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On the Tip of Mahler’s Tongue

Posted in Uncategorized with tags 1912, Austria, Gustav Mahler, Music, Vienna on 26 June 2012 by delclem

“Today marks the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. On 26 June 1912, this extraordinary, of ten febrile work was first performed in the Goldener Saal of the Musikverein. It was played by the Wiener Philharmoniker and conducted by Bruno Walter. Despite the significance of the occasion, old habits died hard and the local press reported that Mahler’s final completed symphony was not a patch on the trumpeted glories of the Eighth.”
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Racist row in Ukraine

Posted in Uncategorized with tags Eurovision Song Contest, Gaitana, Music, Racism, Ukraine on 23 February 2012 by delclem

“Ukrainian singer Gaitana won the hearts of the judges in her bid to represent her country in the Eurovision Song Contest this year. However, the 32-year-old, who was born in Kiev to a Congolese father and a Ukrainian mother has scored, “nul points” from a politician who has said she is not representative of Ukraine because of the colour of her skin.” > Story & video (c) euronews, 2012

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Mozart : Vienna = love/hate

Posted in Uncategorized with tags Austria, exhibition, Mozart, Music, Vienna on 17 February 2012 by delclem

“Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, most probably Austria’s most famous composer ever, is famous all over the world. Equally well-known is the fact that he often experienced financial difficulties. It would be incorrect, however, to assume that his debts were solely the result of his extravagant lifestyle. The temporary exhibition ‘Between Fear and Hope – Mozart’s rise and fall in Viennese society’ in the historic Mozarthaus in the first district shows how his career was not all a bed of roses.”

>article (c) wieninternational.at, 2012

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Austro-Pop as “counter-hegemonic resistance”?

Posted in Uncategorized with tags A3, Austria, Austro-Pop, Discourse Analysis, Haider, hegemony, Music, politics, STS, Waldheim on 4 January 2012 by delclem

“Recent political and social developments in Austria have been widely portrayed in simplistically metonymic terms, with controversial figures such as Waldheim and Haider being perceived to epitomise Austrian society as a whole.” In his paper, Christian Karner analyses “the discursive/lyrical content of some of the songs by STS and Austria 3, two of the most successful bands within the genre of Austrian popular music. Approaching these two case studies from the theoretical perspectives of discourse analysis and cognitive anthropology, he tries to show that ‘Austro-Pop’ has – at important junctures in recent Austrian history – served as a tool of ideological resistance and created sites of social critique and cultural introspection.” (…) I have to admit: I am not really sure about this…

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PS: “this is the Balkans”

Posted in Uncategorized with tags Balaga, Balkans, Music, Punk, stereotypes on 22 December 2011 by delclem

Punk playing (with) stereotypes on the region & the New World order

This is the Balkans here,
Fragrant flowers,
Totally incomprehensible to the whole world…

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Popstar or Classic?

Posted in Uncategorized with tags Austria, Franz Liszt, Hungary, Music on 22 October 2011 by delclem

“When you think of rock n’ roll, Franz Liszt might not be the first name that comes to mind. But the classical pianist, born 200 years ago today, was in many ways the first rock star of all time.” Article (c) NPR, 2011

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Acoustic Postcards from the Edges of Europe

Posted in Uncategorized with tags Central Europe, Michael Beckerman, Music on 17 June 2011 by delclem

On 16 – 17 June the Royal Historical Society (RHS) Symposium Edges of Europe: Frontiers in Context was held at Lancaster University.

The Plenary Lecture entitled Acoustic Postcards from the Edges of Europe was given by Professor Michael Beckerman, Head of Music at New York University.

His research interests include Czech and Eastern European music, Janacek, Dvorak, Martinu, nationalism, Gypsies, Mozart, Brahms, Gilbert and Sullivan, Schubert, and film music.
He received the Janacek Medal from the Czech Republic and is a Laureate of the Czech Music Council. He lectures widely and writes regularly for the New York Times.