Research Fridays
Research Fridays is a seminar series organised by the Divisione Ricerca e Sviluppo in order to disseminate findings between researchers and students at the Conservatorio to encourage applications of findings in everyday musical practice and also to enrich the knowledge of researchers, teachers and students in the interpretation and experience of music in general.
Each seminar in the form of a round table, presents the opportunity to students and researchers to exchange views and learn about particular issues concerning various topics of research in the arts.
The 2011-2012 programme can be viewed here: Research Fridays 2012-2013 programme.
Can body movement be a communicative tool for effective performance? A neuropsychological perspective.
12 October 2012, 14:30
Bryony Buck, University of Glasgow, Glasgow (UK)
Researcher Bryony Buck (UK) will deliver a neuropsychological perspective to the topic by presenting an introduction to the role of behavioural and cognitive psychology within music research, and providing a fascinating discussion on the communicative value of performance movements and their relation to how music is processed and understood within the brain.
The Singing Hand: Aesthetics of Piano Performance
POSTPONNED!
New date to be announced later on this yearDoctor Mine Dogantan-Dack, Middlesex University, London (UK)
Traditionally, the aesthetic essence of high-quality piano performance has been located in the ability of the pianist to make the piano sing. In the words of the late Hungarian pianist György Sándor, “to say that a pianist ‘sings’ as he plays is the supreme compliment”. But what exactly does it mean to ‘sing’ on the piano? Dr. Mine Dogantan-Dack’s seminar will surveys the history, theory and practice of pianistic singing by exploring scientific and pedagogical discourses on pianistic ‘touch’ and the nature of normative cantabile practice on the piano.
Pianists' memorizing abilities and strategies
23 November 2012, 14:30
Professor Andreas Lehmann, Hochschule für Musik Würzburg, Würzburg (DE)
Memorizing music has always been a challenging but necessary by-product of professional music-making, especially for opera singers and pianists. Do people differ in their ability to memorize music? Are such abilities influenced by memorizing strategies? Are the abilities linked to relevant practice in the musicians’ biographies? Prof. Andreas Lehmann will present some findings from a controlled laboratory study with nineteen pianists who all memorized the same piece of music and will also discuss what can be learned from such studies for the everyday routines of musicians.
Categorie vocali e voci: Verdi e i suoi cantanti negli anni 1840
22 February 2013, 14:30
Professor Emanuele Senici, Università La Sapienza, Rome (IT)
Il seminario intende esplorare alcuni aspetti del rapporto tra categorie vocali e singoli cantanti nella prima decade della carriera operistica di Giuseppe Verdi. Nella prima parte l’attenzione sarà focalizzata sulle categorie vocali di più recente conio, potenzialmente più problematiche e quindi più interessanti, ossia il mezzosoprano e il baritono. La seconda parte si concentrerà invece sulla relazione tra Verdi e singoli cantanti attraverso un esempio poco noto ma particolarmente ricco di suggestioni, quello delle tre versioni della romanza di Foresto (tenore) nel terzo atto di Attila (1846).
Expression, emotion and imagery in music performance
22 March 2013, 14:30
Doctor Erica Bisesi, University of Graz, Graz (AT)
We explore what structural features characterize individual performers’ styles. By extracting similarities in the segmentation and emphasis on local events (phrases’ climaxes and accents, i.e. local musical events that attract a listener’s attention), we group performances by cluster analysis, and consider each cluster as an interpretative style. Furthermore, we investigate the relationship between expression and emotion in piano performance, and its consequences for musical meaning (imagery, associations, metaphors, archetypes). We also discuss how musicians cognitively organize their words in descriptions of performances (concerning expression, emotion, and imagery).