Brook Center project director, Antoni Pizà, takes on role as guest editor for Volume 11, Issue 1 of Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review The peer-reviewed, open-access journal DIAGONAL journal has published a new special issue dedicated to the legacy of Paco de Lucía, a defining figure in flamenco and global music history. Published through the University of California eScholarship, DIAGONAL focuses on Iberian and Latin American music scholarship. Guest edited by Antoni Pizà and K. Meira Goldberg, the issue brings together a selection of papers originally presented at the conference Paco de Lucía and the Americas, held at the CUNY Graduate Center on March 7, 2023. The collection reflects the conference’s interdisciplinary scope, examining de Lucía’s influence across musical, cultural, and transatlantic contexts. Readers can explore the full issue here: https://escholarship.org/uc/diagonal To revisit highlights from the conference, watch the event recording below:
Voicing Innocence | 7–8 April 2026 | In-person & Streaming Live Voicing Innocence is an international public conference that explores how music and sound give voice to trauma, vulnerability, and ethical responsibility in contemporary culture. It brings together scholars, composers, performers, and cultural thinkers for lectures, panel discussions, and performances designed for both specialist and general audiences. The conference takes its point of departure from the Metropolitan Opera’s premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence on 6 April. Building on the artistic and ethical concerns raised by this landmark work, Voicing Innocence expands the conversation to broader historical, social, and aesthetic contexts. Themes include childhood and loss, collective trauma, justice, memory, and the ways music mediates moral experience. Central to the conference is the participation of Scandinavian artists and scholars, whose work has been instrumental in shaping contemporary discourse around these themes. Participants will contribute perspectives rooted in composition, performance, musicology, and cultural analysis, situating Kaia Saariaho’s artistic work within an international framework of exchange. As a public project, Voicing Innocence emphasizes accessibility and engagement beyond the academy. All events will be open to the public and documented through recordings and digital materials for wider dissemination. PDF PROGRAM AVAILABLE | Voicing Innocence: Trauma, Memory, and Contemporary Opera in the Work of Kaija Saariaho Voicing Innocence Program Book (1)-compressed (1)Download SCHEDULE | Voicing Innocence: Trauma, Memory, and Contemporary Opera in the Work of Kaija Saariaho Voicing Innocence Trauma, Memory, and Contemporary Opera in the Work of Kaija Saariaho (1)Download CALL FOR PAPERS | Voicing Innocence: Trauma, Memory, and Contemporary Opera in the Work of Kaija Saariaho A Conference Convened by The Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation The Graduate Center, City University of New York In Conjunction with the Metropolitan Opera’s 2026 Staging of Innocence Location: The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY) Dates: April 7–8, 2026 Proposal Deadline: January 5, 2026 The Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation invites proposals for a conference inspired by the 2026 Metropolitan Opera premiere of Innocence (2021), the final opera by the late Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The conference coincides with the Metropolitan Opera’s presentation of Simon Stone’s original production that premiered at Aix-en-Provence in 2021. This momentous staging provides an opportunity to engage with Saariaho’s innovative compositional voice and the complex thematic landscape of Innocence, an opera that confronts trauma, cultural memory, multilingualism, and the limits of forgiveness. Topics: We welcome proposals that examine Innocence and adjacent topics across the fields of musicology, opera studies, trauma studies, cultural theory, performance studies, and beyond. Saariaho’s Operatic Vision – Analytical, aesthetic, and dramaturgical readings of Innocence – Innocence in the context of Saariaho’s complete operatic output – Saariaho’s musical language and its evolution: Saariaho’s musical language and its evolution: spectralism, electronics, and orchestration – Collaboration with librettists Sofi Oksanen and Aleksi Barrière, and transdisciplinary practice – The intersection of Finnish and international opera traditions Trauma, Silence, and Voice in Contemporary Opera – Representations of violence, terrorism, and collective trauma – Memory, testimony, and witnessing in operatic narrative – Ethical considerations in staging real-world violence – Opera as memorial or commemorative practice Musical and Dramatic Innovation – Extended vocal techniques and vocal diversity in contemporary opera – Multilingual opera and linguistic multiplicity – Non-linear narrative structures and temporal manipulation – The role of folk traditions in art music contexts Production and Reception – Staging trauma: ethics and audience reception – Simon Stone’s production design and directorial approach – Critical reception and audience responses across productions – Posthumous premieres and the politics of legacy Broader Contexts – Gender, authorship, and the legacy of women in 21st-century opera – Comparative approaches: Innocence alongside operas by Thomas Adès, George Benjamin, Missy Mazzoli, etc. – Finnish cultural identity and global operatic networks – Contemporary opera and social justice- Opera after catastrophe: 21st-century opera and global crisis We encourage proposals from scholars at all career stages and welcome interdisciplinary submissions from practitioners, composers, directors, and artists whose work intersects with the themes of the conference. Submission Guidelines: Please submit the following as a single PDF: – Title of paper or presentation – Abstract (300–350 words) – Short bio (150 words) – Institutional affiliation – Contact information Submissions should be sent to cmrd@gc.cuny.edu with the subject line: Innocence Conference Proposal. Deadline for submissions: January 5, 2026 Notification of acceptance: January 30, 2026 Conference Format: The event envisions academic panels, roundtables, and artist talks. Select sessions will be scheduled in coordination with the Metropolitan Opera’s performances of Innocence. Further details will follow in early 2026.
Past Foundation for Iberian Music Composer’s Commission awardee wins the 2025 Tomás Luis de Victoria Prize The Foundation for Iberian Music is proud to announce that Benet Casablancas (Sabadell, 1956) is the winner of the Tomás Luis de Victoria Prize (Premio SGAE de la Música Iberoamericana Tomás Luis de Victoria). Awarded by the SGAE Foundation (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores), it is Spain’s top honor for living composers from Ibero-America, recognizing their significant contributions to music and their impactful career in contemporary music and the arts. The prize celebrates living composers who enrich Ibero-American musical life and is considered the highest public recognition for composers in this field, it includes a monetary prize of €30,000. An international jury, including The Foundation for Iberian Music, selects the winner from nominated candidates. In 2023, Tania León (Havanna, 1943) also obtained the prize. Both Casablancas and León have been commissioned compositions by the Foundation. Check out Casablancas’ 2012 Composer’s Commission https://brookcenter.gc.cuny.edu/2012/06/26/homage-to-catalonia-in-celebration-of-the-centenary-of-xavier-montsalvatge/ Check out León’s 2011 Composer’s Commission https://brookcenter.gc.cuny.edu/2011/03/29/composers-comission-2012-distinguished-professor-tania-leon/ Casablancas and León have also collaborated in numerous projects including Casablancas Composer’s Portrait at Columbia University’s Miller Theater, curated by Antoni Pizà and a monographic concert at The Morgan Library, also curated by Pizà. This award highlights the enduring legacy of the Renaissance master Tomás Luis de Victoria (c. 1548–1611) by honoring modern creators in the Spanish-speaking world. Read la Fundación SGAE’s full award announcement and an interview with Casablancas https://fundacionsgae.org/actualidad/benet-casablancas-xx-premio-sgae-de-la-musica-iberoamericana-tomas-luis-de-victoria-2025/
Music, Sound, and Antisemitism Symposium This symposium, presented by the American Society for Jewish Music’s Jewish Music Forum and the Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation at the CUNY Graduate Center, with co-sponsorship by YIVO, features presentations that consider the historical and contemporary intersections between music, sound, and antisemitism. Interdisciplinary and wide-ranging papers by scholars from across the globe explore the variety of ways in which sound and different types of music have been used to convey antisemitism. All papers will be followed by a Q&A session. Non-presenters can register to participate in lunch on Wednesday, May 28 and Thursday, May 29 for a $30 fee. For those unable to join us in person at YIVO, additional symposium presentations will take place on Zoom on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 and Thursday, June 5, 2025. Separate registration is required to receive the Zoom link. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. MS&A Program Final Edit-compressed-compressedDownload
Forging an American Musical Identity Conference Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation project Music in Gotham: The New York Scene 1862–1875 co-hosts a groundbreaking event alongside it’s neighbor the Music Department at the CUNY Graduate Center, and the New York Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ Music and Recorded Sound Division and the Neely Bruce Music Foundation. With support from the Society for American Music (SAM) The kickoff event for the exploration of our country’s rich musical heritage will be Forging an American Musical Identity in the Long Nineteenth Century, a diverse and exciting multidisciplinary conference in New York City (28–30 January 2026). It will culminate with a concert at Carnegie Hall by the American Symphony Orchestra (Leon Botstein, conducting), including the modern premiere of George Frederick Bristow’s Symphony No. 5. Niagara. For more information, see the flyer below: Final Conference Program: fami-conference-program-revised-15-january-finalDownload
Rocio Marquez in Concert A concert with the one and only Rocio Marquez Wednesday, February 25, 7 p.m.Elebash Recital Hall CUNY Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue (at 34th Street), NYC gc.cuny.edu/public-programs Co-sponsored by the CUNY Graduate Center’s Office of Public Programs and the Foundation for Iberian Music at the Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation. Made possible by the Elebash Global Voices Fund.
Electric Bohemian: Flamenco and the Arts in Greenwich Village (1950s-1970s) Electric Bohemian: Flamenco and the Arts in Greenwich Village (1950s-1970s) Meira Goldberg and Elijah Wald in Conversation Wednesday, February 25, 5 p.m.Skylight Room CUNY Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue (at 34th Street), NYC Free; reservations suggested gc.cuny.edu/public-programs Flamenco scholar K. Meira Goldberg and cultural historian Elijah Wald (author of Dylan Goes Electric!) explore how “the Village” became a hub of artistic experimentation — the birthplace of the Beat Generation, the 1960s counterculture, and various avant-garde movements. They discuss its rich tapestry of urban bohemia, where small presses, art galleries, and theater and music venues flourished, giving rise to an alternative culture including the queer movement and a thriving flamenco scene, which developed alongside the more famous folk scene. Goldberg is a flamenco performer, choreographer, teacher, and author of Sonidos Negros: On the Blackness of Flamenco. Wald is a musician and writer whose book about Bob Dylan served as the inspiration for the film A Complete Unknown. Followed by Rocío Márquez in concert at 7 p.m. in Elebash Recital Hall Co-sponsored by the CUNY Graduate Center’s Office of Public Programs and the Foundation for Iberian Music at the Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation. Made possible by the Elebash Global Voices Fund.
Beyond the Notes: A Symposium Beyond the Notes A Symposium New Perspectives In Recent Chopin Scholarship Nationalism, Sexuality, Textuality A Panel Discussion and Concert Celda de Frédéric Chopin y George Sand Valldemossa, Mallorca 9 May 2026 2pm Symposium (see below) 7pm Concert – Juan Carlos Fernández-Nieto 9 May 2026 @ 5.00pm – Panel discussion In recent years some scholars have moved away from textual, analytical, and purely musical questions in Chopin Studies to focus on issues of context, cultural and gender studies, sexual orientation, nationalism, patriotism, colonial and postcolonial studies, environmentalism, and disability. This panel discussion gathers world-renowned scholars who have contributed to looking at and listening to Chopin from new, somewhat irreverent, highly debatable, and definitively debated and controversial scholarly perspectives. The discussion will include live musical illustrations using the 1852 Pleyel piano. In English, Spanish, and Catalan. Participants: Antoni Pizà – moderator, Foundation for Iberian Music, The Graduate Center of The City University of New York Francisco Javier Albo – pianist, scholar, and professor, Georgia State University, USA Juan Carlos Fernández-Nieto – pianist and scholar, Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid John Rink – scholar and professor, University of Cambridge Moritz Weber – pianist and scholar, SRF – Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen 9 May 2026 @ 7pm – A Piano Recital by Juan Carlos Fernández-Nieto at the 1852 Pleyel piano