Zhang, Chuyu (17 July 2024). Gebrauchsmusik: A Busonian Legacy? In: The Busoni Centenary Symposium: Busoni and His World. London, UK. 16-17 July 2024.
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Has the name ‘Ferrucio Busoni’ and the concept ‘Gebrauchsmusik’ ever been found in the same sentence? Busoni’s l’art pour l’art stance, as reflected in both his futuristic Entwurf of 1907 and his ‘Young Classicality’ manifesto of 1920, seems to have little in common with the social mission of Gebrauchsmusik. But several prominent students in his Berlin masterclass engaged with Gebrauchsmusik in one way or another. Kurt Weill joined the socialist Novembergruppe in the late 1920s in Berlin to compose for ‘the masses’, while Robert Blum embarked on a career as a film composer in 1930s Switzerland that brought him national fame. These were very different types of music, aimed at different recipients – in Weimar Germany and Switzerland – whose political and economic circumstances were very different too. But if we consider Gebrauchsmusik in more general terms, we find that its varied strands retain their link to the Busonian legacy. For the ideals of both Gebrauchsmusik and Busoni’s ‘Young Classicality’ were intrinsically utopian – the former socio-political, the latter aesthetic. This paper will draw on research into the respective careers of Weill and Blum in the context of Busoni’s ‘Young Classical’ ideal to reexamine the notion of Gebrauchsmusik through a more critical lens.
Item Type: |
Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
Bern Academy of the Arts Bern Academy of the Arts > Institute Interpretation Bern Academy of the Arts > Institute Interpretation > Intersection of Contemporary Music |
Name: |
Zhang, Chuyu |
Subjects: |
M Music and Books on Music > M Music M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature of music |
Funders: |
Organisations 2147483647 not found. |
Projects: |
[UNSPECIFIED] Helvetia through a Twelve-Note Lens |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Chuyu Zhang |
Date Deposited: |
28 Aug 2024 10:54 |
Last Modified: |
28 Aug 2024 10:54 |
URI: |
https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/22415 |
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