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Composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, one of the most influential musical figures of the second half of the twentieth century, passed away on Tuesday, January 5. Since then, multiple news organizations have published lengthy assessments of Boulez and the manner in which he shaped and challenged notions of established concert repertoire as a stalwart advocate of new music and new compositional techniques. This post cannot improve upon the far more eloquent and precise appraisals of Boulez written in The New York Times, The Guardian, and the Los Angeles Times. I would like, instead, to offer the less celebrated work of Boulez—his work with young, aspiring musicians.

Continue reading “Pierre Boulez (1925-2016): A personal remembrance”

Robert Craft (1923-2015): An improbable life

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American conductor and musicologist Robert Craft passed away on November 10 at the age of 92. Craft was best known as the advisor and close friend of Igor Stravinsky from 1948 until Stravinsky’s death in 1971; at times, he even lived in the Stravinsky home. But Craft was also a tastemaker in American classical music during the 20th century. He championed the works of composers Arnold Schönberg, Anton Webern, and Alban Berg by conducting and recording their music. He recorded a collection of Webern’s complete works, and he collaborated closely with Stravinsky and conducted recording sessions and premieres of the composer’s later works. Continue reading “Robert Craft (1923-2015): An improbable life”