Music and Modernism, Graz, July 2004

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CALL FOR PAPERS

To mark the completion of the interdisciplinary Research Project "Wien und
Zentraleuropa um 1900" at the Karl Franzens University Graz, the Musicology
research group is hosting a Symposium "Musik in der Moderne" from 1 - 3 July
1930 was influenced by multifaceted socio-cultural changes which had a
considerable impact on artistic creativity, through developments
characterised by contrasts and heterogeneity, particularly through the new
ethnic and cultural plurality. The interdisciplinary approach of the project
has shown that the discussion of identity and otherness, questions of
perceptional change and the relationship between Modernism and Postmodernism
are of great importance, also for musical development.

Our call for papers is primarily directed to researchers in the area of
musicology, although representatives of other disciplines are also welcome,
as their work reflects the interdisciplinary and multifaceted nature of the
particularly welcome participation by researchers from the new EU countries.
Contributions should be compatible with one of the three areas outlined
below, and should focus on Vienna and Central Europe, or in
comparison/confrontation with other centres of Modernism.

1. Identity, Difference

According to Adorno, art is the "refuge of mimetic behaviour" ("Zuflucht
des mimetischen Verhaltens") i.e. the behaviour exemplified by an actor
who rejects his/her own identity in favour of another. This connection
between art and de-identification is central to Nietzsche's considerations
about the Dionysian. In modern art, the dialectic between mimetic and
rational moments is determined by the principle of the "increasing
negation of the meaning" ("fortschreitende Negation des Sinns", Adorno).
Papers in this area should treat questions of the "Self" (Mach, Musil, and
Freud, etc.) in music, as well as questions of identity and difference in
musical material.

2. Transformation Processes In Musical Perception

The timeframe of Modernism is characterised by diverse changes in the
perception and examination of music, through which even the interpretation
of the term "music" itself is transformed. Technical innovations,
beginning with the invention of the phonograph, enable the conservation
and technical reproduction of music and introduce the media age. Music
becomes the object of scientific observation as universities develop, and
established ideas about music are questioned in the confrontation with
non-European musical cultures. Related to this is the interest shown by
many Western composers in "foreign" scales and harmonies as well as in
their own folk music, which is often seen as "domestically exotic". Even
the surmounting of functional tonal harmony striven for in the Second
Viennese School requires a change in perception, as expressed in
Schoenberg's phrase, "The Emancipation of Dissonance". Papers in this area
should examine any of the changes in the perception of music during this
period

3. Modernism/Postmodernism

The diverse connections between modernism and postmodernism which are
indicated in the thesis "The Birth of Postmodern Philosophy from the
Spirit of Modern Art" ("Geburt der postmodernen Philosophie aus dem Geist
der modernen Kunst") as developed by Lyotard, Welsch and others, will be
discussed with particular emphasis on Viennese Modernism. The idea of a
Dichotomy should be considered, in which Modernism and Postmodernism are
not to be understood in the sense of historical "periodising", but as
parts of a dialectic in which their differing configurations not only in
the later, but also in the early 20th century may be detected.

Length of papers: 20 minutes; Languages: English, German

Deadline: abstract (200-250 words), a short biography and a list of
publication should be received by 25th November 2003.

Papers will be published in a combined volume

Organisation:

Federico Celestini: federico.celestini@uni-graz.at
Gregor Kokorz: kokorz@uni-graz.at
Institut fuer Musikwissenschaft
Karl-Franzens-Universitaet
Mozartgasse 3 A-8010 Graz