Articles tagged as Music | Smithsonian Magazine

Tom Randle plays Macheath, or “Mack the Knife,” in a production of Benjamin Britten’s The Beggar’s Opera.

Cool Finds

The Strange Career of “Mack the Knife”

As old Macheath is inducted into the National Recording Registry, here’s a look back at his long musical life

March 24, 2016

What Questlove Has to Say About Today’s Food-Obsessed Culture

In a new book, the bandleader and hip-hop star stirs up music and cooking

April 2016

Cab Calloway called the zoot suit “the ultimate in clothes.”

A Brief History of the Zoot Suit

Unraveling the jazzy life of a snazzy style

April 2016

America's musical highway is located on Route 66 near Albuquerque, New Mexico.

If You Drive The Right Speed, This Musical Highway Will Play You a Song

This stretch of Route 66 sings—literally

March 23, 2016

Portrait of composer Barbara Strozzi (1581-1644)

These Women Composers Should Be Household Names Like Bach or Mozart

Denied the same opportunities as their male counterparts, women like Lili Boulanger and Clara Schumann found ways to get their work in front of audiences

March 17, 2016

In 1968, the Beatles ventured to the foothills of the Himalaya for a spiritual retreat.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

How the Indian City of Rishikesh Influenced the Beatles’ White Album

A meditation retreat in 1968 offered the British rock group heightened awareness and peace of mind

March 16, 2016

Son of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren says it’s to spite the Queen

March 16, 2016

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Today’s Google Doodle Celebrates Electronic Music Pioneer Clara Rockmore

The theremin virtuosa would have been 105 years old today

March 9, 2016

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This Machine Makes Music With Marbles

The absurd-looking device is a marble-powered, one-man band

March 7, 2016

Travel the World With Ennio Morricone’s Evocative Film Scores

Celebrate the maestro’s first Oscar with a musical trip across the continents

February 29, 2016

Did ADHD Play a Role in George Gershwin’s Eclectic Style?

The composer himself seemed to see a link between his restlessness and his art

March 2016

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A German Composer Uncovered a Collaboration Between Mozart and Salieri

Their epic rivalry might not have been all that

February 16, 2016

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OK Go Shot Their Latest Music Video in Microgravity

Singing aboard the Vomit Comet

February 12, 2016

In 1972, Ray Charles visited Richard Nixon in the Oval Office

Breaking Ground

Ray Charles Returns to the White House

The blind king of soul once sat down with Richard Nixon, now his music will be performed by a host of musicians for Barack Obama

February 12, 2016

A trumpet recovered from the USS Houston undergoes treatment at the Naval History and Heritage Command's Underwater Archaeology Branch laboratory on the Washington Navy Yard, Dec. 31, 2013.

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A Trumpet Retrieved From a World War II Shipwreck Could Still Hold Its Owner’s DNA

Conservators are trying to identify the sailor who once played it

February 4, 2016

Chuck Brown, known as the grandfather of go-go, died in 2012. Now, a go-go archive is being assembled in his honor.

Librarians are calling for the preservation of Washington, D.C.’s iconic musical genre

January 22, 2016

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Watch 100 Drones Dance Their Way to a World Record

The swarm recently took to the skies to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony

January 12, 2016

Library patrons will soon be able to check out ukuleles in libraries across Pennsylvania.

Cool Finds

Pennsylvania Libraries Will Let You Check Out a Ukulele

Read, strum, repeat

January 12, 2016

From “Space Oddity” to “Lazarus,” Bowie gave voice to the anxiety of science fiction

January 11, 2016

Bill Cherry, one of the headlining acts during the week.

Go Behind the Scenes at America’s Most Lucrative Elvis Presley Tribute Contest

Get all shook up with the winners of this year’s Tribute to the King

January 8, 2016