Introductory lecture by Dr. Ronald Perlwitz
The conference will look into Beethoven’s musical production and its place in the European music world around the year of 1800. Beethoven considered himself a musical revolutionary whose works were intended not only to renovate musical production, but also to change the reality of his time. By doing so, he aimed to create a unique kind of music that would be both universal and superlative.
Indeed, his “Bildungsmusik” had the best conditions to become popular, especially in Vienna. His music wasn’t the music only for an elite, but was meant to be a part of the social discourse, a very demanding and differentiated music that at the same time did not abandon the principle of being intelligible to all.
Beethoven had followed the thinking of his teacher Haydn, who wrote when traveling to London the first time: “My language can be understood in the whole world.” At the center of the reflection will therefore be the very idea of classical art and its attempt to square the artistic circle: to be rich in ideas while succinct in form, distinctive and universal, spontaneous and timeless.
About Dr. Ronald Perlwitz:
From the beginning of his studies Dr. Ronald Perlwitz has always combined his interest for music with his interest for literature. In 1998, he obtained the Agrégation for German Literature in France and in 1999 began teaching at the University of Picardy in Amiens, France, for the Department of German Language and Literature. His thesis, that received the best possible review, obtained in 2003, is based on the works of the German Romantic writer and composer: E.T.A. Hoffmann. In 2004, Dr. Perlwitz was named Associate Professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris (Paris IV).
In 2006, he accepted the mission to Abu Dhabi and played a key role in the launch and establishment of Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. Since 2012, he has also been teaching at University of Bayreuth, Germany, where he obtained his postdoctoral lecture qualification. His main research fields are German Literature and Music of the Romantic Age, Comparative Literature, Aesthetics of Music and Opera History. Since 2014, Dr. Ronald Perlwitz is Head of Music Programme at the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi and responsible for the Abu Dhabi Classics Season, Bait Al Oud Concert Series, Sounds of UAE Concert Series, and the Umsiyat Concerts. He is also co-founder of the Richard Wagner Society Abu Dhabi.
See the whole Abu Dhabi Classics program
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