Research Catalogue

an international database for artistic research

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  Challenging the Theater of Memory. Yiddish Song beyond Kitsch and Stereotype (Pilot Project) (2024) author(s): Benjamin Fox-Rosen, Isabel Frey published in: Research Catalogue
  The artistic research pilot project Challenging the Theater of Memory: Yiddish Song beyond Kitsch and Stereotype attempts to explore and deconstruct the ways that Jewishness is portrayed and embodied in the performance of Yiddish song through ethnographic research and musical performance. Sociologist Michal Y. Bodemann’s concept of the “Theater of Memory” (1996) articulates how Jewish participation in public life is co-opted into the German national narrative to affirm a post-Nazi multiculturalism [^1]. This framework suggests that the diversity and complexity of Jewish life are often instrumentalized, serving merely as a backdrop in the German or Austrian national narratives. As a result of these dynamics, Yiddish culture and music are frequently presented through nostalgic tropes, stereotypical representations and in conjunction with the massive loss of the Shoah. Such representations often bolster hegemonic narratives instead of empowering Jewish minorities. Consequently, Yiddish singers become instrumental in either reinforcing or contesting the theater of memory through their artistic choices and performances. Our central question as artist-researchers was: How can we, artistically and through scholarly reflection, challenge and subvert the Theater of Memory as Yiddish performers on stage? In our project we use the frame of a lecture / concert to reflect on how we encounter the Theater of Memory in our artistic practice. Drawing from our experiences of past performances, theory from both performance and Jewish studies as well as ethnomusicology, we developed a performance which weaves together music, our own writings and visuals. We presented this lecture-concert in multiple settings and documented it through auto-ethnographic research methods and audio/visual recordings. Project supported by the: -Music and Minorities Research Center -Austrian Science Fund (FWF): Z 352-G26 -Artistic Research Pilot Grant (2022) university of music and performing arts vienna (mdw)
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• CAMPing (2024) author(s): Liane Paldi published in: Research Catalogue
  For the 'Breaking Free Essay'. A manifesto and personal reflection.
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• CAMPing; on breaking free from institutionalized aesthetics through physical occupation (2024) author(s): Liane Paldi published in: Research Catalogue
  Research and notes behind the "Breaking Free" essay CAMPing; breaking free from institutionalized aesthetics through physical occupation
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  Exploring plurality of interpretation through annotations in the long 19th century: musician's perspectives and the FAAM project. (2024) author(s): Nicholas Cornia published in: Research Catalogue
  The quest of reconciling scholarship and interpretative freedom has always been present in the early music movement discourse, since its 19th century foundations. Confronted with a plurality of performance practices, the performer of Early Music is forced to make interpretative choices, based on musicological research of the sources and their personal taste. The critical analysis of the sources related to a musical work is often a time-consuming and cumbersome task, usually provided by critical editions made by musicologists. Such editions primarily focus on the composer's agency, neglecting the contribution of a complex network of professions, ranging from editors, conductors, amateur and professional performers and collectors. The FAAM, Flemish Archive for Annotated Music, is an interdisciplinary project at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp that wishes to explore the possibilities of annotation analysis on music scores for historically informed musicians. Annotations are a valuable source of information to recollect the decision-making process of musicians of the past. Especially when original musical recordings are not available, the marks provided by these performers of the past are the most intimate and informative connections between modern and ancient musicians. Contrary to a purely scholarly historically informed practice approach, based on the controversial concept of authenticity, we wish to allow the modern performers to reconcile their practice with the one of their predecessors in a process of dialectic emulation, where artistic process is improved through the past but does not stagnate in it.
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  Gaia's Hair (Trailer) (2024) author(s): Fernanda Branco published in: Research Catalogue
  Gaia's hair - intruding thoughts (Trailer) This is the trailer for the film performance by Fernanda Branco: Gaia's hair-intruding thoughts Norway, 2020 45 min Images by Margarida Paiva The entire film can be seen on Vimeo with a requested password.
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  Echoes - An exploration of the African rhythmic influence in Costa Rican folk music (2024) author(s): Nelson Briceño Peraza published in: Research Catalogue
  This exposition presents my final project for the Master of Arts in Jazz Performance, Drumset, undertaken from autumn 2022 to spring 2024. The project was motivated by my exposure to diverse African rhythms, which revealed potential connections with the traditional music of my Costa Rican heritage. Growing up surrounded by Costa Rican folk music, including African-origin instruments such as the marimba, quijongo, as well as cimarronas (street bands), deeply influenced my musical identity. This project aims to explore and integrate these rhythms, tracing their African roots and merging them with contemporary musical forms. Inspired by Henry Cole's perspective on folklore as the essence and life of music, this research emphasizes the importance of connecting academic knowledge with folk traditions. Throughout my career, I have engaged with various musical traditions, always seeking to blend them with folk music. This project builds on my previous work, which examined the introduction and adaptation of Costa Rican folk rhythms on the modern drumset. In this continuation, I focus on the historical and rhythmic connections between Latin American and African traditions, using artistic research to deepen the understanding and appreciation of these intertwined musical heritages.
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