Urs Joseph Flury has shaped Solothurn's cultural landscape in an outstanding and diverse way for decades, writes the canton. As a violinist and conductor, the Biberis native is particularly dedicated to the works of Solothurn composers. The extensive catalog of works by the composer Urs Joseph Flury includes chamber music and orchestral works as well as instrumental concertos, songs, choral works and church masses. Urs Joseph Flury worked for decades as a music teacher in schools and as a musicologist he is a profound expert on music history and the Swiss music scene.

Soprano Stephanie Bühlmann and musician Stefan Feingold received specialist prizes, as did Markus Egli, cultural mediator (prize for cultural mediation), Stefan Jaeggi (prize for photography), Das narrativistische Literaturmagazin (prize for literature), Fraenzi Neuhaus (prize for three-dimensional work), Marcel Peltier (prize for painting) and Katharina Rupp (prize for theater).

The cultural mediator Johanna Borner from Günsberg is awarded the recognition prize for her commitment. The art prize is endowed with CHF 20,000, the specialist prizes and the recognition prize with CHF 10,000 each.

The competition is aimed at Swiss composers and composers who have a permanent residence permit in Switzerland. We are looking for works for choir that can be performed by a capable amateur choir. In addition, a maximum of four vocal soloists (different voice ranges) or a maximum of four instrumental soloists are possible. The submitted work should be based on a sacred text in one of the four Swiss national languages.

The prize is endowed with a total of CHF 15,000, divided among three winners. The prize-winning works will be premiered at the award ceremony in fall 2018. The closing date for entries is April 30, 2017. The jury is made up of Rainer Held (chair), Hans Zihlmann and Patrick Secchiari.

More info: xaver.faessler@bluewin.ch

According to the city of Zwickau, Holliger's enthusiasm for Schumann was shaped by a concert in which he heard Hansheinz Schneeberger (Zwickau Schumann Prize winner in 1995) play Schumann's 2nd violin sonata at the age of 15. His first Schumann recording was made as early as 1979, in which he recorded not only the Oboe Romances op. 94 but also other Schumann duo works together with Alfred Brendel (Zwickau Schumann Prize winner in 2002).

The Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau has been awarded by the city since 1964. Holliger is the first wind player to be awarded the prize. Previous winners include Daniel Barenboim, Elliot Gardiner, András Schiff and Mitsuko Shirai. The award ceremony will take place on Friday, January 20, 2017, at 7.30 pm in the Robert Schumann House in Zwickau.
 

The report covers the period from 2012 to 2016, highlights examples of best practice in promoting diversity and identifies future challenges. The next review is scheduled for 2020. The focus will be on digitalization, respect for fundamental rights, the cultural participation of women and young people as well as projects in the field of international cooperation and sustainable development.

The report mentions projects such as the "Helvetiarockt" platform for female musicians or the "Youth Culture Lump Sum" of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, which supports projects by teenagers and young adults up to the age of 30. The report also presents the activities of the Hirondelle Foundation, which campaigns for media freedom in crisis regions, and the "Culture Percentage" program, thanks to which 1 percent of the budget of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC can be used for art and culture.

Website of the report:
www.bak.admin.ch/themen/04118/04119/05716/index.html?lang=de

According to the canton's press release, the program strengthens existing offers and at the same time introduces a new concept for cultural education in schools. The Culture & School program offers all pupils the opportunity to take part in a professional cultural event at a reduced rate during the school year.

A website is to serve as a showcase for cultural offerings and as a platform for exchange between schools and cultural organizers. To this end, the canton has launched a call for projects.

With an annual budget of around one million francs (around 6 million over a period of 5 years), the program is co-financed by the state and supported by three external partners: The Fribourg Cantonal Bank participates by supporting the FKB Culture & School Festival, Loterie Romande continues the financial aid it has been providing for several years for cultural activities for young people, and Fribourg's public transport company covers transportation costs.
 

There were times when musicology concentrated on biographies and analyzing works. It was not until the 1970s that the methodology expanded. To put it bluntly: the "trappings" became more important. This included institutional conditions, considerations of reception aesthetics, the cultural environment in which music thrives, as well as the further development of those approaches that were essentially based on Theodor W. Adorno. Under the auspices of general specialization, it is not surprising that various research areas soon split off: Today there is music psychology, empirical musicology, systematic musicology, music anthropology and, of course, music sociology.

The volume published by Laaber-Verlag Sociology of music does not claim to clarify the question of what sociology of music means. Right in the preface, the editor Volker Kalisch makes it clear that the sociology of music does not have "the unique question, the guiding interest, the decisive knowledge intention, about the method that distinguishes it from other scientific disciplines and subjects, about the strategy of mediation or via the clarifying system of representation and designation" (p. 10). With such a rigid renunciation of the singular, there is no other solution than to provide an inventory in the form of various branches of research. 20 authors do just that. They deal with subtle questions of scientific theory such as the distinction between the sociology of music and the sociology of music, the nature of musical rituals, insights into interaction patterns and communication structures. In short, the subject is defined in the sense of the American ethnologist Clifford Geertz: through the refinement of a discourse, through the presentation of selected subject areas that can at least evoke an image of what the sociology of music means, or rather could mean.

There are two reasons why this picture remains vague at the end of the reading: As in any human science, things are not as straight to the point as they are in the natural sciences or in the case of the motivic-thematic analysis of a Bach fugue. In addition, the relatively young discipline of music sociology is still searching for foundations. Criteria must first be established for each study, and it is worth noting that methodological borrowings from the much more established discipline of sociology are few and far between. On a more positive note, there are studies that have not yet come to the attention of "classical" musicology. Although music - worldwide - is inextricably linked to rituals, "classical" musicology has been speechless in the face of this difficult subject matter, whereas Raimund Vogel, Eckhard Roch and Wolfgang Fuhrmann offer convincing approaches in this anthology. The authors' global approach with clear references to ethnomusicology and anthroposophy is commendable - and at least justifies the existence of music sociology, which could simply see itself as an expandable discipline. Musicology as a whole could benefit greatly if its sub-disciplines were to complement each other in the sense of methodological pluralism. In any case, further trench warfare - which is certainly alluded to in the volume - would be fatal. They would further weaken the already ailing discipline of musicology as a whole.

Music Sociology, edited by Volker Kalisch, (=Kompendien Musik Bd. 8), 303 p., 15 ill., € 29.80, Laaber-Verlag 2016, ISBN 978-3-89007-728-4

Over the next few months, the music school's percussion teachers will be working on a program for 100 percussion instruments, played by pupils and teachers from the music school. A music theater will be composed for the children's and youth choirs and performed at the Ziegelhof brewery in Liestal.

Among the many works commissioned for the anniversary year, there will also be a new work by Rudolf Kelterborn, which will be premiered by the FHNW Academy of Music Orchestra: "Musica Profana". An exhibition is being prepared for the Vera Oeri Library, which will highlight parallels in the development of the Music Academy and contemporary history.

The Academy's large concert hall, which is currently undergoing extensive renovations, should be ready to perform again by summer 2017. The anniversary will be celebrated on September 23, 2017.

According to the city's press release, almost all 15 to 24-year-olds go to the cinema at least once a year (97%). Of this age group, 30 percent go to the cinema at least four to six times a year and 15 percent go to a concert. Of those aged 65 and over, almost half (48%) go to the cinema at least once a year. Concerts are attended more frequently by this age group: 65% go to at least one concert a year.

The cultural offerings in the city of Zurich are generally highly valued. 94 percent of residents are completely or somewhat satisfied with the offerings. In comparison with the canton of Zurich (91%), Switzerland (86%) and the rural (83%) and urban (88%) areas of Switzerland, satisfaction is highest in the city of Zurich.

68 percent of Zurich residents would like to take part in cultural events more often. This desire is present in all age categories. The 15 to 24-year-olds state that the most common obstacle is that they have no or rather no time (58 percent). Money seems to be less of an obstacle: Only 33 percent cite a lack of financial resources as an obstacle. Among 65-year-olds and older residents, it is less the lack of time (20 percent) and more often the lack of financial means (36 percent) that prevents them from enjoying culture more often.

According to the city's announcement, the work grants are intended to "promote the diversity and quality of music produced in Bern". Support is provided, for example, for research and preliminary work on a specific topic, the development of projects and project drafts or the continuation and completion of work already begun. The grants are intended to enable the recipients to concentrate on a specific musical work with less financial pressure for the duration of the funding.

When submitting an application, a clear connection to the music scene in the city of Bern must be evident. Support is given to musicians, bands and ensembles who can demonstrate several years of artistic activity in their field. The criteria for the award are primarily quality, independence, creative power and continuity of work.

The Music Commission allocates a credit tranche of CHF 60,000 for this funding. After reviewing the submissions, it decides how many work grants will be awarded and in what amount.

Applications can be submitted until October 31, 2016 in 9 copies with 9 cover sheets to Kultur Stadt Bern, Effingerstrasse 21, 3008 Bern.

More info: www.bern.ch/projektbeitraege
 

Born in 1983, pop musician Sophie Hunger released her first album in 2007. A year later, she was already playing at the Montreux Jazz Festival. She composes and sings in Swiss German, French and English and has since gained a worldwide audience.

The fifteen nominees for the Swiss Grand Prix Music 2016 were: Susanne Abbuehl (Lucerne), Laurent Aubert (Geneva), Sophie Hunger (Berlin / Zurich), Philippe Jordan (Paris / Vienna), Tobias Jundt (Berlin), Peter Kernel (Barbara Lehnhoff & Aris Bassetti, Iseo), Matthieu Michel (Vevey), Fabian Müller (Zurich), Nadja Räss (Einsiedeln), Mathias Rüegg (Vienna), Hansheinz Schneeberger (Basel), Colin Vallon (Vevey / Basel), Hans Wüthrich (Arlesheim), Lingling Yu (Puplinge) and Alfred Zimmerlin (Uster). They will each receive prize money of 25,000 francs.

The Federal Office of Culture FOC has awarded the Swiss Grand Prix Music for the third time. The aim of the award is to "recognize outstanding creations by individual musicians or groups". Once again this year, the fifteen nominees represent the entire spectrum of Swiss music creation.
 

Operating contributions are made to argovia philharmonic (2017/18: CHF 337,000 per year and 2019: CHF 390,000), Verein Kultur in der Futterfabrik KiFF (2017/18: CHF 168,000 per year, 2019: CHF 195,000), Künstlerhaus Boswil (2017/18: CHF 295,000 per year, 2019: CHF 345,000) and Murikultur (2017/18: CHF 126,000 per year, 2019: CHF 145,000). The contributions are subject to the approval of the respective budget by the Grand Council.

Other institutions with cantonal operating contributions include the Fantoche International Festival of Animated Film, the Langmatt Museum, the Swiss Children's Museum, the Stapferhaus Lenzburg and tanz&kunst Königsfelden.

A total of nine institutions will be supported with contributions to operating costs. The overall budget for this has been reduced from CHF 2.325 million to CHF 2.0 million for the years 2016 to 2018. This will lead to a temporary reduction of around 15 percent in all operating contributions to cultural institutions, writes the canton.

"Othmar Schoeck would almost have been forgotten in the region, especially among the younger generation. The festival has successfully prevented this." These words accompanied the presentation of the Schwyz District Recognition Award to the volunteer festival board of trustees at the closing concert. This underlined the hope of many old and new Schoeck fans from near and far that the festival would give new impetus to the cultivation of Othmar Schoeck in whatever form. The diversity of approaches to this work was exemplified by the festival, which was widely reported in the local press (Bote der Urschweiz) and gave the stage to local ensembles in the opening concert. Works were performed that were either written for local music societies, had a local connection or were composed in Brunnen.

The exhibition in the Galerie am Leewasser on the life and work of Schoeck's father, the landscape painter Alfred Schoeck (1841-1931), provided the setting. It was the starting point on the journey to Othmar Schoeck (1886-1957), as the original locations of Schoeck's life are within sight: the Hotel Waldstätterhof, where Othmar's mother grew up, the villa high above the lake and next to it the Hotel Eden, both built by Schoeck's father, as well as the lake, forest and mountains. Othmar's seven great-nephews and -nieces were not afraid to open the doors of the villa to outsiders. There were guided tours of the studio, which has been preserved like a time capsule.

The Lwowski-Kronfoth music theater collective from Berlin was inspired by the hotel, house and garden as well as anecdotes and works of art. This resulted in the performance Othmar's haunted housewhich, with its fantastic scenery, offered Schoeck's music an extraordinary stage.

In the hall of the Hotel Eden, the appearance of the new Schwyz magazine which presents the correspondence between Hermann Hesse and Othmar Schoeck in full for the first time. The next day, Chris Walton outlined the life and work of the composer, rousing the audience in the packed Eden Hall to storms of enthusiasm.

The announcement of an international competition for song duos was a good move to make Schoeck's outstanding song oeuvre better known. 13 ensembles each performed 12 to 14 songs. For most of these young musicians, this was their first encounter with Schoeck's work. If they continue to cultivate this repertoire, some of them will perhaps find their way to a simpler performance and clearer timbres, which is what makes many of the songs so magical.

The astonishing diversity of Schoeck's music could be heard in further concerts at the Grand Palais and the Hotel Waldstätterhof. The performance of the Notturnos op. 47 from 1933 by the Merel Quartet and Christian Hilz was the highlight for many.

Finally, musicology enriched the festival with a three-day international symposium entitled "'As a Swiss I am neutral' - Schoeck's opera Dürande Castle". The libretto, based on Eichendorff's novella of the same name, was written by Hermann Burte. It is of dubious poetic quality and bristles with brown-tinted content. Premiered in Berlin in 1943, the opera was soon canceled there and was a failure in Zurich, damaging Schoeck's career. Thomas Gartmann is head of the project "Dürande Castle by Othmar Schoeck - Scenarios for an Interpretive Restoration" at Bern University of the Arts (HKB), which has been funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation since September 1, 2013. In this context, Francesco Miecieli was commissioned to revise the text - closer to Eichendorff - and Mario Venzago is responsible for the musical adaptations of the vocal parts. At the symposium, parts of the piece in the original version and the corresponding revised passages were performed in a workshop. This comparative listening testified to the quality of the interventions made.

Thomas Gartmann appreciated the direct confrontation with the work: "The fruitful discussions, objections, suggestions and approvals were very important: some things still flow into our presentations, arguments still need to be sharpened, insights put into perspective. The workshop on Saturday afternoon was particularly valuable. What was particularly important here was the realization that the new version is more acceptable and also has a positive influence on attitudes. This also gives courage for the realization of the planned performance."

Chris Walton, who was originally skeptical about the project, said after the symposium: "I am now convinced that the attempt is worthwhile and the new text seems good. But what is important to me is that the whole process is disclosed and discussed - as at the symposium. And I believe that a work has a life of its own after it has been written. In other words, you shouldn't shy away from 'de-burtefying' the work. However, I remain opposed to any staging of the original text."

Who knows, perhaps the Brunner Festival was able to air out the artistic and academic reception of Schoeck's oeuvre in all its diversity. It was certainly stimulating. For 2018, the HKB is planning publications that tie in with the symposium as well as a CD production of the new version of Dürande Castle. And the Board of Trustees also wants to stay on the ball - they are talking about further developing the "Othmar Schoeck label".

Report by Steffi Lunau in the printed edition of the Swiss Music Newspaper, 10/11 2016, P. 17 (PDF)

Both universities will link their courses and resources from the 2016/17 winter semester. In this context, the denominations of the professorships "Sociology and Philosophy of Music" and "Music History 19th to 21st Century", which will be advertised shortly, have already been coordinated. The aim is to merge the two institutes into a Leipzig Center for Musicology that is jointly supported by both cooperation partners.

From the coming winter semester, the musicology courses will be offered jointly by both universities. Students will be enrolled at the cooperation partner at which the corresponding degree program was established. In addition, musicology students will be enrolled for a second semester at the other cooperation partner.

Teaching staff are given affiliate status with the respective cooperation partner. Students of musicology subjects have access to subject-related events at the other university, such as internships, student symposia and language courses. There are plans to introduce a joint Master's degree course with variable specializations in the 2018/19 winter semester.

Photo from left to right: University Rector Beate Schücking, Mayor of Culture Skadi Jennicke and HMT Rector Martin Kürschner

According to the study, almost a third of 16-24-year-olds stream via paid subscriptions. The very young are particularly keen on music, with 82% of 13 to 15-year-olds stating that they access legal music services, and the majority are also prepared to pay for music.

However, YouTube remains the most used music service: 82% of YouTube visitors use the service to listen to music. YouTube is more often used to play music that people already know and less often to discover new music.

Copyright infringements remain a significant problem: more than a third (35%) of internet users listen to illegal or unlicensed music. Streamripping is on the rise: half (49%) of 16-24-year-olds use streamrippers - software that can be used to save streams - to download music.

The study included data from 13 leading music markets worldwide. Internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 were surveyed. The study was conducted by the international market research institute Ipsos.

In May, Christoph Croisé won first prize at the Manhattan International Music Competition and third prize at the Debut Music Competition in the Berlin Philharmonie. The series of successes continued in July and August with gold at the Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin, China, and bronze at the Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition in Morelia, Mexico. Finally, last week he won first prize at the Salieri-Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition in Verona together with pianist Oxana Shevchenko.

In March 2017, Christoph Croisé will perform Othmar Schoeck's Cello Concerto op. 61 on a concert tour through northern Switzerland (Basel, Baden, Zurich, Teufen) with the chamber orchestra I Tempi from Basel.

www.christophcroise.ch
www.itempi.com