Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Arts & Culture / Music & Film

As musicians, locals and tourists converge in Lapa, it has become the musical heart of Rio de Janeiro.

Rio’s Music is Alive and Well

Brazil’s music scene may be known for beats such as bossa nova, but newer sounds are making waves on the streets of Rio

George Gershwin's time in the Carolinas launched the musician on such a spree of creativity that it led to what some critics call one of his finest works.

Summertime for George Gershwin

Porgy and Bess debuted 75 years ago this fall, but a visit to South Carolina the year before gave life to Gershwin’s masterpiece

"Kids have fantastic ideas," says "wired composer" Tod Machover, holding an instrument from the Beatles version of Rock Band, the computer-based musical toy invented by his students at MIT.

Tod Machover on Composing Music by Computer

The inventor and MIT professor talks about where music and technology will intersect over the course of the next 40 years

None

Legends of the Apollo

For more than 75 years, some of the world’s greatest entertainers have performed at the famous Harlem theater

The Beach Boys were arguably the most popular rock group in the country with five separate albums simultaneously on the charts in 1964.

The Rock Concert That Captured an Era

Featuring acts such as the Beach Boys, James Brown and the Rolling Stones, The T.A.M.I. Show defined popular music for a generation

Last December, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, a film based on a never-before-produced screenplay by Tennessee Williams opened in theaters.

A Forgotten Tennessee Williams Work Now a Motion Picture

Written in the 1950s, “The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond” was forgotten until it was recently adapted into a major motion picture

The city, in all its brooding grandeur, takes center stage in stories featuring the master of deduction.

Sherlock Holmes’ London

As the detective stalks movie theaters, our reporter tracks down the favorite haunts of Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous sleuth

Handel House was reopened in 2001. Shown here are musicians practicing on period instruments.

Handel Slept Here

The composer’s early-Georgian town house reflects his life and times

George Frideric Handel (at age 64 in 1749) produced works, including Messiah that dazzled even the musical titans who would succeed him.

The Glorious History of Handel’s Messiah

A musical rite of the holiday season, the Baroque-era oratorio still awes listeners more than 250 years after the composer’s death

Hazel Scott captivated audiences with her renditions of classical masterpieces by Chopin, Bach and Rachmaninoff.

Hazel Scott’s Lifetime of High Notes

She began her career as a musical prodigy and ended up breaking down racial barriers in the recording and film industries

Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.

Washington, D.C.

Real Places Behind Famously Frightening Stories

Discover old haunts that inspired thrills and chills in fiction and film

Harold Arlen is best known for composing the songs for the film "The Wizard of Oz."

A Depression- Era Playlist

Poet David Lehman provides a list of his favorite songs from the 1930s, including works by Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen and others

Irving Berlin singing at the dedication of the Los Angeles City Hall.

Jewish Songwriters, American Songs

Poet David Lehman talks about the brilliant Jewish composers and lyricists whose work largely comprises the great American songbook

Famous for Motown hits like “My Girl” and “Get Ready,” the Temptations spin and glide through their polished choreography at the Apollo Theater.

Motown Turns 50

For years, the recording industry excluded black artists. Along came Motown, and suddenly everyone was singing its tunes

Lester Young electrified the jazz world with his dexterity and imagination.

Lester Young Turns 100

Billie Holiday’s favorite musician, jazz great Lester “Prez” Young brought a hip, freewheeling sensibility to his saxophone playing

Arlo Guthrie is marking the 40th anniversary of Woodstock by releasing a lost tape from a show just prior to the iconic festival.

Arlo Guthrie Reminisces About Woodstock

The folk musician talks about his new album – a lost recording of a solo concert held days before the legendary music festival

Images and phrases from The Wizard of Oz are so pervasive that it's hard to conceive of it as the product of one man's imagination.

Frank Baum, the Man Behind the Curtain

The author of The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum, traveled many paths before he found his Yellow Brick Road

None

Days 7 to 12: A Cannes Farewell

As Michael Parfit bids goodbye to the Cannes Film Festival, there is good news for Luna from the Canary Islands

None

Days 5 and 6: Dark Days at Cannes

The buzz surrounding a new film leaves Cannes-goers anxious, but Michael Parfit finds reasons for hope

None

Day 4: At Cannes, What’s Your Tagline?

Beyond the red carpet and glamorous stars, films are boiled down to a mere few words, some more memorable than others

Page 35 of 40