Here is an incredibly ambitious and fairly thorough program starting soon at the New York Public Library presenting a history of music in New York City via a mix of panels, films, documentaries, and performances. Scroll down slowly - I've attempted to present the schedule in a neat & easy to read format. Links are provided for each individual event.
All events included in the Rhapsodic City: Music of
New York series take place at The New York Public Library for the
Performing Arts (40 Lincoln Center Plaza) unless otherwise noted below,
and are free and open to the public.
This spring,
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts presents
Rhapsodic City: Music of New York, a new six-week long interdisciplinary series exploring the city's distinct role in the formulation, emergence, and legacy of some of the most exciting music movements in the 20th century.
Tackling a different music style or subject each week -- hip-hop, punk, the folk music revival, Prohibition-era jazz, Mambo and Salsa, and the Brill Building's heyday -- Rhapsodic City: Music of New York features panel discussions with icons and experts, performances by leading artists, special film screenings and presentations of the Performing Arts Library's remarkable collections.
Highlights from the series include a discussion of punk style and sound with
Blondie's
Debbie Harry and
Chris Stein; performances by Jazz Age Lawn Party founder
Michael Arenella, Grammy-nominated bandleader
Bobby Sanabria, and
Joe McGinty from
the Losers Lounge Band; a celebration of women in hip-hop; and an exploration of Greenwich Village in the '50s and '60s led by
Elijah Wald, author of the book that served as source material for the Coen Brothers' latest film.
"At The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, we are deeply aware of how vital music is to this city's cultural fabric," said Jacqueline Z. Davis, Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleishman Executive Director of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. "Using our vast archival materials -- including sheet music, films, recordings and more -- Rhapsodic City: Music of New York provides an opportunity for us to illustrate some of the most compelling examples of how New York inspires new genres of music, and how musical styles from around the world have become part of the city's own cultural narrative, creating a distinctly New York story."
All events included in the Rhapsodic City: Music of New York series take place at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (40 Lincoln Center Plaza) unless otherwise noted below, and are free and open to the public. Continued after
the jump.
