Ilze Šarkovska-Liepiņa participated at the International Musicology Conference in Warsaw

Ilze Šarkovska-Liepiņa, ILFA researcher at the Department of Theater, Music and Cinema delivered a presentation at the International Musicology Conference "National Identities – European Universality. Music and Music Life in Central and Eastern Europe (1918–2018)”. The conference was held in Warsaw from 30 November to 1 December, organized by the Polish National Centre for Culture, Polish Composers’ Union, Institute of Musicology of the University of Warsaw, and “Waves Bratislava” (Music Festival & Conference).

World War I, and in particular the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the revolution in Russia, led to the emergence (or re-emergence) on the map of Europe of nine new countries. Poland regained its independence. The other new sovereign states were: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia. What was the significance of the new political situation for the development of music and musical life in those countries? Did the freshly regained independence have impact on the music of composers from this region of Europe? Do national differences still exist in music a hundred years later, or have they all dissolved in the melting pot of European universalism? The jubilee year of 2018 provides an excellent opportunity for a debate on these questions. Ilze Šarkovska-Liepiņa held a lecture "Searching for National Identity: Choir Movement and Song Festivals in Latvia", devoted to issues of genesis and development of the Latvian professional music culture through the prism of the choral music and song celebrations.

In parallel with the conference, the First International Festival of Central and Eastern European Music "Eufonie" was held. "Eufonie" is a new music festival, referring to the tradition of the regional community of most countries today referred to as Central and Eastern Europe, stretching from the Balkans, through Romania and Austria, the Visegrád Group countries, the Ukraine and Belarus, to the Baltic countries, sometimes extended to Scandinavia. This area is a fascinating melting pot of influences from the East and the West, boiling with cultural energy which often determined the identity of nations deprived of their own countries.

Last time modified: 10.12.2018 12:31:08