It’s been a pleasure to talk to aspiring musicology students and young scholars about the conditions, possibilities, and potential problems in doing a PhD. I’d like to thank the DVSM association of undergraduate musicologists for having me as a guest speaker in their online panel, and for initiating a fruitful exchange of thoughts. Do not hesitate to get in touch if there are further questions!
Events
Beethoven, Taneyev, Medtner
Excited to present a paper this weekend in the annual meeting of Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie, which was supposed to be held at Hochschule für Musik Detmold but was moved online due to the ongoing pandemic situation. In fact, out of four conferences I was going to attend this fall, the GMTH event is the only one that has not been postponed. I will talk about the adoption of Western concepts of musical form in Russia, in particular Sergei Taneyev‘s sonata theory (which was primarily taught according to Beethoven’s model) and its influence on his student Nikolai Medtner. Moreover, I will chair a session on digital music theory pedagogy and music recognition, which I am looking forward to.
A Musical Dollhouse
Maus and Klaus enter the stage! My dear colleague Bernadett Kis and her team of Puppenphilharmonie Berlin have produced a lovely video series for children, starring two puppets, Louis the mouse and his neighbour Klaus the mole, as well as five human musicians. I had the pleasure of contributing the lyrics for the title song. A new episode will be released every Tuesday on the web channels of Tonhalle Düsseldorf. Do have a look with your little ones!
Cancellation Compensation
If life wasn’t such an unpredictable affair, I would have been performing two Medtner sonatas tonight in a lecture recital at Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf, together with my dear colleague Frank Zabel who would have played Scriabin. Goodness, was I looking forward to this event, and still regret that it had to be cancelled. As a little compensation I edited my recording from a private concert in September where I presented the first movement of Medtner‘s Sonata-Ballade, Op. 27. Here it is—I’m confident that the technical and acoustical deficiencies of this document won’t impair the pleasure of listening all too much. Have a wonderful evening!
Medtner Talk in Leipzig
Dear devotees and scholars of Russian music: this is an invitation to my forthcoming musicological lecture on Thursday, January 30, 3 pm, which will see me delving into biographical studies for the first time. In the framework of a conference on Eastern European émigré culture at Zentrum für Musikwissenschaft Leipzig, I will be presenting an English-language paper titled »Decision, Hope, and Resignation«, examining Nikolai Medtner‘s stay in Berlin (1921–24) and the personal and artistic implications associated to that period. Admission is free, so please stop by if you are around! The conference will also cover aspects of emigration from Poland, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Hungary. — Full schedule available here.