08/08/2019
Beethoven the European
The Centro Studi Opera Omnia Luigi Boccherini of Lucca, in collaboration with Ad Parnassum. A Journal of Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Instrumental Music, is pleased to invite submissions of proposals for the symposium «Beethoven the European», to be held in Lucca, Complesso Monumentale di San Micheletto, from 27 to 29 March 2020.
Keynote Speakers:
• Barry Cooper (University of Manchester)
• William Kinderman (University of California, Los Angeles)
Beethoven’s impact is widely recognised as of seemingly universal, timeless significance; 250 years since his birth his music still communicates with and inspires people across the globe. Nevertheless his iconic, enduring oeuvre stems from a specific European cultural milieu and historical context. To what extent does the tension between the universality and particularity of Beethoven’s music give rise to a richer understanding of his music and its reception history?
Beethoven’s creative inspiration was nurtured in the European context of revolution and political reshaping, at the aesthetic turning-point from Enlightenment to Romanticism, and at the social turning-point from largely private patronage to a more market-orientated environment for composers.
Born in the German Rhineland and resident in Bonn and Vienna, he travelled little compared with contemporaries such as Mozart and Clementi, but his reputation quickly spread much further, to far-off countries such as Britain and Russia. His works attest to strong musical and ideological ties with France and England, and his stage works engage with scenarios in Spain, Hungary, the Netherlands and Greece, while his vocal works include settings in Latin, Italian, French, English and other languages as well as German. Beethoven’s intellectual outlook even extended beyond Europe, especially to Indian sources, reflecting European intellectual currents of his time. Clearly there is still much to discover about the way in which Beethoven’s music was both influenced by and in turn influenced European culture, as well as about the way Beethoven as a European has been perceived and interpreted in a wider context.
Our conference aims to explore the multivalent connections between Beethoven and Europe through multifaceted study of the music both in a European and, where relevant, a wider global multi-cultural context. We would encourage consideration of the theme through the intermingling of and interface between topics and sub-disciplines, text and music, analysis and interpretation, genesis and reception. The programme committee encourages submissions within the following areas, although other topics related to the concept of ‘Beethoven and Europe’ are also welcome:
The European as complement or contrast to the Universal nature of Beethoven’s musical and/or personal identity
Connections with the forms, styles and influences of particular European countries or cultures
Setting of, and interest in texts in different languages
Dramatic works and their relation to historical contexts
Political attitudes reflected in works or words
Beyond Europe’s boundaries: Beethoven and Asia
Reception across Europe and in countries related to Europe
Historic performance as a means of understanding context, and as a basis for modern performance
Innovative analyses, sketch studies and reinterpretation of sources as a way to explore issues of the universal and particular
Dispersal of source material across European libraries and collections
Programme Committee:
Barry Cooper (University of Manchester)
Roberto Illiano (Centro Studi Opera Omnia Luigi Boccherini)
William Kinderman (University of California, Los Angeles)
Malcolm Miller (The Open University, UK)
Fulvia Morabito (Centro Studi Opera Omnia Luigi Boccherini)
Massimiliano Sala (Centro Studi Opera Omnia Luigi Boccherini)
The official languages of the conference are English and Italian. Papers selected at the conference will be published in a miscellaneous volume.
Papers are limited to twenty minutes in length, allowing time for questions and discussion. Please submit an abstract of no more than 500 words and one page of biography.
All proposals should be submitted by email no later than ***Sunday 13 October 2019*** to . With your proposal please include your name, contact details (postal address, e-mail and telephone number) and (if applicable) your affiliation.
The committee will make its final decision on the abstracts by the end of October 2019, and contributors will be informed immediately thereafter. Further information about the programme, registration, travel and accommodation will be announced after that date.
For any additional information, please contact:
Dr. Massimiliano Sala
[email protected]
www.luigiboccherini.org
