Symposium “Perspectives on Music in Times of War”
Symposium is part of the EU-project “Music, War and Peace in Europe 1922–2022”
The current war in Ukraine is a tragic reminder of how little we learn from history, and how much the work of memory, which we expect to preserve from repeating the mistakes of the past, must always be put back to work. War is also one of the prominent themes of 20th century music, particularly within European art music.
In November 2023, a two-day symposium in Helsinki will take place to provide artistic and scholarly viewpoints on questions of wartime and war-related music. The two-day event consists of a masterclass focussing on wartime European art music repertoire on Monday Nov 20th, and a research seminar on Tuesday Nov 21st.
The teachers and active participants of the masterclass will be Sibelius Academy artistic researchers and advanced students, and listeners are also welcome. The invited speakers of the research seminar are established researchers in the field of wartime music. Each research seminar session is followed by an in-depth discussion round with the speakers and the audience. Both days are concluded with concerts. On Monday, the students of the masterclass will present the outcome of the day. The closing concert on Tuesday will feature internationally acknowledged chamber musicians associated with the project “Music, War and Peace”.
Programme on Monday, 20 November 2023
Public Masterclass “Wartime Repertoire”
Participants: Students of the Sibelius Academy
Teachers: DMus Kirill Kozlovski (pf/chamber music), DMus Anne Elisabeth Piirainen (cl/chamber music)
9.15–10.15 Registration and Info desk at Lower Foyer
10.15–10.30 Opening by Anne Elisabeth Piirainen
10.30–12.00 Public Masterclass part 1
Dmitri Shostakovich Piano Quintet
12.00–13.30 Lunch break
13.30–14.30 Lecture-Recital and discussion
Kirill Kozlovski and Anne Elisabeth Piirainen: On Approaching Wartime Repertoire
Iryna Gorkun-Silén: National Identity in Music during Wartime. A Ukrainian Story.
Works for flute and piano by Zhanna Kolodub and Myroslav Skoryk
14.30–17.00 Public Masterclass part 2
14.30 Leo Smit: Flute Sonata
15.45 Leoš Janaček: Violin Sonata
17.00–17.30 Wrap-up session and discussion
19.00 Wartime repertoire – Masterclass Student Concert
Works by Janaček, Smit, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Shostakovich
The evening concert do not require registration and entrance is free.
Programme on Tuesday, 21 November 2023
Research Seminar Day
9.00–9.45 Registration and Info desk at Lower Foyer
9.45–10.00 Welcome by Anne Elisabeth Piirainen
10.00–12.00 Session 1: Jewish Music in the Context of War and Pogrom
10–10.20 Simo Muir: War and the Holocaust in Yiddish Music Theatre in Helsinki
10.20–10.40 Henrik Rosengren: War, Holocaust memories and art music in the Nordic Countries
10.40–10.50 Anne Kauppala: Louis Laber and troublesome identities
10.50–11.00 Anne Elisabeth Piirainen: Muted Melodies – tracing the influence of Stalin´s oppression on the work of composers with Jewish roots
11.00–12.00 Panel and discussion
12.00–13.30 Lunch break
13.30–14.30 EU project Music, War and Peace in Europe 1922–2022
13.30–13.40 Video greeting by Amaury du Closel, EU project leader, conductor, Forum Voix Étouffeés Strasbourg
13.40–14.00 Presentation of the project and fields of action by Dario Martinelli and Anne Elisabeth Piirainen
14.00–14.30 Philippe Olivier: Women musicians during the occupation of France by Nazi Germany (1940–45): Resistance fighters and “collaborators”
14.30–15.30 Coffee break (at Lower Foyer)
15.30–17.30 Session 2: Music and Resistance
15.30–15.50 Dario Martinelli: Resistance or resistances? The different political models of musical protest
15.50–16.10 Simo Mikkonen: Subtle resistance: Soviet musicians performing unofficial Soviet music in Cold War Finland
16.10–16.20 Saijaleena Rantanen: Memories of the Civil War in music
16.20–16.30 Inkeri Jaakkola: “Kupalinka, Variations on a Belarusian Song” as a wordless protest and an expression of sympathy
16.30–16.35 Kirill Kozlovski, piano: Kupalinka, Variations on a Belarusian Song (by Inkeri Jaakkola)
16.35–17.35 Panel and discussion
17.35–17.45 Closing remarks
19.00 Final Concert: Sounds of Sorrow and Hope – Music from World War 2
Anne Elisabeth Piirainen, clarinet
Kirill Kozlovski, piano
Quatuor Lontano (France):
Pauline Klaus and Florent Billy, violins
Loic Abdelfettah, viola
Camille Renault, cello
Works by Zeitlin, Lyatoshinsky, Weinberg, Lavry, Englund
The evening concerts do not require registration and entrance is free.
Organizers of the symposium
The symposium is organised by the ongoing EU project “Music, War and Peace in Europe 1922–2022”, the Uniarts History Forum, and Sibelius Academy. The event is funded by the European Commission (“Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values” Programme – CERV-2022, call “European Remembrance“) and the University of the Arts Helsinki. The coordinator of the project is Forum Voix Étouffeés.
Safer space guidelines for academic events
We encourage academic discussion, but ask everyone to keep their comments constructive and respectful, thus contributing to a positive, encouraging, and safer atmosphere in Uniarts Helsinki.
Registration
The organizers welcome everyone interested, and attendance is free of charge. The language of the event is English. Pre-registration is required and the registration is open until 12 November 2023.
Practical Information
Our symposium venue Helsinki Music Centre is situated in central Helsinki. Access to the Music Centre from the direction of Mannerheimintie will be difficult. We recommend that you allow enough time for your arrival and use the entrance on the side of Kansalaistori if possible.
Helsinki city centre can be thoroughly explored on foot. Helsinki does, however, have an extensive public transport system with buses, two metro lines, and commuter trains. The tram network is particularly useful for exploring the city centre in case of bad weather. A public transport tickets can be purchased from the automats at e.g. Helsinki-Vantaa airport, main railway station or metro stations and from the HSL app.
More information
DMus Anne Elisabeth Piirainen (EU-project, Masterclass)
Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki
anne.piirainen@uniarts.fi
D.Soc.Sc. Kaarina Kilpiö (Seminar Day)
History Forum, University of the Arts Helsinki
kaarina.kilpio@uniarts.fi
Event production:
Coordinator Johanna Rauhaniemi
University of the Arts Helsinki
johanna.rauhaniemi@uniarts.fi
The current war in Ukraine is a tragic reminder of how little we learn from history, and how much the work of memory, which we expect to preserve from repeating the mistakes of the past, must always be put back to work. War is also one of the prominent themes of 20th century music, particularly within European art music.
In November 2023, a two-day symposium in Helsinki will take place to provide artistic and scholarly viewpoints on questions of wartime and war-related music. The two-day event consists of a masterclass focussing on wartime European art music repertoire on Monday Nov 20th, and a research seminar on Tuesday Nov 21st.
The teachers and active participants of the masterclass will be Sibelius Academy artistic researchers and advanced students, and listeners are also welcome. The invited speakers of the research seminar are established researchers in the field of wartime music. Each research seminar session is followed by an in-depth discussion round with the speakers and the audience. Both days are concluded with concerts. On Monday, the students of the masterclass will present the outcome of the day. The closing concert on Tuesday will feature internationally acknowledged chamber musicians associated with the project “Music, War and Peace”.
Programme on Monday, 20 November 2023
Public Masterclass “Wartime Repertoire”
Participants: Students of the Sibelius Academy
Teachers: DMus Kirill Kozlovski (pf/chamber music), DMus Anne Elisabeth Piirainen (cl/chamber music)
9.15–10.15 Registration and Info desk at Lower Foyer
10.15–10.30 Opening by Anne Elisabeth Piirainen
10.30–12.00 Public Masterclass part 1
Dmitri Shostakovich Piano Quintet
12.00–13.30 Lunch break
13.30–14.30 Lecture-Recital and discussion
Kirill Kozlovski and Anne Elisabeth Piirainen: On Approaching Wartime Repertoire
Iryna Gorkun-Silén: National Identity in Music during Wartime. A Ukrainian Story.
Works for flute and piano by Zhanna Kolodub and Myroslav Skoryk
14.30–17.00 Public Masterclass part 2
14.30 Leo Smit: Flute Sonata
15.45 Leoš Janaček: Violin Sonata
17.00–17.30 Wrap-up session and discussion
19.00 Wartime repertoire – Masterclass Student Concert
Works by Janaček, Smit, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Shostakovich
The evening concert do not require registration and entrance is free.
Programme on Tuesday, 21 November 2023
Research Seminar Day
9.00–9.45 Registration and Info desk at Lower Foyer
9.45–10.00 Welcome by Anne Elisabeth Piirainen
10.00–12.00 Session 1: Jewish Music in the Context of War and Pogrom
10–10.20 Simo Muir: War and the Holocaust in Yiddish Music Theatre in Helsinki
10.20–10.40 Henrik Rosengren: War, Holocaust memories and art music in the Nordic Countries
10.40–10.50 Anne Kauppala: Louis Laber and troublesome identities
10.50–11.00 Anne Elisabeth Piirainen: Muted Melodies – tracing the influence of Stalin´s oppression on the work of composers with Jewish roots
11.00–12.00 Panel and discussion
12.00–13.30 Lunch break
13.30–14.30 EU project Music, War and Peace in Europe 1922–2022
13.30–13.40 Video greeting by Amaury du Closel, EU project leader, conductor, Forum Voix Étouffeés Strasbourg
13.40–14.00 Presentation of the project and fields of action by Dario Martinelli and Anne Elisabeth Piirainen
14.00–14.30 Philippe Olivier: Women musicians during the occupation of France by Nazi Germany (1940–45): Resistance fighters and “collaborators”
14.30–15.30 Coffee break (at Lower Foyer)
15.30–17.30 Session 2: Music and Resistance
15.30–15.50 Dario Martinelli: Resistance or resistances? The different political models of musical protest
15.50–16.10 Simo Mikkonen: Subtle resistance: Soviet musicians performing unofficial Soviet music in Cold War Finland
16.10–16.20 Saijaleena Rantanen: Memories of the Civil War in music
16.20–16.30 Inkeri Jaakkola: “Kupalinka, Variations on a Belarusian Song” as a wordless protest and an expression of sympathy
16.30–16.35 Kirill Kozlovski, piano: Kupalinka, Variations on a Belarusian Song (by Inkeri Jaakkola)
16.35–17.35 Panel and discussion
17.35–17.45 Closing remarks
19.00 Final Concert: Sounds of Sorrow and Hope – Music from World War 2
Anne Elisabeth Piirainen, clarinet
Kirill Kozlovski, piano
Quatuor Lontano (France):
Pauline Klaus and Florent Billy, violins
Loic Abdelfettah, viola
Camille Renault, cello
Works by Zeitlin, Lyatoshinsky, Weinberg, Lavry, Englund
The evening concerts do not require registration and entrance is free.
Organizers of the symposium
The symposium is organised by the ongoing EU project “Music, War and Peace in Europe 1922–2022”, the Uniarts History Forum, and Sibelius Academy. The event is funded by the European Commission (“Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values” Programme – CERV-2022, call “European Remembrance“) and the University of the Arts Helsinki. The coordinator of the project is Forum Voix Étouffeés.
Safer space guidelines for academic events
We encourage academic discussion, but ask everyone to keep their comments constructive and respectful, thus contributing to a positive, encouraging, and safer atmosphere in Uniarts Helsinki.
Registration
The organizers welcome everyone interested, and attendance is free of charge. The language of the event is English. Pre-registration is required and the registration is open until 12 November 2023.
Practical Information
Our symposium venue Helsinki Music Centre is situated in central Helsinki. Access to the Music Centre from the direction of Mannerheimintie will be difficult. We recommend that you allow enough time for your arrival and use the entrance on the side of Kansalaistori if possible.
Helsinki city centre can be thoroughly explored on foot. Helsinki does, however, have an extensive public transport system with buses, two metro lines, and commuter trains. The tram network is particularly useful for exploring the city centre in case of bad weather. A public transport tickets can be purchased from the automats at e.g. Helsinki-Vantaa airport, main railway station or metro stations and from the HSL app.
More information
DMus Anne Elisabeth Piirainen (EU-project, Masterclass)
Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki
anne.piirainen@uniarts.fi
D.Soc.Sc. Kaarina Kilpiö (Seminar Day)
History Forum, University of the Arts Helsinki
kaarina.kilpio@uniarts.fi
Event production:
Coordinator Johanna Rauhaniemi
University of the Arts Helsinki
johanna.rauhaniemi@uniarts.fi