Issue no 50: May / June 2009

A page dedicated to Oscar Wilde and Music, compiled by Tine Englebert.

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We also look at some of the operas of the period, or inspired by it.

To go to previous pages of Mad, Scarlet Music, click as appropriate. Note: for the time being only the pages since February 2007 are posted at www.oscholars.com. Earlier pages are at www.irishdiaspora.net, but will be transferred over as time permits. There is difficulty in accessing these directly, which is why we are transferring them.

March/April 2009	November 2007	September 2003	January 2003
January/February 2009	April-October 2007	August 2003	December 2002
November/December 2008	March 2007	July 2003	November 2002
September/October 2008	February 2007	June 2003	October 2002
July/August 2008	January 2007	May 2003	September 2002
May /June 2008	November/December 2006	April 2003	August 2002
January 2008	November 2003/October 2006	March 2003	July 2002
December 2007	October 2003	February 2003

Before July 2002, ‘Mad, Scarlet Music’ was incorporated in the Editorial pages of THE OSCHOLARS.

For a list by Erica Scettro of musical references in the work of Oscar Wilde, click .

For the Table of Contents, click | To hub page | To THE OSCHOLARS home page

Click in the Table of Contents for direct access to the information about each item.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Colin Rudd singing Oscar WildE
WILDE NIGHTS AT THE OPERA & BALLET
Salome / Strauss
DISCOGRAPHY
Wilde recordings
BEYOND THE WILDERNESS
Carmen / Bizet after Merimée
Lulu / Berg after Wedekind
Tosca / Puccini after Sardou
La Traviata / Verdi after Dumas Fils
RESEARCH
Research into the music of the period; conferences; calls for papers; publications
CODA
The Richard Strauss and Elgar Societies

Colin Rudd singing Oscar Wilde on Youtube

Colin John Rudd is a British musician and singer who has released numerous songs of poems from J.R.R. Tolkien's works. He has performed at Oxford University for the Tolkien Society and has a collection of 9 songs relating to Tolkien, published in 2001 as Songs of JRR Tolkien. Colin Rudd also adapted some poems of Oscar Wilde. You can see the result on Youtube. It gives the idea that Oscar meets Bob Dylan.

Colin was a member of the contemporary folk band Roam (1999-2003), an exciting and accomplished 4-piece acoustic folk band performing mostly contemporary material, much of which is original.

Their repertoire consisted mainly of songs, with a few instrumental pieces. The original songs were written by singer and guitarist Colin Rudd; other songs are poems by writers such as Oscar Wilde, Tolkien and others set to music by Colin and the band, and also a few covers of songs penned by contemporary songwriters. Roam's line-up featured female and male lead vocals, accompanied by various instruments including acoustic guitar, celtic harp, flute, bass flute, bouzouki, cittern, uilleann pipes, fiddle and whistles. Roam disbanded in November 2003.). The band recorded some CDs, and played many folk clubs and a few festivals, mainly in the North of England.

The Wilde adaptations by Colin Rudd on Youtube (with comment by Colin Rudd):

The Harlot’s House

Colin Rudd: “Oscar Wilde wrote these evocative words and this is kind of like Oscar meets Bob Dylan in the treatment I have given it! Oscar was so far ahead of his time in so many ways....he was writing this stuff over 50 years before Bob wrote Visions of Johanna and the like!....Wilde, you were and still are wonderful.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPd_VQtmFmw

The Ballad of Reading Gaol

Colin Rudd: “Oscar Wilde's poem was written from his experience in prison,it's a very long piece but Dominic Behan reduced it into a manageable song length and I've added my tune. Oscar emerged from prison one of the wisest men I've ever read and his work will live forever in the open-hearted.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhC8wVGq1uk

Roses and rue

Colin Rudd: “Oscar wrote this for Lillie Langtry, one of the many ladies he was crazy about.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFwTlFYER6I&feature=related

Serenade

Colin Rudd: “Another lyric by Oscar Wilde......I just can't help myself! Anyhow, Oscar himself said he wrote this one for music..... his poetry flows with song.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk7V1dzxTpo&feature=related

From Spring Days to Winter

Colin Rudd: “Another poignant lyric of Oscar's.....he wrote this for music so who am I to argue with the great man!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYfjnOPGTmI

Love Song

Colin Rudd: “While others at Magdalen College were studying for future power, Oscar was writing beautiful words like these. A truly great man with a brilliant mind and a heart filled with wonder.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHgX3Xt92vQ&feature=related

WILDE NIGHTS AT THE OPERA & BALLET

Salome

Dresden – Semperoper: 19th, 23rd, 25th June; 5th, 9th, 13th September 2009. Premiered 27th February 2005; runs approx. 1 hour 45 minutes.

www.semperoper.de

‘Power – loneliness – coldness in a world without love and without faith. A night-time banquet at the house of Herod the Tetrarch. In the moonlight, a young captain of the Royal Guard, Narraboth, is dreaming of Princess Salome when the prophet Jokanaan (John the Baptist) declaims his earthly mission. A Cappadocian is present, soldiers mill to and fro, an argument between rival Jewish groups fills the air. A pageboy senses impending doom. Salome flees from her stepfather Herod into the moonlight, and is drawn to the aura of Jokanaan. There is a mutual attraction and fascination. Narraboth determines to kill himself, while Jokanaan finally rejects Salome. Herod and his wife Herodias (Salome’s mother) enter the scene. They argue over Salome and Jokanaan. Herod is tortured by some nameless fear. Jews and Nazarenes pester the royal couple with a never-ending dispute regarding Jokanaan’s ancestry, and the question of whether the saviour of the world is approaching. Jokanaan calls out into the night. Herod makes advances to Salome; he urges her to dance, promising anything her heart desires. The princess finally agrees to his request. As her reward, she demands the head of Jokanaan. Herod initially refuses to honour his oath. However Salome, supported by Herodias, succeeds in imposing her will. She falls into lustful ecstasy. Herod’s order to kill her comes too late. At a banquet, outside our earthly existence, in the madness of a floating world. The unfolding story takes centre stage, told with an absolute concentration. There is no ornamental façade, no lush or exotic decoration to distract our attention. Richard Strauss clearly stated his intention: «In contrast to the highly agitated music, the performers’ actions must be reduced to the greatest possible simplicity.» The basic mood: a state of emergency. Everything is in flux, nothing is tangible. A space which represents the condition of disorientation, a life of illusion, a lack of stability. We search for firm ground and find only water. The characters »walk on water«. Added to this, a spectral illumination. A natural element, the moon, acts to catalyse the plot. It is a night of decision-making, at a place which allows no escape. Outside this space, where the world should be, there is nothing – the world is isolated. The basic situation: a banquet, where a family comes together. All those present find themselves in extremis, in a state of emergence. They are exposed and laid bare, like gloves turned inside out. They have no language in common. All live in their own worlds, fighting for their own position in isolation from the others. A state of madness at the »golden section«, enabling a visual partitioning into two opaque worlds. The action goes in circles, without end. When love is absent, desire takes its place. Emotions run high, and masks are allowed to drop. The moonlight breeds lunacy. A latent sexual atmosphere burns within the most diverse constellations of characters. Jokanaan and Salome resemble one another in their diffidence and seclusion – living lives cut off from their surroundings, inexperienced in dealing with their physicality and sexuality. They become soul mates, united in loneliness. What began as an opportunity for two people ends in destruction, hate and death. «In one of the most beautiful love stories, Jokanaan and Salome are a young couple journeying to their deaths.» (Peter Mussbach)’

Salome	Nadja Michael
Herodes	Wolfgang Schmidt
Herodias	Doris Soffel
Jochanaan	Markus Marquardt
Narraboth	Martin Homrich
Ein Page der Herodias	Angela Liebold
Musical direction	Sebastian Weigle
Production and Stage design	Peter Mussbach
Costume design	Andrea Schmidt-Futterer
Lighting design	Alexander Koppelmann
Dramaturgy	Ilsedore Reinsberg, Axel Bott
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden

Toulouse - Théâtre du Capitole: 15th, 17th, 19th, 22nd, 24th May 2009

www.theatre-du-capitole.org

Salome	Camilla Nylund
Herodes	Thomas Moser
Herodias	Doris Soffel
Iokanaan	Morten Frank Larsen
Narraboth	Martin Mühle

Barcelona - Gran Teatre del Liceu: 19th, 20th, 22nd, 25th, 28th, 29th June; 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th July

www.liceubarcelona.com

Salome	Nina Stemme/Erika Sunegardh
Herodes	Robert Brubaker/Gerhard Siegel
Herodias	Jane Henschel/Vivian Tierney
Iokanaan	Mark Delavan/Robert Bork
Narraboth	Stefan Heibach/Francisco Vas
Ein Page der Herodias	Anna Tobella
Stage Director	Guy Joosten
Musical direction	Michael Boder
Production and Stage design	Martin Zehetgruber
Costume design	Heide Kastler
Lighting design	Manfred Voss
Dramaturgy	Ilsedore Reinsberg, Axel Bott

Vancouver Opera’s 2008-2009 season includes a modern production of Richard Strauss’s Salomé, directed by Joseph McLain and conducted by Jonathan Darlington. It features Mlada Khudoley as Salomé, Greer Grimsley as Jokanaan, Judith Forst as Herodias and John Mac Master as Herod. It runs 2nd, 5th, 7th, and 9th May at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, sung in German with English surtitles.

Discography

Over the many issues of ‘Mad, Scarlet Music’, many recordings of works based on Wilde have been noticed. We are now undertaking the task of bringing these together in a Discography, compiled by Tine Englebert, where new recordings will be added as they are published. Here too we will add information about L.P.s, 78s and tape recordings. We began in March 2008 with a list of recordings of Zemlinsky’s Florentine Tragedy and Birthday of the Infanta (also known as The Dwarf / Der Zwerg). The latest (April 2009) is for De Profundis. Click the gramophone.

BEYOND THE WILDERNESS

A glance at some of the other operas with which Wilde’s contemporaries (and sometimes Wilde himself) would have been familiar; and those that derive from the works of the period.

Carmen / Bizet AFTER MERIMÉE

Paris - Opéra-Comique: 15th, 17th, 20th, 22nd, 25th, 28th, 30th June 2009

www.opera-comique.com

Carmen	Anna Caterina Antonacci
Don José	Andrew Richards
Stage Director	Adrian Noble
Musical direction	Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Production and Stage design	Mark Thompson
Costume design	Mark Thompson
Lighting design	Jean Kalman
Chorégraphie	Sue Lefton

Berlin - Deutsche Oper: 5th, 7th, 11th, 16th, 28th June; 3rd July 2009

www.deutscheoperberlin.de

Carmen	Kate Aldrich
Don José	Massimo Giordano
Stage Director	Søren Schuhmacher
Musical direction	Yves Abel
Production and Stage design	Pier Luigi Samaritani
Costume design	Pier Luigi Samaritani
Setting, revised version	Norbert Bellen
Chorus-Conductor	William Spaulding
Kinderchor der Deutschen Oper Berlin (Einstudierung: Dagmar Fiebach); Chor der Deutschen Oper Berli; Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin.

Leipzig – Oper: 10th, 12th, 15th, 20th, 23th May; 7th, 10th, 13th June 2009

www.oper-leipzig.de

Carmen	Ekaterina Semenchuk
Don José	Neil Shicoff / Jean-Pierre Furlan
Stage Director	Tatjana Gürbaca
Musical direction	Antonello Allemandi
Production and Stage design	Klaus Grünberg
Costume design	Silke Willret
Setting, revised version	Sören Eckhoff

Tel-Aviv-Jaffa – The Israeli Opera: 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 30th May; 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 12th June 2009

www.israel-opera.co.il

Carmen	Rinat Shaham / Tea Demurishvili
Don José	Neil Shicoff
Musical direction	Emmanuel Joel-Hornak / Yishai Steckler
Costume design	Anna Anni
Lighting	Maria Benitez
Choreographer	Duane Schuler

Amsterdam – De Nederlandse Opera 15th, 18th, 22nd, 25th, 28th, 30th June; 3rd, 6th, 8th July 2009

www.dno.nl

Oslo – Det Norske Opera & Ballett: 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th May; 10th, 12th, 13th, 16th, 17th, 19th, 20th June 2009

www.operaen.no

Carmen	Ingebjørg Kosmo/ Hege Høisæter
Don José	Aleksanders Antonenko/ Gwyn Hughes Jones
Stage Director	Francesca Zambello
Musical direction	Marc Soustrot/ Lawrence Renes
Production and Stage design	Tanya McCallin
Costume design	Tanya McCallin
Lighting	Paul Constable
Choreographer	Arthur Pita
The Norwegian National Opera Children Chorus; The Norwegian National Opera Chorus, The Norwegian National Opera Orchestra

Verona – Teatro Filarmonico – Arena: 17th, 27th June & 2nd, 9th July

www.arena.it

Lulu / Berg AFTER WEDEKIND

London – The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: 4th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 17th, 20th June

www.roh.org.uk

This new production of Lulu brings Berg’s opera back to The Royal Opera for the first time since 1983. Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera, conducts his fourth production of this Season, using the three-act version finished after Berg’s death by Friedrich Cerha. It is a masterpiece of 20th-century opera, whose score is as rich as its decadent dramatic themes and as taut as its psychological undercurrents – and provides a showpiece for the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Taking its lead from plays by Wedekind, this is a stark and gripping drama of a woman whose journey through life provokes extreme actions from those around her as she remains cool and self-centred. Husband, lovers and figures from her past intertwine as she moves inexorably downwards from security and marriage to murder, poverty and prostitution – only to meet death at the hands of Jack the Ripper. On the stage, director Christof Loy – his Ariadne auf Naxos for The Royal Opera has been much enjoyed and revived – brings out the tense relationships and motivations that drive Lulu along the path of self-destruction with a strong cast of international singers in this demanding but rewarding work. Whether severe or sensual, the faces of Lulu are always undeniably exciting.

Lulu	Agneta Eichenholz
Gräfin Geschwitz	Jennifer Larmore
Der Medizinalrat / Der Professor	Jeremy White
Der Maler / Der Neger	Will Hartmann
Dr. Schön	Michael Volle
Alwa, Dr. Schöns Sohn	Klaus Florian Vogt
Ein Tierbändiger / Rodrigo	Peter Rose
Schigolch	Gwynne Howell
Der Prinz/Ein Kammerdiener/Der Marquis	Philip Langridge
Eine Fünzehnjährige	Simona Mihai
Ihre Mutter	Frances McCafferty
Eine Kunstgewerblerin	Monika-Evelin Liiv
Ein Journalist	Kostas Smoriginas
Ein Diener	Vuyani Mlinde
Antonio Pappano	Conductor
Christof Loy	Direction
Herbert Murauer	Sets
Reinhard Traub	Lighting

Basel – Theater Basel: 4th, 7th, 10th, 16th, 23th, 30th May; 16th June

www.theater-basel.ch

Oper in drei Akten von Alban Berg. Dichtung nach den Tragödien ‘Erdgeist’ und ‘Büchse der Pandora’ von Frank Wedekind. Dritter Akt revidiert von Friedrich Cerha.

Lulu, eine Gestalt fast mythischer Herkunft. Sie ist «Schlange», «Urgestalt des Weibes, geschaffen, Unheil anzurichten, zu locken, zu verführen, zu vergiften – zu morden, ohne dass es einer spürt». Alban Berg stellt sie als Sensation in einem Zirkus voller Bestien vor, in dem sie die einzig Unzähmbare ist. Lulu erfüllt stets das, was die anderen in ihr sehen. Die Männer erliegen ihren Reizen und zahlen dafür mit dem Leben. Keiner ist dem Naturell dieser Frau gewachsen: ihren ersten Mann trifft der Schlag, der zweite bringt sich um, der dritte wird von ihr ermordet. Lulu verstrickt sich zusehends in einem Gewirr zwielichtiger Machenschaften und Machtspiele. Ihrem gesellschaftlichen Aufstieg folgt der Fall in die Gosse: verarmt wird sie zur Prostituierten. Die «Nachtwandlerin der Liebe» (Karl Kraus) gibt sich dort einem anderen Aussenseiter hin: dem Lustmörder Jack the Ripper.

Der katalanische Regisseur Calixto Bieito, der am Theater Basel in der Spielzeit 2006/2007 mit seiner fesselnden Interpretation von Verdis «Don Carlos» Furore machte, wird diese Neuproduktion inszenieren. Für ihn ist «Lulu» auch ein Stück über eine dekadente Gesellschaft, in der den Menschen das Verhältnis zu ihrer Sexualität abhanden gekommen und der Respekt füreinander verloren gegangen ist. Basierend auf dem Material von Bergs als Fragment hinterlassener und von Friedrich Cerha vollendeter dreiaktiger Fassung wird er eine eigene Schlussversion des Werkes erarbeiten. Der Dirigent Gabriel Feltz, neuer 1. Gastdirigent am Theater Basel, wird mit «Lulu» sein Debüt in Basel geben.

Lulu	Marisol Montalvo
Gräfin Geschwitz	Tanja Ariane Baumgartner
Theatergarderobiere/Gymnasiast/Ein Groom	Aurea Marston
Der Medizinalrat / Der Professor	Hendrik J. Köhler
Der Maler / Der Neger	Rolf Romei
Dr. Schön	Claudio Otelli
Alwa, Dr. Schöns Sohn	Erin Caves
Ein Tierbändiger / Rodrigo	Andrew Murphy
Schigolch	Allan Evans
Der Prinz/Ein Kammerdiener/Der Marquis	Karl-Heinz Brandt
Der Thea	Eckhardt Otto
Eine Fünzehnjährige	Emilie Pictet
Ihre Mutter	Waltraud Danner-Herrmann
Eine Kunstgewerblerin	Lili Küttel
Ein Journalist	Martin Krämer
Ein Diener	Eung Kwang Lee
Gabriel Feltz	Conductor
Calixto Bieito	Direction
Alfons Flores	Sets
Ingo Krügler	Costumes
Hermann Münzer	Lighting
Ute Vollmar	Dramaturg
Sinfonieorchester Basel

Lyon - Opéra National

www.opera-lyon.com

2nd May 2009

Tosca / Puccini after Sardou

Berlin – Deutsche Oper: 20th, 24th June

www.deutscheoperberlin.de

‘TOSCA is an absorbing triangular history around a big woman's figure. Scarpia, Tosca and Cavaradossi claim freedom in every personal variation: as dynamic-subjective claim to power [Scarpia], as rebellious ethos aiming on change [Cavaradossi], as simple, limitless love [Tosca]. And everybody pays with death. Puccini’s musical gesture is as crude as affectionate, intelligent as sentimentally, exactly like dreamy.’

Tosca	Violeta Urmana
Cavaradossi	Yonghoon Lee
Scarpia	Marco Vratogna
Angelotti	Krzysztof Szumanski
Sacristan	Roland Schubert
Spoletta	Thomas Blondelle
Sciarrone	Hyung-Wook Lee
Turnkey	Tomislav Lucic
Emmanuel Villaume	Conductor
Boleslaw Barlog	Direction
Filippo Sanjust	Sets
Filippo Sanjust	Costumes
Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin; Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin; Knabe des Staats- und Domchores Schöneberger Sängerknaben

Paris – Opéra Bastille 20th, 22nd, 25th, 26th, 27th, 29th, 30th May; 2nd, 3rd, 5th June 2009

www.operadeparis.fr

Tosca	Adina Nitescu / Elena Zelenskaya
Cavaradossi	Aleksandr Antonenko / Mikhail Agafonov
Scarpia	James Morris / Scott Hendricks
Angelotti	Wojtek Smilek
Sacristan	Matteo Peirone
Spoletta	Christian Jean
Sciarrone	Yuri Kissin
Turnkey	Christian Tréguier
Stefan Solym	Conductor
Werner Schroeter	Direction
Alberte Barsacq	Sets
Alberte Barsacq	Costumes
André Diot	Lighting
Alessandro Di Stefano	Choirmaster
Orchestre et Choeurs de l’Opéra national de Paris; Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine/Choeur d’enfants de l’Opéra national de Paris

San Francisco – Opera: 2nd, 5th, 1lth, 14th, 17th, 20th, 23rd, 26th June 2009

www.sfopera.com

Tosca	Adrianne Pieczonka
Cavaradossi	Carlo Ventre
Scarpia	Lado Ataneli
Marco Armiliato	Conductor
Jose Maria Condemi	Direction
Thierry Bosquet	Sets
Thierry Bosquet	Costumes

Duisburg – Deutsche Oper am Rhein: 17th June

www.rheinoper.de

La traviata / Verdi AFTER DUMAS FILS

Lyon – Opera National: 23rd, 25th, 27th, 29th June ; 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th July

www.opera-lyon.com

Violetta	Ermonela Jaho
Alfredo	Edgaras Montvidas
Giorgio	Lionel Lhote
Gaston	Tansel Akzeybek
Flora	Christina Daletska
Annina	Anna Steiger
Marquis d'Obigny	Nabil Suliman
Gerard Korsten	Conductor
Klaus Michael Grüber	Direction
Lucio Fanti	Sets
Rudy Sabounghi	Costumes
Dominique Borrini	Lighting
Giuseppe Frigeni	Choreographer
Alan Woodbridge	Choirmaster
Orchestre et Chœurs de l'Opéra de Lyon

London – Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: 19th, 22nd, 25th, 27th, 30th June; 3rd, 6th July 2009

www.roh.org.uk

Violetta	Renée Fleming
Alfredo	Joseph Calleja
Giorgio	Thomas Hampson
Gaston	Haoyin Xue
Flora	Monika-Evelin Liiv
Annina	Sarah Pring
Marquis d'Obigny	Kostas Smoriginas
Antonio Pappano	Conductor
Richard Eyre / Patrick Young	Direction
Bob Crowley	Sets
Jean Kalman	Lighting

Los Angeles – Opera: 21st, 27th, 30th May; 3rd, 6th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 19th, 21st June 2009

www.losangelesopera.com

Violetta	Marina Poplavskaya / Elizabeth Futral
Alfredo	Massimo Giordano / Aleksei Dolgov
Giorgio	Andrzej Dobber / Stephen Powell
Gaston	Hak Soo Kim
Flora	Margaret Thompson
Annina	Erica Brookhyser
Marquis d'Obigny	Daniel Armstrong
Grant Gershon	Conductor
Marta Domingo	Direction
Giovanni Agostinucci	Sets
Kitty McNamee	Choreographer

München – Bayerische Staatsoper: 9th, 12th, 15th June

www.staatsoper.de

Violetta	Angela Gheorghiu
Alfredo	Jonas Kaufmann
Giorgio	Simon Keenlyside
Gaston	Kevin Conners
Flora	Anaïk Morel
Annina	Tara Erraught
Marquis d'Obigny	Rüdiger Trebe
Keri-Lynn Wilson	Conductor
Günter Krämer	Direction
Andreas Reinhardt	Sets
Carlo Diappi	Costumes
Wolfgang Göbbel	Lighting
Bayerisches Staatsorchester; Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper

San Francisco – Opera: 13th, 16th, 19th, 25th, 28th, 29th June; 1st, 2nd, 5th July 2009

www.sfopera.com

Violetta	Anna Netrebko / Elizabeth Futral / Ailyn Pérez
Alfredo	Charles Castronovo / David Lomelí
Giorgio	Dwayne Croft / Stephen Powell
Donald Runnicles	Conductor
Marta Domingo	Direction
Marta Domingo	Sets

Berlin - Komische Oper www.komische-oper-berlin.de

Conductor Carl St. Clair; Director Hans Neuenfels (in German, German text version by Walter Felsenstein)

12th, 16th, 28th May; 14th, 23th June; 1st, 8th, 16th July.

RESEARCH, publications, conferences

The Opera Critic

This useful newsletter can be found at http://www.theoperacritic.com/index.php

Musical Quarterly

The Fall-Winter 2008; Vol. 91, No. 3-4 issue of The Musical Quarterly is available online, and the Table of Contents is available online at: http://mq.oxfordjournals.org/content/vol91/issue3-4/index.dtl. There is nothing of fin-de-siècle interest.

CALL FOR PAPERS : any aspect of music and related fields during the long nineteenth century

The Sixteenth Annual Conference on Nineteenth-Century Music will take place at the University of Southampton between 8th and 11th July 2010.

The Programme Committee (Michael Beckerman (New York University); Rachel Cowgill (University of Leeds / Liverpool Hope University); Mark Everist (University of Southampton; chair); Bryan Gilliam (Duke University); Francesco Izzo (University of Southampton) is pleased to issue a formal call for papers, performances and complete sessions on any aspect of music and related fields during the long nineteenth century (c1789-c1914). We are not identifying any specific themes, but welcome proposals for individual papers and also invite possible session convenors (see below) to contact the chair of the Programme Committee with a view to submitting a proposal for a complete themed session.

Papers should be between 20 and 30 minutes long, and should be designed to fit into a 45-minute slot, including questions and turnaround. Complete sessions should consist of four papers of the same dimensions with a nominated convenor. Abstracts for papers, proposals and descriptions of performances should consist of no more than one side of A4 / US letter with font size no smaller than 11, and should include the name, institutional affiliation, mailing address and email address of the individual concerned. Descriptions of possible performances should make reference to the availability of sound files, and include them if necessary. Proposals for complete sessions should consist of four such abstracts with a rationale from the convenor (no longer than a single abstract).

Abstracts and proposals for sessions should be sent by email as attachments (either *.doc or *.pdf) to Francesco Izzo at the University of Southampton. f.izzo@soton.ac.uk

Deadline for submissions is 2nd November 2009 @ 5.00 p.m. UTC/GMT. The subsequent schedule for the conference is planned as follows: Notification of submission outcomes: c 27th November 2009. Publication of Draft Programme and opening of website: 11th January 2010. Registration opens: 1st February 2010. Early registration deadline: 1st July 2010. Conference: 8th-11th July 2010.

Conference : Music and Morality

University of London (Institute of Musical Research & Institute of Philosophy) 16th–17th June 2009

Keynote speakers: George Benjamin, John Deathridge, Deirdre Gribbin, Jerrold Levinson, Susan McClary, Roger Scruton. Convenor: Guy Dammann, Institute of Musical Research.

Music has commonly been considered the most elusive of art-forms and yet throughout history there have been frequent assertions of its strong links with our moral sensibilities. While this situation may suggest shifting views and expectations of art and music, it may also point to some deeper questions about the nature of music and morality.

In the context of increased academic and practical interest in the question of music's moral value and potential, we are seeking contributions from academic and practical musicians, philosophers, psychologists and historians of ideas, offering critical reflections on questions or cases that touch on the theme of music and morality.

Interested contributors should send, in a first instance, a 300 word abstract for a proposed paper of not more than 20 minutes reading time to Valerie James, Institute of Musical Research, music@sas.ac.uk by the deadline of 31st January 2009. Notice of acceptances of submissions will be announced within one month of this deadline.

General questions of interest include but are not limited to the following:

· Can music yield moral knowledge or understanding?

· Must good music have a moral value?

· Can there be such a thing as immoral music?

· Is the idea of morality in music compatible with aesthetic formalism?

Further information

Musical experience plays a prominent and important part in our lives. While our musical tastes seem to attach themselves strongly to our individual sense of identity (to a greater degree, even, than in other artforms), our musical encounters also appear greatly to deepen our emotional relationship with others. However, the question of whether our musical experience bears relation to our existence as moral agents, and to our conception of morality more broadly, remains wide open. Should - and perhaps must - musical experience have a moral dimension?

Within Western traditions of thinking about music and art during the last century or so, the answer to this question was by and large a strongly negative one. For much of Western history, however, the link between morality and the arts was widely construed as strong, and, at times, even as necessary. Eighteenth-century thinkers and philosophers, such as Kant, Schiller and Rousseau conceived of powerful links between beauty, aesthetic value in general, and the moral sphere. Moreover, in the classical world, not only was a strong connection between the arts and morality widely assumed, but of all the arts, music was held to be the most morally powerfully of all.

During recent years the relation between art and morality has again come under critical and philosophical scrutiny, perhaps in answer to a pervasive social re-evaluation of the meaning of artistic experience and practice. But while musicology has seen a huge increase in emphasis on the social and cultural aspects of music and its making, and philosophers have reassessed notions of the moral content of the literary and pictorial arts, the precise question of music's moral value has yet to be adequately posed.

The proposed conference intends to offer a comparative examination of this subject by bringing together academics and scholars from within musicology, philosophy, and neighbouring disciplines to explore the relation between music and morality, from a variety of historical, interpretative perspectives.