​Mainly Mozart

Prepared by Joan Doan, Head of the Marta and Austin Weeks Music Library at the University of Miami

​

June 13, 2020: Hemispheric Connections

​

To learn more about the King of Tango, Carlos Garbel, see NPR Music’s 2010 story, “Carlos Gardel: Argentina's Tango Maestro” (https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129783483). 

 

Astor Piazzolla worked during much political unrest. Ruth Behar’s article, “The Death of the Angel: Reflections on the Relationship between Enlightenment and Enchantment in the Twenty-first Century” (https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/ruth-behar/wp-content/uploads/sites/408/2016/07/Ruth-Behar-Death-of-the-Angel-Temenos-2011.pdf)  provides an ethnographic look at the times in which Piazzolla composed “Death of Angel”. 

​

A wonderful public musicology blog maintained by a professional composer and songwriter, Musica Kaleidoskopea. His blog highlights popular 20th and 21st century artists, including Astor Piazzolla and his “Death of Angel”; https://fdleone.com/2015/11/19/piazzollas-angels/. 

Wikipedia’s entries on the “Music of Argentina” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Argentina#Andean_music), “Carlos Gardel” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Gardel), and “Astor Piazzolla” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astor_Piazzolla) provide  a thoroughly engaging overview of Argentinean music that situates the history and diaspora of tango music.

​

May 23, 2020: Bulgarian Music Connections

 

To learn more about Vladigerov and his influence on 20th-century Bulgarian music, see the Pancho Vladigerov House Museum’s website (https://vladigerov.org/en). 

 

Curious about other piano works by Vladigerov? If so, then check-out Dr. Boriana Kojouharova Buckle’s 2004 DMA dissertation entitled, “The significance of selected piano compositions by Pancho Vladigerov” (https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3351&context=gradschool_dissertations). 

 

What’s the current professional musicianship training look like in Bulgaria? See National Academy of Music “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” (http://www.nma.bg/en), as well as Bulgaria’s Union of Composers (https://ubc-bg.com/en/). 

Wikipedia’s entries on the “Bulgarian State Choir of Female Voices” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_State_Television_Female_Vocal_Choir)), as well as “Bulgarian Music” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Bulgaria ) provide reliable topic overviews and use of the listed references in each entry may be as a gateway to other open access resources.

 

 

May 16, 2020: Georgian Music Connections

 

Andrea Kuzmich, Ph.D. Candidate, York University specialises in Georgian polyphony. As part of her doctoral studies she began the blog, “KuzinTheCaucasus” (https://kuzinthecaucasus.wordpress.com/references-and-links/). It is well-researched and provides a precise overview of Georgian folk musics.

 

During his post-doc at Princeton, Dr. John A. Graham constructed “Georgian Chant” (http://www.georgianchant.org/index.html). This fabulous website includes a blog, links to further resources, and video performances of Georgian liturgical music. The New York Times article that features his expertise“Music and Ancient History in the Caucasus” may be found here; https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/travel/music-ancient-history-in-the-caucasus-georgia-turkey.html.

 

The International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony (http://polyphony.ge/en/home-2/#) began in 2003. Its continued support by UNESCO and Tbilisi Conservatoire highlights traditional Georgian music at its annual international research symposium.

 

Wikipedia’s entries on the “Music of Georgia (Country)” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Georgia_(country)), as well as “Sulkhan Tsintsadze” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulkhan_Tsintsadze) provide reliable topic overviews and use of the listed references in each entry may be as a gateway to other open access resources.

​

Dr. Leah Goldman’s 2019 article, “Nationally informed: The politics of national minority music during late stalinism”* (http://access.library.miami.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2371417224?accountid=14585 ) discusses how Stalin’s nationalist politics effected cultural output, namely music. From the article’s abstract, “This article argues that for national minority composers in the late Stalinist era, the official promotion of minority music served in equal measure as an empowering and imprisoning force, opening the door to all-Union fame and fortune while limiting access to those who faithfully performed their national musical identity.” How did Tsintsadze conform to or oppose Stalin’s nationalistic standards? Read the full article to find out.

 

As a doctoral candidate at UCLA, Brigita Sebald conducted two years of ethnomusicological fieldwork study in Tbilisi, Georgia. Her research culminated in her dissertation entitled, “Music Circulation and Transmission in Tbilisi, Georgia” (https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9kc622zs) which aims to answer how popular music was disseminated after the de-centralisation of the music industry following the end of the Soviet Union. How has technology changed how we receive and perceive Georgian music? Sebald’s fascinating work helps answer this.

 

*Available upon request from a library near you.