Monday, November 30, 2015

Nina Simone

Today's post features resources on Nina Simone, the singer-pianist and civil rights activist whose performances "enthrall[ed] and enrage[d] in equal measure."*  Ms. Simone is the subject of Jeff Lieberman's documentary, The Amazing Nina Simoneto be shown this Thursday night at the John & Nancy Hughes Theater.  You can learn more about the documentary at this recent Daily North Shore article and more about Nina Simone through the linked library sources below:

Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, Chicago Tribune
The two articles excerpted here tell of Ms.Simone's first club appearance in Chicago and of her 1968 concert at Lake Forest College.  They are available through the library's ProQuest Historical Chicago Tribune database, and you can read the entire articles through the title links below.  (A Lake Forest library card # is required to view the full text from outside the library.)  

 "On the Town: Blue Note Introducing a New Singing Pianist" by Will Leonard, Chicago Daily Tribune; Nov. 29, 1959, p. g8.  About Simone's first club appearance in Chicago.
"The Week-end Happenings: Beyond Boundaries" by Robb Baker, Chicago Tribune; Oct. 27, 1968, p. a4.  About Simone's concert at Lake Forest College.



Nina Simone Anthology (CD)







The Soul of Nina Simone (CD)


Our collection includes these Simone recordings and a comprehensive biography. Links to them in our catalog are below each cover.








Princess Noire:
The Tumultuous Reign
of Nina Simone (Book)
The Best of Nina Simone (CD)
Nina Simone
Sings the Blues (CD)




* Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 4th ed. (Oxford Univ. Press, 2006; vol. 7, p. 470). 

Thursday, November 12, 2015

SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS IN THE CHILDREN’S LIBRARY


In literature 
Short stories quickly read stay long
With these less is more.

Haiku seems the appropriate means to convey the essence of short stories.  Want to read about dogs, princesses, selections from award winners?  Whether it’s humor or horror, a collection of short stories might just fit the bill.  We are highlighting our short story collection this month with a display in the Children’s Library.  Some notable collections are ...


Chronicles of Harris Burdick In the enigmatic picture book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg (1984), the reader/viewer is invited to imagine a story based on each mysterious, often surreal picture. In this volume, published in 2011, an A-team of children’s, teen and adult authors  offers 14 eerie, unconnected views into the world of Harris Burdick. 





Newbery Award Winners: The Newbery Medal is awarded each year to the outstanding children’s book.  Selections from past winners, grouped by subjects such as animals, Halloween, Christmas, girl appeal, and boy appeal, are presented in large illustrated volumes, great for family read alouds and as an introduction to each book.


Guys Read series.  Children’s author Jon Scieszka is the driving force behind Guys Read, a literacy program to grab and keep boys and young men reading.  He has edited a series of short story collections featuring ten of the best writers in different genres, such as Funny Business, Thriller, The Sports Pages, Other Worlds, and True Stories, hoping to serve as an introduction to writers and illustrators guys will want to know better. 







 The Last Apprentice: A Coven of Witches by Joseph Delaney.  Fans of the Last Apprentice series can read these separate tales which reveal the backgrounds of four terrifying witches, including Alice and the Spook's love, Meg.



And some classic collections including:


Stories for Children by Isaac Bashevis Singer: Thirty-six stories by the Nobel Prize winner, including some of his most famous such as Zlateh the Goat, Mazel and Shlimazel, and The Fools of Chelm and the Stupid Carp.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Lake Forest Symphony Listeners' Circle

Jim Kendros, Lake Forest Symphony’s pre-concert lecturer and music historian, will host a lively discussion this coming Thursday at 7 pm in the library’s Children’s Activity Room.  He will be discussing the music of the Symphony's Nov. 7 and 8 concerts: ACHÚCARRO PLAYS GRIEG with Vladimir Kulenovic, conductor, and Joaquín Achúcarro, piano.  Recordings of the selections for that concert and several books about the composers and selections are listed here and are on display on the round table in the library's rotunda.  We invite you to come to the Listeners' Circle and to check out some of these materials:


Haydn - The Representation of Chaos from The Creation


780.92 HAYDN HUR

The Creation (31243004296827) CD CHORAL MUSIC H   Performers: Sandrine Piau, Miah Persson, sopranos; Mark Padmore, tenor; Neal Davies, bass; Peter Harvey, baritone;  Chetham's Chamber Choir; Gabrieli Consort & Players; Paul McCreesh,conductor.

Haydn: The Creation  (31243005579130) CD CHORAL MUSIC H  Performers: Sarah Tynan, soprano; Jeremy Ovenden, tenor; Matthew Brook, bass-baritone; Handel and Haydn Society Period Instrument Orchestra and Chorus; Harry Christophers, conductor.

The Creation (31243005577530) CD CHORAL MUSIC H  Performers:  Ida Falk Winland, Andrew Staples, David Stout, Robert Davies, Musica Saeculorum; 
Philipp von Steinaecker, conductor.

 Grieg - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A minor


Grieg/Saint-Saens : Piano Concertos (31243005576078) CD CONCERTO   
PerformersVadym Kholodenko, piano; The Norwegian Radio Orchestra; Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor. Contents: Piano concerto in A minor, Op. 16 / Edvard Grieg -- Piano concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22 / Camille Saint-Saens.

Everybody’s Favorite Classical Piano Pieces (31243004915673) 786.2 EVE p.76 is a transcription of the opening of the Piano Concerto in A minor.

Piano Concerto : Lyric Pieces (31243005572556)  CD PIANO G  Performers: Javier Perianes, piano; BBC Symphony Orchestra; Sakari Oramo, conductor.

Piano Concertos (31243005259253) CD CONCERTO L  Performers: Nikolai Lugansky, piano; Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; Kent Nagano, conductor.

Performers: Bella Davidovich, piano; Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor.

Dinu Lipatti, the Master Pianist (31243005295638) CD PIANO L  Disc 5 contains the A minor piano concerto.

Beethoven - Symphony No. 7


Beethoven's Symphonies: An Artistic Vision by Lewis Lockwood (W. W. Norton, 2015) (31243005594360) 784.2 BEETHOVEN LOC

(31243005007959) CD SYMPHONY B  Performers: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields; Joshua Bell, conductor and concertmaster.

Complete symphonies - Beethoven, Ludwig van. (31243004843099) CD SYMPHONY B
Performers: Sinead Mulhern, soprano; Carolin Masur, mezzo-soprano; Dominik Wortig, tenor; Konstantin Wolff, bass-baritone; Choeur de chambre les elements; Joel Suhubiette, chorusmaster; La chambre philharmonique; Emmanuel Krivine, conductor.

Symphonies 5 & 7 - Beethoven, Ludwig van. (31243003951562) CD SYMPHONY B
Performers: Philharmonia Orchestra; Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor.

Symphony No. 5, C minor, op. 67 -- Symphony No. 7, A-Major, op. 92– Beethoven, Ludwig van.       (31243004189733) CD SYMPHONY B  Performers: Wiener Philharmoniker; Carlos Kleiber, conductor.

CD SYMPHONY B  Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; Zubin Mehta, conductor.