Thursday, January 25, 2007

Beethoven's "Tempest"

From February 8 to 10, 2007, the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, will host an international symposium devoted to a single composition: Beethoven's "Tempest" Sonata (in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2), a work that represents a turning point in music history, raising questions about aesthetics, instrument, performance, and form.

This three-day event will bring together pianists, historians, and theorists from Belgium, Canada, and the United States around this one piece, which lends itself particularly well to different approaches and perspectives. At the core of the project are connections of scholarship and performance.

More workshop in spirit than formal conference, events will consist of seminar-type presentations, performances, and an open discussion forum.

Attendance is free.

Preliminary Schedule of Events

Thursday, February 8, 2007

1:30–1:45 Welcoming Remarks

1:45–2:30 PERFORMANCE

Daniel Steibelt, L’Orage précédé d’un rondeau pastorale (from his concerto Nr. 3, Op. 33, 1798), Erin Helyard (McGill), fortepiano

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2 (“Tempest”), Tom Beghin (McGill), fortepiano

2:45–3:45 Jeroen D’Hoe (Lemmens Institute), ”Playing (with) Harmony in Beethoven's Op. 31, No. 2”

4:00–5:00 Pieter Bergé (Leuven), “To Play or Not to Play: Motivic Connections in Beethoven's ‘Tempest’ Sonata”

Friday, February 9, 2007

9:30–10:30 William Caplin (McGill), “The ‘Tempest’ Exposition: A Springboard for Form-Functional Considerations”

10:45–11:45 Robert Hatten (Indiana), “Interpreting the ‘Tempest’ through Topics, Gestures, and Agency”

1:30–2:30 Tom Beghin (McGill), "Orating the Oracle: The Rhetorical Paradox of Beethoven's Tempest Sonata"

2:45–3: 45 Markus Neuwirth (Leuven), “Listening Forward: What an Expectancy-Based Cognitive Music Analysis Tells Us about Beethoven’s ‘Tempest’ Sonata”

4:00–5:00 Steven Vande Moortele (Leuven), “Hesitant Openings and Tempestuous Transitions: Ways of Organizing Sonata Form Expositions in the Nineteenth Century”

6:15 CONCERT

Ludwig van Beethoven, Three Piano Sonatas, Opus 31:

Number 1 in G Major, Sara Laimon (McGill), piano

Number 2 in D Minor, Richard Raymond (McGill), piano

Number 3 in E-flat Major, Kyoko Hashimoto (McGill), piano

Saturday, February 10, 2007

10:00–12:00 Open Forum: Analysis & Performance

Moderator: Robert Hatten, with the participation of Tom Beghin (on the fortepiano) and Richard Raymond (on the modern piano)

6 comments:

Kelly said...

Hiya

I'm planning on attending all the Thursday and Friday events of this Beethoven symposium as it were. Do you have any idea where I can get a printed copy of the schedule, and where all these workshops / talks are being given? I think the Friday recital is in Redpath Hall, right?

Kelly Symons (http://www.myspace.com/kellysymons)

Scott said...

Sorry, I can't find anything on it. I would check in the main music building, there should be programs there.

Unknown said...

Hi
I live in India and cannot attend your conference. Is there anyway i could get a copy of the lectures,vcd or paper.It would mean a lot to me. Thank you

Scott said...

Lavinia,
I am not participating in this conference in any way, so I can't help you. You could try contacting the Schulich School of Music to see what they could do. I would guess that the most you would get would be abstracts of the papers, but I don't know that.

Anonymous said...

Hi Scott
I'm sorry to be a bother.Do you know the email address of the person concerned with the seminar. I found the Schulich School of Music webste but then I get hopelessly lost.

Scott said...

Lavinia,

The best suggestion I can make is to contact the head of the Department of Theory: David Brackett. His email is on his website.