CHIGIANA CONFERENCE 2023

CHIGIANA 100 (1923-2023)
“Education, Research, and Musical Production from the Twentieth Century to the Future” Siena, November 22-23-24, 2023.

On 22 November 1923 Count Guido Chigi Saracini inaugurated the Salone dei Concerti inside his ancient Palazzo in Via di Città with the performance of the Cantata “A Siena” for organ, choir and strings composed by Marco Enrico Bossi. The palace had been renovated by architect Arturo Viligiardi to become a temple for music. One hundred years ago, therefore, by a single act, the Count gave life to his ‘first creature’, the Micat in Vertice concert season, and established an official house for the activities of musical education, production and research that would make the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, his ‘second creature’, one of the world references in the history of Western music of the last century. In the rooms of Palazzo Chigi Saracini, which are filled with artistic masterpieces, the lives and music of the greatest artists of the 20th century have intertwined: some of them already arrived at the peak of their fame, others came to Siena as pupils and then became extraordinary masters, capable of nourishing a tradition that in the new century continues to attract young talents, who are the masters of tomorrow.

Higher musical education is the core activity of the Chigiana cultural enterprise. Nevertheless, from the very beginning, the Academy united education to musical production, often keeping a close relationship between the private moment of the classroom lesson and the public moment of the performance on stage. Still today, the Accademia Chigiana guides the most talented students towards the first steps of their professional careers. At the same time, Chigiana keeps on influencing the tastes of the audience through the themes of its initiatives and artistic programmes.
But such an undertaking, that was built upon the patron’s desire for the preservation of Western musical civilisation and its complex identity, would not have survived without the research activity. “Research” is to be understood both in artistic terms – supporting the creativity of composers – and through historical and philological investigations of musical sources. This latter, for instance, took important and significant steps in the field of rediscovering the sound of the past.

Therefore, a conference organised on the 100th anniversary of the Chigiana’s activities cannot simply celebrate the progress made so far, but must seize the opportunity to relaunch the institution’s original project and the experience it has acquired over a century, comparing itself with other similar realities of international standing in order to open up visions on the future of musical education, production and research.

“Chigiana 100” international conference will run over three days and will be divided into three sections.
The first one will be devoted to Chigiana’s role in the framework of 20th century musical culture, probing the value of its institutional project and analysing the effects of its thrust, both towards the thought on the future of musical expression and the investigation of the sound of the past: these two directions are none other than the two inseparable sides of contemporary artistic production.
The next two sections will each be devoted to the other main thrusts of the Chigi project, comparing it with other ways of tackling the current challenges of the musical world: education –  from the increasingly complex relationship between music, the public and the media, to the fostering of teaching experiences which take into account the changing professional expectations of students; musical research, from the innovation of sound languages to the valorisation of musical heritage through conservation and collective enjoyment.

Preview
On 22 November at 11 a.m. in the Salone dei Concerti of Palazzo Chigi Saracini, a preview of the documentary “MICAT IN VERTICE L’Accademia Musicale Chigiana” by Marta Teodoro and Elisabetta Foti, produced by Rai Cultura, will be presented. The authors will be present.

The conference sessions will be broadcast live online on this page. All times are now in Italian time, UTC+1.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Antonio Cascelli, Pietro Cataldi, Stefano Jacoviello (chair), Cesare Mancini, Susanna Pasticci, Nicola Sani

 

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Angelo Armiento, Antonio Artese, Luigi Casolino, Marica Coppola, Matteo Macinanti, Anna Passarini, Marta Sabatini, Giovanni Vai

 

DAY I
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2023
SALONE DEI CONCERTI - PALAZZO CHIGI SARACINI
Via di Città, 89 - Siena

15:00 – 15:30
WELCOME
Carlo Rossi President Accademia Musicale Chigiana
Pietro Cataldi President Comitato Chigiana 100
Nicola Sani Artistic DIrector Accademia Musicale Chigiana

15:30 – 16:00
OPENING SPEECH
Stefano Jacoviello Università di Siena, Accademia Musicale Chigiana
Chigiana from the Twentieth Century to the future A cultural institution for music.

16:00 – 17:00
CONVERSATION 1
Who needs art music?
Stefano Catucci Rai Radio3
Gaetano Russo Nuova Orchestra Scarlatti di Napoli
Francesca Perrotta Orchestra Olimpia
Ahmad Sarmast Afghan National Institute of Music

17:00- 17:30
COFFEE BREAK

17:30 – 19:00
SESSION 1 The creation of the sound of the past
Chair: Guido Salvetti Conservatorio di Milano

Elia Andrea Corazza Conservatorio di Milano
Elsa and Ottorino – The Respighis at Palazzo Chigi Saracini, between rediscovery of the past and invention of the future.

Irene Maria Caraba Conservatorio “L. Perosi” di Campobasso
The Fourth Sienese Music Week (1942) and the ‘revisionism of the ancient’:
G.B. Pergolesi’s Flaminio – V. Mortari.

Francesco Lora Università “Alma Mater” di Bologna
Music Histories: The Recovery of Ancient Literature at Chigiana under the Direction of Mario Fabbri.

19:15
TOAST AND LIGHT DINNER AT PALAZZO CHIGI SARACINI

21:00
CONCERT
Teatro dei Rinnovati, Piazza del Campo
Uto Ughi interprets and narrates  “Le Quattro Stagioni” di A. Vivaldi
Uto Ughi, violino
Orchestra da Camera “I Filarmonici di Roma”

DAY II
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2023
SALA CONFERENZE - PALAZZO SANSEDONI
Via Banchi di Sotto , 34 - Siena

9:30 – 10:30
CONVERSATION 2
Music innovation, journalism, culture
Chair: Stefano Jacoviello Università di Siena

Gianfranco Vinay Université Paris 8 Vincennes – Saint-Denis
Enrico Girardi Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Corriere della Sera
Alessandro Tommasi Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, Amadeus

10:30 – 11:30
KEYNOTE LECTURE
Chair: Antonio Cascelli Maynooth University

Stefan Gies Chief Executive of the Association of European Conservatoires
New Frontiers: teaching music, enhancing competencies, fostering art in Global Higher Music Education /
Nuove frontiere: insegnare musica, ampliare le competenze, sostenere l’arte nell’Alta formazione musicale globale

11:30- 12:00
COFFEE BREAK

12:00-13:00
SESSION 3  The “chigianisti”
Chair: Guido Burchi Università di Siena

Marica Coppola, Università “Sapienza” di Roma
The First Violin Schools of the Chigiana Musical Academy: Stories of Performers and Communities from 1932 to Today.

Domenico Sparaco, Università di Siena
Living Music Together: Communities, Experiences, and Transmission of Musical Knowledge
in the Environment of Chigiana Courses.

13:00- 15:00
LUNCH BREAK

15:00- 18:00

ROUND TABLE  1
“Imparar suonando”: Academy Festivals between higher musical education and artistic production.

Chair: Nicola Sani Accademia Musicale Chigiana

Dame Janet Elizabeth Ritterman Former Director of the Royal College of Music, London
Pierre Audi Directeur général du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence
Elisabeth Gutjahr Rektorin der Universität Mozarteum Salzburg
Michael Haefliger Artistic and Executive Director Lucerne Festival 

19:30
DINNER

21:00 
CONCERTO 
Palazzo Chigi Saracini, Salone dei Concerti

First Concert for the Inauguration of the Restored Organ
Méditation sur la beauté de la Nature et la responsabilité de l’homme à son égard
Bernard Foccroulle, organ
Music by: Weckmann, De Grigny, Florentz, Vierne, Messiaen, Scheidemann, Brahms, Foccroullle Bach

DAY III
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2023
SALA CONFERENZE - PALAZZO PICCOLOMINI
Via Banchi di Sotto, 52 - Siena

09:30 – 11:00
SESSION 4 The Art of Composing
Chair: Susanna Pasticci Università di Cassino e del Lazio meridionale

Lorenzo Donati Conservatorio “B. Marcello” di Venezia
Polifonies

Renzo Cresti ISSM “L. Boccherini” di Lucca
The Italian Society of Contemporary Music and the Chigiana Academy: A Brief History from 1928 to the Present.

11:00- 11:30
COFFEE BREAK

11:30 – 13:00
SESSION 6 The Music Workshop
Chair: Matteo Fossi
Direttore Conservatorio “R. Franci” di Siena

Marica Bottaro
Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia
French Music and Musicians at the Chigiana Musical Academy.

Marco Cosci Università di Pavia
From pencil to mock-up.
The Film Music Courses of the Chigiana Musical Academy Facing the Challenges of the Millennium.

13:00- 15:00
LUNCH BREAK

15:00- 18:00
ROUND TABLE 2
Inheriting music, preserving sound, documenting the listening
Chair: Cesare Mancini Conservatorio “Rinaldo Franci” di Siena

Cristian Della Chiara Direttore Generale Rossini Opera Festival
Pier Luigi Ledda Managing Director Archivio Ricordi
Maddalena Novati Presidente di NoMus
Gabriele Marino Università di Torino
Alessandra Carlotta Pellegrini Direttore Scientifico Fondazione I. Scelsi
Federico Vizzaccaro Rai Radio3

19:30
DINNER

21:00 
CONCERT
Palazzo Chigi Saracini, Salone dei Concerti

Second Concert for the Inauguration of the Restored Organ
Inventions dans la musique d’orgue d’hier et d’aujourd’hui
Bernard Foccroulle, organ
Music by: Buxtehude, Berio, Frescobaldi, Florentz, Messiaen, Brahms, Bach

SESSION ARCHIVE

DAY ONE

WELCOME REMARKS – OPENING SPEECH  CONVERSATION 1

SESSION 1
THE CREATION OF THE SOUND OF THE PAST

DAY TWO

CONVERSATION II – KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

TAVOLA ROTONDA “IMPARAR SUONANDO”

DAY THREE

SESSION IV “THE ART OF COMPOSING”
SESSION V “THE MUSIC WORKSHOP”

ROUND TABLE 2
 

CHRISTOPHER SMITH 
Vernacular Music Center, Texas Tech University

Against the Grain and Out Yonder: Decolonizing the Music Conservatory via Vernacular Pedagogies

In a 21st century post-industrial west in which disinformation and the “fog of propaganda” are intentionally deployed via powerful and addictive digital media, oppositional art-making which situates itself in local, tactile, communal, and somatic material experience is an act of resistance. In university music education systems, in which outcomes and assessments drive influence, promotion, and finance, to attempt to recover—or even to employ – the art of the grassroots local is both systemically challenging and immensely important. Drawing on analytical frames from performance studies, the anthropology of performance, and practice-based research in team- and project-oriented learning, this presentation investigates, problematizes, and rationalizes the production of a piece of site-specific immersive musical theater, set in – and in fact suggested by – a decayed 1928 movie palace in Levelland Texas in the American Southwest, undertaken by a multimodal team of university composers, dramatists, educators, and student performers, in partnership with a community-based non-profit. It further investigates strategies for recovering the tactile, communal, and experiential in the era of pandemic quarantine, and the means by which these essential human experiences can be recovered via alternate media. It argues that vernacular pedagogies – learning which is, in its ethos, intentions, and models, project-, and apprenticeship-based – provide a way forward from the trap of centralized, standardized, hierarchical, incremental, canon-based, and sequential university music education, and models for an artistic citizenship which is ethical, responsive, and engaged.

Christopher J. Smith is Professor, Chair of Musicology, and founding director of the Vernacular Music Center at Texas Tech University. He composed the theatrical show Dancing at the Crossroads (2013), the “folk oratorio” Plunder! Battling for Democracy in the New World (2017), and the immersive-theater show Yonder (2019). His monograph The Creolization of American Culture: William Sidney Mount and the Roots of Blackface Minstrelsy (University of Illinois Press, 2013) won the Irving Lowens Award; his newest book is Dancing Revolution: Bodies, Space, and Sound in American Cultural History (University of Illinois Press, 2019). He is a collaborator, with Thomas Irvine (Southampton), on the Turing Institute project “Jazz as Social System.” A former student of jazz pedagogue David N. Baker, he conducts the Elegant Savages Orchestra symphonic folk group at Texas Tech, and concertizes on guitar, bouzouki, banjo, and diatonique accordion. He is a former nightclub bouncer, carpenter, lobster fisherman, and oil-rig roughneck, and a published poet.

QUESTIONS FOR SPEAKERS

We would like to offer the possibility for attendees to pose questions in advance of the live discussion sessions.  Questions will be sent to the Chair of each session. To submit a question in response to any of the presentations please click the button to fill the form. You may fill the form multiple times.