Call for Papers: Music, Migration, and the Exchange of Knowledge: The Baltics in Global Perspective Deadline: 1 May 2027 Vilnius, 22–23 November 2027, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre New York, 19–20 April 2028, The Barry S. Brook Center of Music Research and Documentation, CUNY New York, In 2027 and 2028, The Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation will host a bicontinental symposium, coorganized in partnership with the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. The central question of this symposium is how the migration of peoples as well as their ideas, practices, and cultural artifacts has shaped the epistemic systems through which musical knowledge is produced, transmitted, and understood across different territories. The symposium specifically focuses on the migration of musical knowledge to and from Baltic countries—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania—from the late nineteenth century onward. Drawing on theoretical discourses of migration in music and culture, the symposium considers how large-scale movements of peoples profoundly transformed musical life during the twentieth century. Migration from the Baltics was often shaped by political upheavals, particularly during and after the First and Second World Wars, when musicians, scholars, and cultural agents sought refuge from wars, totalitarian regimes, and occupations. In their new host countries, these individuals encountered musical environments and traditions that contributed to processes of cultural exchange, internationalization, and the transformation of musical knowledge. Scholars from all disciplines whose work engages with music in specific and broader cultural contexts are invited to submit proposals addressing the following topics: Musical and musicological knowledge created in the context of displacement and exile Historical transformations in the exchange of musical knowledge The role of intellectual and scholarly networks in the creation, dissemination, and circulation of musicological knowledge across geographical areas The impact of the migration on institutional collaborations and networks, including the relationship between institutional and individual exchanges The role of women, Indigenous peoples, and other often underrepresented groups in the production and transmission of musical knowledge The influence of migration and exile experience on academic, popular, pedagogical, and other forms of musical thought We hope to receive proposals that seek to examine diverse forms of musical knowledge exchange, including academic, popular, pedagogical, and religious aspects. This is the second edition of the bicontinental symposium by The Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation, following its first event on musical exchanges between Spain and the Americas, organized in cooperation with the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (Barcelona) in 2024/2025. Convenors & Coordination: Tina Frühauf (The CUNY Graduate Center / RILM, New York, USA) Rima Povilionienė (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Vilnius, Lithuania) Scientific Committee: Tina Frühauf (The CUNY Graduate Center / RILM, New York, USA) Rima Povilionienė (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Vilnius, Lithuania) Stefan Keym (Institute of Musicology of the Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany) Jolanta Guzy-Pasiak (Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland) Rūta Stanevičiūtė (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Vilnius, Lithuania) Janis Kudinš (Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Riga, Latvia) Brigitta Davidjants (Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Tallinn, Estonia) The bicontinental symposium will take place in person in Vilnius and New York: Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA) Gedimino pr. 42 10001 Vilnius, Lithuania www.lmta.lt The Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation CUNY Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3108 New York, NY 10016-4309 https://brookcenter.gc.cuny.edu/ We welcome proposals for individual papers and whole panels in English. For individual papers, please submit abstracts of ca. 250 words. For the panel proposal, please submit a panel abstract of 200 words along with abstracts for individual papers. The abstract should be accompanied by a short biography, including affiliation (max. 80 words). Proposals should be submitted through the following form https://forms.gle/kHGemRJJLCtBUbMG7 by 15 March 2027. Participants must indicate whether they want to participate in the Vilnius symposium in 2027 or in the New York symposium in 2028. All applicants will be notified by 1 May 2027. There is no conference registration fee. The selected papers will be invited for publication. Please direct any questions to cmrd@gc.cuny.edu The conference organizers look forward to receiving your submissions!
The 2026 Barry and Claire Brook Award Established in April 2018 by the Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation (The Graduate Center of The City University of New York), the BROOK AWARD honors an exceptional single-author or co-authored monograph, dissertation, or edited collection. From 2024 onwards, the prize is awarded to publications on global music history. The award honors an exceptional single-author or co-authored monograph, dissertation, or edited collection on global music history. The prize seeks to recognize publications that contribute to the evolving discourse on global music history and help map its parameters by emphasizing interconnected relationships between diverse musical traditions, rather than presenting them in isolation. We are looking for publications that consider migration, mobility, and the circulation of music across cultures. These publications should explore the synthesis and transculturation of musical traditions, examining how different musical practices have been shaped through global cultural exchange and interaction. Central to this approach is the understanding that music is a cultural practice, shaped by the historical and social contexts it emerges from, and a critical perspective that challenges Western-centric ideas of progress and exceptionalism in music historiography. Whether written individually or collaboratively, we consider publications that prioritize cultural relationships (and joint authorship), as opposed to edited volumes that compile different regional perspectives. The author(s) of the work will receive a certificate and an optional invitation to deliver a public lecture on the topic of the awarded publication at The CUNY Graduate Center. Dissertations have the opportunity to be published in Brepols series Acta Brookiana. Beginning in 2024, the awards committee will consist of three distinguished scholars in the field of global music history who will serve overlapping three-year terms. The previous year’s winner will be invited to join the following year’s committee. The director of the Brook Center serves as an ex officio member of the committee. The committee may appoint one or more ad hoc members to review nominated works written in languages outside their area of expertise. Committee members are: Benjamin Barson, Bucknell UniversityNicholas Cook, University of CambridgeDaniela Fugellie, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Chile Publication nominations will be accepted by the award committee from any individual or organization. Nominated works may be published in any country and language. Works nominated for the 2026 award must have a copyright date of 2025. Nominations should be submitted to the Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, or by email to Dr. Tina Frühauf, cmrd@gc.cuny.edu. The nominating individual/organization must arrange with the publisher to provide each member of the awards committee with a hard copy or electronic copy of the publication. Nominated publications must be received by committee members by 1 September 2026. Awards will be announced in December 2026. For further information, please contact Dr. Tina Frühauf, cmrd@gc.cuny.edu. Past winners of the Brook Award.
International Symposium: Paco de Lucía and The Americas International Symposium: Paco de Lucía and The Americas PacoDeLuciaProgram An international symposium dedicated to exploring the indelible sway of the Americas on Paco de Lucía and, conversely, the impact of Paco de Lucía on the music and the musicians of the Americas. To mark the tenth anniversary of Paco de Lucía’s passing this conference will investigate the transformative influence of Paco de Lucía (Francisco Sánchez Gómez, 1947-2014) on the global concert stage. Paco de Lucía was undoubtedly one of the most important contributors to the history of the guitar. His music transcended and transformed the genres of classical, jazz, and flamenco guitar, and his virtuosity as an instrumentalist, encompassing his unique fusions of Spanish musical idioms with North American, Caribbean, and Latin American genres, continues to influence classical, flamenco, jazz, pop, and world music today by drawing together the musical legacies of Africa, the Americas, and Europe. Join acclaimed musicians and prestigious scholars from around the world to honor and celebrate the antecedents and the legacy of this remarkable artist. Thursday, March 7, 2024 ― 9:30 am-6:00 pm The Segal Theater, CUNY Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue @ 34th St Free Admission ― Registration is required. www.gc.cuny.edu 212-8178215 Organizing directors: Antoni Pizà & K. Meira Goldberg Presented by: The Foundation for Iberian Music at Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation The CUNY Graduate Center This event has already received some attention from some media outlets. K. Meira Goldberg is interviewed here. For the full program click here: PacoDeLuciaProgram This symposium is part of the Flamenco Festival NY 2024. Click here for the Festival’s full program: FlamencoFestival
Conference on Iberian Historical Male Voices and the Press The Sociedad Española de Musicología has just announced this conference to be held in Palma de Mallorca (March 20, 21, and 22 2024) and Antoni Pizà (Foundation for Iberian Music) is a member of the Scientific Committee. Read the full information here: https://xiimuspres.com/ Cartelxiimuspres XII MUSPRES Congreso internacional La comisión de trabajo de la Sociedad Española de Musicología, “Música y prensa” (MUSPRES), en colaboración con el grupo de investigación “Musurba“, de la Universidad Internacional de Valencia (VIU) y el grupo de investigación del “Institut de Musicologia Pau Villalonga” se complacen en organizar el Congreso internacional “Divos: las voces masculinas de ópera y la prensa”, en memoria del gran bajo mallorquín Francisco Uetam. Este es el duodécimo encuentro científico impulsado por la mencionada comisión de trabajo de la SEdeM. Desde el año 2013, el grupo “Música y prensa” ha sido el anfitrión de congresos anuales con el objetivo de fomentar y compartir investigaciones musicológicas basadas en fuentes hemerográficas. Esta convocatoria se centra en la ópera y, de forma más específica, en los cantantes varones que han representado en escena personajes inolvidables, desde el emperador Carlos a Lohengrin, pasando por Figaro, Fausto o Werther.En el XII MUSPRES, exploraremos el legado dejado por los cantantes de ópera desde nuevas perspectivas y contextos actuales, pero siempre a partir de la prensa. ¡Esperamos contar con vuestra participación! UETAM. Cor fedele Comité científico Dr. Francesc Cortès i Mir (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) Dra. Bàrbara Durán (Institut de musicologia Pau Villalonga) Dr. Enrique Encabo (Universidad de Murcia) Dra. María Ordiñana (Universidad Internacional de Valencia) Dr. Antoni Pizà (Foundation for Iberian Music) Dr. Alberto José Vieira Pacheco (Universidad Nova de Lisboa) Dirección del congreso Dra. Eugenia Gallego Cañellas (Universidad Internacional de Valencia) Sociedad Española de Musicología – Música y Prensa (MUSPRESS) Antoni Pizà, Foundation for Iberian Music, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, will present the following paper: “Cómo eliminar casi todas las claves del solfeo y morir en el intento: Los intentos frustrados de Francisco Frontera de Valldemosa reflejados en la prensa española y europea” En 1837, el cantante, compositor, pedagogo y gestor musical Francisco Frontera de Valldemosa (Palma, 22 de septiembre de 1807 — Palma, 7 de octubre de 1891) publicó en París un peculiar tratado de solfeo encaminado a eliminar o, al menos, reducir las claves del solfeo. En ediciones sucesivas, el libro acabaría llamándose Equinotación ó Nuevo sistema musical de llaves. El breve volumen consta de dos partes. La primera detalla la reducción de todas las claves a sólo tres. La mayoría de las claves —arguye el autor— son innecesarias y, además, retrasan o incluso pueden llegar a abortar la creatividad musical del joven estudiante. La segunda parte es una curiosa antología de música que incluye en la página izquierda fragmentos musicales en su notación original, y en la página opuesta, a la derecha, en su transcripción al nuevo sistema de equinotación, o sea sin claves “innecesarias”. A pesar de que el sistema de Frontera no logró imponerse, la prensa española y europea reflejaron la originalidad del método y la posible necesidad de un sistema así: en Francia, la Revue et gazette musicale, L’Orphéon, La presse teatrale; en España, El león español, La España, La Libertad, El Artista, Revista y gaceta musical, La Correspondencia de España; en Italia, Bocherini, Il Pirata, Gazzetta musicale di Napoli, etc. A pesar del éxito entre muchos críticos y profesores, Hippolyte-Raymond Colet (Uzès, 5 de diciembre de 1808 – París, 21 de abril de 1851) denunció el tratado por plagio e inició una polémica en la prensa denominada la querelle des cléfs en la que participaron varios críticos, profesores y teóricos musicales. Inquebrantable en sus convicciones y sin una resolución clara del posible plagio, Frontera publicó tres ediciones más de su tratado, una de ellas poco antes de morir.
New Conference on the Transatlantic Circulation of Knowledge After the a very successful series of conferences and publications on the circulation of music and ideas across the Atlantic, including Celebrating Flamenco’s Tangled Roots: The Body Questions (2022); “Natives, Africans, Roma, and Europeans: Transatlantic Rhythms in Music, Song, and Dance” (published in Música Oral del Sur 2020); “Spaniards, Indians, Africans and Gypsies: The Global Reach of the Fandango in Music, Song, and Dance” (also in Música Oral del Sur 2015); Transatlantic Malagueñas and Zapateados in Music, Song and Dance: Spaniards, Natives, Africans, Roma (2019); and The Global Reach of the Fandango in Music, Song and Dance: Spaniards, Indians, Africans and Gypsies (2017), now the Societat Catalana de Musicologia has issued a call for papers. Music, Migration, and the Exchange of Knowledge Spain – North America – Latin America See the program here Conference Program A bicontinental symposium at the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barcelona, 28–29 November 2024, and at the Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation, CUNY, Graduate Center, New York, 22–23 April 2025 Convenors & Coordination:Tina Frühauf (The CUNY Graduate Center, New York / RILM)Andrea Puentes-Blanco (IMF-CSIC, Barcelona & Societat Catalana de Musicologia) Dates:Barcelona symposium: November 28–29, 2024New York symposium: April 22–23, 2025 Abstracts should be sent through this form https://forms.gle/3NjBa4tsj3x2uw6a8 by 15 March 2024 in English or Spanish. Participants must indicate whether they want to participate in the Barcelona symposium in 2024 or in the New York symposium in 2025. For individual papers: abstracts of c. 350 words; for panels: abstracts of c. 300 words of the proposal as a whole and c. 200 words on the contribution of each participant. Applicants will be notified by 1 June 2024. For more information visit the symposium website: https://sites.google.com/view/bicontinentalsymposium/home
Andrea Puentes at The Foundation for Iberian Music (Brook Center) Andrea Puentes-Blanco was a Visiting Scholar at the Foundation for Iberian Music (The Brook Center, The City University of New York) from April to July 2023. Puentes-Blanco is Tenured Researcher at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [CSIC, Spanish National Research Council], Institución Milá y Fontanals de Investigación en Humanidades (Barcelona, Spain). During her stay at the Brook Center, Puentes-Blanco worked on her research project entitled ‘Exploring Spanish Traditional Music Holdings in US Libraries’ whose aim is to research Spanish traditional music holdings in US libraries and archives that were collected in Spain, mostly by American ethnomusicologists or anthropologists, and Spanish-speaking folk music in the United States collected from Spanish immigrants or from people of Spanish origin. A case in point is Puentes’ research on the legacy of our late colleague and mentor Henrietta Yurchenco (1916-2007). This research is part of a broader current research project entitled “Digital development of the Fondo de Música Tradicional IMF-CSIC” [Desarrollo digital del Fondo de Música Tradicional IMF-CSIC] funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation from 2022 to 2024. Puentes is currently planning an international conference to be held in Barcelona (CSIC, 2024) and NY (Foundation for Iberian Music at the Brook Center, 2025.)
Paulino Capdeón’s Researches on Iberian Music Many of our colleagues are able to keep a prolific scholarly activity, but just a few do so maintaining the highest possible scientific standards. A case in point is Professor Paulino Capdeón, catedrático of musicology at the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha and Director of the Centro de Investigación y Documentación Musical de Castilla-La Mancha. Dr. Capdeon has had and continues to have, a distinguished career as a teacher and researcher with more than forty books and two hundred scholarly papers. His publications frequently focus on eighteenth-century Spanish music, see for example his recent and very rigorous edition of Antonio Soler’s music and also the much commented influence of Italian music on Spanish repertories. His interests, though, often veer also towards the mainstream musical repertoire that is usual at the concert hall, see for example his study of Beethoven’s reception in Spain. Very often, many of his scholarly interests have centered on extending this same mainstream concert hall repertoire. Thus he has researched lesser-known composers bringing their life and works to the attention of scholars, musicians, students, and, ultimately, the general public. A good example of these endevors are his studies on Ramón Garay (1761-1823) and music theorist Tomás Vicente Tosca (1651-1723), as well as his research on important centers of musical life such as the Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor de Talavera de la Reina. In sum, we celebrate the many scholarly achievements of Professor Paulino Capdeón as a an example of intellectual scrupulousness and scientific rigor.
Marc Migó awarded the Foundation for Iberian Music Composer’s Commission 2022 Marc Migó has been awarded the Foundation for Iberian Music 2022 Composer’s Commission. The composer has written a series of twelve piano preludes entitled L’ILLA DESERTA: Preludes for Piano, Book 1, about which Migó has written the following: “The title “L’illa deserta” refers to a conversation I had with Dr. Philip Lasser early in my studies at Juilliard. The conversation led to being genuine in my compositional endeavors, hence, he suggested I write “desert island music.” This meant to compose without the need to prove anything to anyone but instead to follow my inner, unconditional voice, as if I was living on a desert island, far removed from civilization. Following that precept, I composed 12 preludes that make up this book which inhabits another kind of island; one not deserted but imbued with memory and dreams. Preludes 1, “Tarantella,” and 4, “Evocació,” are based on my souvenirs as a child becoming acquainted with Catalan folksongs. Prelude 2, “Elegia,” evokes the feeling of emptiness that comes when losing something precious. Prelude 3, “Scherzetto,” is a celebration of two dear friends of mine who both have exceptionally joyous and resilient personalities. Prelude 5, “Melodia,” is a homage to Myroslav Skoryk (1938-2020), a Ukrainian composer whom I admire and who embodies my affinity towards the Slavic world and Prelude 6, “Recuerdos del Casar,” invokes my Spanish roots. Despite the deep melancholy that characterizes Prelude 7, “Melangia,” the inspiration to write it did not come from any romantic heartbreak, but from the more prosaic (and, luckily, way more common) event of not being awarded a prize I had been seeking. Preludes 8 to 10 —“Tristor,” “Lament,” and “Capsa de música,” respectively—expand upon the reflective and sorrowful atmosphere captured in “Melangia.” Finally, Preludes 11, “Toccata,” and 12, “Mephisto’s Disco,” share toccata-like and virtuosic elements, the latter one being based on a particularly wild experience I had at a nightclub with a far less exciting name than that of the prelude in question.” You may download the first prelude here: L’ILLA DESERTA PRELUDES 5 You may also listen to the first prelude, “Cançó” here: https://brookcenter.gc.cuny.edu/files/2023/09/01-Canco.mp3 A full recording of the Preludes can be found here: Antoni Pizà, the Director of the Foundation, expressed his gratefulness and excitement about these piano preludes, which announce the relaunch of the series Composer’s Commissions, which have had in the past many eminent composers including Tania León, Benet Casablancas, Paquito D’Rivera, Antoni Parera Fons, Albert Guinovart and many others. See complete list here. The work will be premiered in full by Marisa Gupta in Saratosa, FL on Dec 15, 2023 with a subsequent performance in St Petersburg, FL. In addition on September 30 Kiryl Keduk will play Preludes 8, 9, and 10 at Bechstein Hall in Berlin and Víctor Braojos will perform the same pieces in London. Click here to watch a fascinating interview between Antoni Pizà and Marc Migó
Antoni Pizà in Conversation with Allegra Giagu on Literes and Spanish Vocal Music During the Bloomington Early Music Festival, Antoni Pizà, Director of the Foundation for Iberian Music, held a conversation with Allegra Giagu on Literes and Spanish Vocal Music. You may watch by clicking here.