Brand Library Plaza Series
AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021
FRIDAYS AT 7:00PM
Join us for eclectic live music on the Brand Library lawn!
September 17 The ROAMies (Contemporary)
September 24 Reckless Night Ensemble (Swing & Jazz)
Concerts run 60 - 90 minutes without intermission. Visitors are welcome to bring a chair or blanket and picnic on the lawn. Seats are not provided.
The Brand Library Plaza Series is sponsored by the City of Glendale Arts & Culture Commission through funding from the Urban Art Program, with support from Glendale Library, Arts & Culture and the Associates of Brand Library.
More information about the Plaza Series is available on our website, library event calendar, and Brand Facebook page.
Join us for our fourth concert of the 2021 Plaza Series on September 17 at 7:00PM with The ROAMies.
The ROAMies (Rory Partin and Alexa James) marry hooky melodies, soulful harmonies, eclectic instrumentation in a pop-meets-country, Americana sound.
Music Playlists
Listen to a streaming playlist from Freegal Music, Naxos Music Library, Naxos Jazz Music Library, Hoopla or Music Online from Alexander Street free with your library card. Alexander Street will ask for an academic institution, use Glendale Public Library.
Today's recommending listening is Fiona Apple, Trisha Yearwood, Tigran Hamasyan, sonatas by Ives, Copland and Corigliano, Stanely Kimaiyo, and the Weeknd.
Here are some fun CDs relating to September holidays including: Classical Music Month, International Square Dance Month, Labor Day (7), National Cheeseburger Day (18), National One Hit Wonder Day (25), and Broadway Musical Day (29). Search for them in the library catalog.
Read About Music
The Proquest Music Periodicals Database includes full text of over 140 music magazines and indexing to many more. Do you need articles from Guitar Player, Jazz Times, Keyboard, Fanfare or The Musical Times? Login with your library card.
Did you know that the Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive has Billboard Magazine issues back to 1894? Variety issues back to 1905? Radio and Records issues back to 1973? Musician issues back to 1982? Login with your Glendale library card number.
We noticed the new books on music technology have been very popular. Here are a few of the newer titles. Search for them in the library catalog.
Music Podcast
NPR has many cool music podcasts such as Tiny Desk Concerts, All Songs Considered, Alt.Latino, American Grooves Radio Hour and more. Check out their Podcast Directory.
Art Calls
The Glendale Citywide Public Art Landmarks RFQ is now open. As part of the City of Glendale’s initiative to become a prime arts and culture destination, up to ten long-term to permanent artwork installations will be commissioned, developed and established over the course of the next few years. These landmark installations will be strategically placed throughout the City in locations that focus on public accessibility and encourage public engagement and interactivity. Artists age 18 or older may apply as an individual or as a team. The RFQ is open to all and not restricted to any geographic location. Deadline to apply: September 24th, 2021.
Films Online
Traveling Through Brush and Ink is a stop-motion animation traveling through four ancient Chinese paintings Emperor Ming-huang’s Journey to Shu, Traveler’s Among Mountain’s and Streams, Ancient Temple in a Mountain Pass, and Autumn Colors on the Ch’iao and Hua Mountains. Each painting represents an important stage of landscape art in Chinese history. Director Annlin Chao also explains why her team paired handmade stop-motion with traditional Chinese artworks.
Art Online
Take on online tour of Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands narrated by curator, Dorothy Moss. Assembling paintings and photographs from the past four decades, the exhibition illustrates how Liu was inspired by the people society had exploited, marginalized, and discarded. The story of America as a destination for the homeless and hungry of the world is not only a myth. It is a story of desperation, of sadness, of uncertainty, of leaving your home. It is also a story of determination, and—more than anything - of hope. - Hung Liu, 2017
Take a look at eight paintings from SFMOMA's Joan Mitchell retrospective. Mitchell was considered one of the most important members of the postwar movement of Abstract Expressionism. Watch an interview with abstract painter Stanley Whitney reflecting on Mitchell’s vast canvases.
Nia DaCosta’s Candyman is deeply rooted in Chicago’s history, critically considering racial violence and the city’s problems with gentrification. The performance collective Manual Cinema shares their role in the cult classic horror film, from the production process to using shadow puppets as a medium to convey complex and traumatic stories.
Checkout some animated films from the library. Search for them in the library catalog.
Brand Library Staff Reviews
In the 1957 science fiction film 20 Million Miles to Earth, Americans have completed the first interplanetary voyage to Venus! The returning spaceship crash-lands near a fishing village off the coast of Sicily and fishermen rescue two crew members before the ship sinks including the battered and agitated Colonel Calder (William Hopper). Much to his alarm, a transported cylinder containing a gelatinous Venusian egg has disappeared. When he catches up to it again, the alien egg has hatched into a fully-grown stop-motion animated creature. Although the DVD cover and some of the film’s posters imply a King Kong-esque beast with an affinity for Earth’s fairer sex, what’s actually presented is somewhat sadder—a wild young creature far from home who doesn’t want to be in Rome. While the performances in the film leave something to be desired, the star here is of course visual effects designer Ray Harryhausen. His care and attention to detail, down to the Venusian’s labored breathing, go all the way to presenting the life and emotionality of the alien. 20 Million Miles to Earth is never presented on the grandest scale, but the climax is a fun trip around Roman tourist attractions (most notably the Colosseum) and a wonderful showcase for a model-making master. -SB
Mahler Symphony No. 9 Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic (recorded February 2012). Mahler’s 9th Symphony (1908-1909) has been recorded many times and was extremely influential on later composers. One of the most interesting aspects of the piece is that he uses a large orchestra there are also moments where only a chamber sized group of instruments are playing making for a huge variety of orchestral colors and densities. Naxos recently released this recording online which is a wonderful convenience; you certainly will want to hear it through good speakers. Brand Library also owns the CD. I often think of how the piece builds through the first three movements culminating in the frenzy of the third movement Rondo – Burleske before settling into the resignation and reservation of the famous final Adagio. His tempos on the second and third movement are faster than many recordings whereas the Adagio is slower, clocking in at 26:46. Compare that with Bruno Walter’s 1964 recording with the Columbia Symphony where the Adagio is 21:07. Walter worked closely with Mahler in his younger years so I often think of his recordings as a reference point, although his tempos are often faster than many modern conductors. Dudamel’s lyrical emphasis of the Adagio is incredibly effective. There are many wonderful recordings of this piece and I wouldn’t have time to compare but this one is certainly satisfying, the LA Phil sounds fantastic and it is well worth listening to. -BW
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Covid-19 Resources
Reliable information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) is available from the World Health Organization, the California Department of Public Health, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, the City of Glendale, and the Library, Arts & Culture department.
Resources for Music Businesses And Industry Workers, Playing for Change, Sounding Point LA
Resources for Freelance Artists, California Arts Council, Americans for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts