Off to Hochschule für Musik Freiburg for a weekend full of encounters, discoveries, and exchanges of thoughts at the annual conference of the Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie. With a focus on artistic research in music, the event will connect both scholarly and practical approaches. By combining diverse formats such as lectures, performances, workshops, and panels on digitialisation and teaching methodology, the programme covers the very essence of current music theory as an academic discipline. I am particularly looking forward to both of my presentations, one of which deals with sources of vocal inspiration in the instrumental works of Amy Beach, while the other addresses diversity issues in professional music education and music business.
Music for Young Harpists
Glad to announce that my short composition Song without Words has been selected by the German Harpists Association as a compulsory piece in their 2024 harp competition for participants aged up to 12 years. The piece is dedicated to my children and exists in three alternative versions for solo harp, guitar, and piano. For everybody interested, the music is freely available online.
The Digital Music Theory Classroom
Dear colleagues and everybody involved in academic music education, I would like to share a first draft of my conception for teaching music theory on the basis of digital media, online platforms, and collaborative tools and documents. The strategies outlined here are the product of the past three years, reflecting the attempt to transfer methods and strategies from remote and hybrid teaching to in-person classes wherever convenient, and to develop an integrative model for the benefit of both students and teachers. Please feel free to comment and get in touch if you have any remarks, suggestions, or additions from your own experience.
Scriabin and Medtner as Counterparts
I have been revisiting my paper from last year’s Scriabin @ 150 conference in Reading, hopefully to be published soon in a collective volume alongside other contributions from this event. The article discusses the relationship between the Muscovite composer-pianists Alexander Scriabin and Nikolai Medtner, who are often considered aesthetic antagonists and have rarely been researched in a mutual context. I explore biographical links and examine a couple of musical examples, revealing some latent influences and intercommunities between the two protagonists that merit a closer look. A preliminary version is now available online—please feel free to comment and share your thoughts!
Scam Alert: Dubious Music Competitions
There are two online music competitions, Caneres and Amadeus Composition Award, with closing dates due by the end of the month. Both appear to be operated with a questionable business model—it is stated that application is free of charges while participation fees actually apply, and prizes and juries are not announced transparently. Both contests are promoted from Vienna by one and the same person, Anastasia Stefany (or: Stefanovich), who widely advertises them via social media using pretentious phrases such as »largest classical music competition in the world«, »path to musical greatness«, »celebrating the maestros of composition«, and the likes.
When I commented on the advertisements in a Facebook group, referring to the hidden fees and criticising the improper announcement of the juries (Caneres boasts an oversized board, including false information such as non-existing professoral positions, while Amadeus does not announce a jury at all), the promoter reacted in a highly unprofessional way. She attacked me personally in the group thread, posted derogatory comments to some totally unrelated posts on my profile, and threatened to file a legal complaint against me. To avoid further escalation, I emailed her and offered that I would not further comment on her businesses, provided that she revoked all of her offensive communication, but she would not respond. This behaviour, in combination with the clearly fraudulent practice of both competitions, leads me to the assumption that Caneres and the Amadeus Award are no serious opportunities for performers and composers. I recommend not to apply for either of them, or to withdraw your application before paying any fees.
