The Music Division of the Library of Congress and the American Musicological Society, in joint partnership, present the fourth in a series of lectures highlighting musicological research conducted in the division's collections. Walter Frisch discusses "Arnold Schoenberg's Creative Journey, 1897-1912" in the Coolidge Auditorium.

Walter Frisch speaks about the music of Arnold Schoenberg and Milton Babbitt, focusing on the music performed on the Spektral Quartet concert of 3/31/2018, including Schoenberg's first and third string quartets and Babbitt's "The Joy of More Sextets" and "An Encore," composed for violin and piano. The Library of Congress possesses holograph manuscript material related to all of these works.

Members of the Parisian Arod Quartet join the Library's David Plylar in a discussion about their first full tour in the United States, their program selections and their experience playing instruments from the Library of Congress Stradivari collection.

Two members of the Dover Quartet in a discussion before their program performed at the Library's Stradivari Anniversary concert in 2017. Topics include their program of works by Ullmann, Schoenberg and Zemlinsky and other current projects. The Library of Congress holds the manuscripts of two of the works performed: Schoenberg's 1897 quartet in D major, and Zemlinsky's second quartet.

Wayne Shirley discusses the manuscript sources for Arnold Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht in the Library's Gertrude Clarke Whittall Foundation collection.

David Plylar speaks with Brad Lubman, conductor of Ensemble Signal, and Luca Francesconi, composer. Topics include the evening's program of works by Knussen ("Songs without Voices"), Schoenberg ("Pierrot lunaire") and Francesconi, whose "Trauma Etudes," a Library commission premiered on this program.

Anne McLean discusses the history of the Concerts from the Library of Congress series, which has included concerts, lectures, symposia, and major radio broadcast projects since 1925. The lecture also provides an overview of the 90th anniversary season of the series.

This ensemble of musicians from prestigious European orchestras and chamber music societies offer well-known and seldom heard chamber music, including the original sextet version of Verklärte Nacht.

This concert highlights the music of Australian composer and violist Brett Dean, who premieres a new work for viola and piano, a Library co-commission, with Juho Pohjonen. His arresting monodrama, "And once I played Ophelia," features the remarkable soprano Tony Arnold as protagonist. Striking, imaginative effects in both vocal and string writing sketch a passionate figure the composer calls a "feistier" Ophelia. The manuscript for Schoenberg's second quartet was given to the Library of Congress by Gertrude Clarke Whittall. The program includes Schuman, Märchenbilder, op. 113; Dean, New work for viola and piano (premiere) and String Quartet no. 2 ("And once I played Ophelia") for soprano and string quartet; and Schoenberg, String Quartet no. 2 for soprano and string quartet in F-sharp minor, op. 10.

The Vienna Piano Trio performs the music of Haydn, Schoenberg and Brahms. The Library of Congress holds the manuscripts for the Brahms trio, Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht and the Steuermann transcription of that work. Program: Joseph Haydn: Trio in B-flat major, Op. 70/3, HXV: 20 [1:47] Arnold Schoenberg / Edward Steuermann: Verklärte Nacht, op. 4, transcribed for piano trio [16:23]; Johannes Brahms: Trio in C major for violin, cello and piano, op. 87 [46:13] Antonín Dvořák: Trio in E minor ("Dumky"), op. 90, B.166: IV: "Andante moderato" [1:19:01]

The program includes Antonín Dvořák's Miniatures, op. 75a, Arnold Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht, op.4, and Johannes Brahms's Sextet in B-flat major, op. 18.