One of the most disputatious musicologists of all time has left the stage: Richard Taruskin (1945–2022) died a few days ago. As a music scholar and practitioner, he incited controversy wherever he raised his eloquent and often relentless voice. His merit is to have polarised and politicised musicological discourse in such a way that it became a public affair again, unquestionable in its social relevance. With his prolific writing, he took Russian music studies to a new level, continuously debunking myths and disenchanting widespread opinions in historiography. Most certainly, even those who ardently disagreed with Taruskin will regret that his voice fell silent. My own German-language obituary appeared in VAN Magazin today.
Piano Trio in Düsseldorf
I am delighted to announce the forthcoming performances of my piano trio Kammerdialog. A Conversation with Violin, Cello, and Piano, which will be played multiple times on 9 and 10 July as part of the Tage der Kammermusik series at Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf. The piece already dates from 2008, but has been performed in public only twice (also some years ago). So I am lucky to enjoy the support of some talented musicians, cellist Inés Bueno López and violinist Enrique Carlsson, with whom I will share the stage on two consecutive days, with two respective performances of the trio in either concert. Cordial invitation implied!
- Saturday, 9 July 2022, from 7 pm: in a programme with piano trios by Beethoven and Clara Schumann
- Sunday, 10 July 2022, from 11 am: alongside more piano trios by Haydn and Shostakovich
A Little Appreysal
One of my most formative teachers who influentially shaped my way of thinking about music and art is the music theorist, double bassist, mathematician at heart, and philanthropist Stefan Prey. At the end of the current semester he will take his leave after four decades of teaching at Universität der Künste Berlin. His career has been a silent and dedicated one: never striving for publicity or reputation, but constantly focusing on the subject and the students’ interests in a way I have not experienced anywhere else. The appearance of his website tells more about him and his attitude than I can explain here. This is just to say that my approach to teaching and my general understanding of how music can be perceived and comprehended owes quite a lot to Stefan and his paragon. So I am grateful and humbled to contribute my bit to the online festschrift for his 65th birthday—an analytical paper on the music of Amy Beach, which is accessible here. Thank you so much!
Diversifying (the History of) Music Theory
Only now I read Alexander Rehding‘s blogpost series »Can the History of Music Theory Be Decentered« in full length (original version here). The text originally dates from 2020, but was recently translated into German and published on the musiconn.kontrovers blog (see here). The article leaves me intrigued, deeply inspired, and a bit perplexed. Questioning the canon of Western music and theory is one thing (which I think I started a while ago), but taking the next step and setting out to diversify curricula and course content still poses a remarkable challenge for someone rooted in an essentially non-diverse academic environment. Well, I guess the process needs to commence in the heads, and takes some time to materialise. I’m on my way.
Board Elections at DTKV Berlin
Happy to announce that I have been re-elected as vice president of Deutscher Tonkünstlerverband Berlin. I am looking forward to shaping the future of the association together with my fellow board members: Simon Borutzki, Liz Franzen, Alf Schulze, Agnes Stein von Kamienski, Jens Domeyer, and Anne Uerlichs. Many thanks to everybody who recently contributed to the new orientation and professionalisation of our work! New members are always welcome—please get in touch if interested.