echo 2023
Djuwa Mroivili (c) Bete van Meeuwen
Musicians, conductors, composers, music critics, programmers, teachers, audience. Everyone is looking for quality. But what exactly do we mean by it? A flawless performance? Connecting with the audience? Bringing people together? Emotion or virtuosity? Historical correctness or innovation? Or is quality all of those things mentioned?
Quality is a slippery concept and comes in many forms. At a time when the relevance of classical music is increasingly being questioned, it is useful question our own mindset and ask ourselves: what is quality? What are qualities? What does quality mean in classical music? Or would could it mean?
We raised these questions to two keynote speakers. Toks Dada, head of classical music at Southbank Center, kicks off Echo with his ‘state of the union’. Up-and-coming talent and musician, teacher and activist Djuwa Mroivili follows up with a ‘state of the youth’. In six inspirational sessions, experts will continue the discussion with the audience.
Afterwards you can enjoy the “become ocean” concert in Concertgebouw Bruges for free.
Parallel sessions
We organise two blocks with 3 parallel sessions each.
session 1: authentic voice (in Dutch)
‘Artistic voice’ or ‘unique sound’: in programme texts, jury reports and music critiques, it often counts as a quality label. Performers sometimes spend a lifetime searching for that authentic, artistic voice. But what makes a voice unique? And do we consider every unique voice as equally qualitative? In this session, we explore how the manifestation of a personal identity becomes an indispensable part of musical practice and from when critics and audiences consider it qualitative. With Lieselot De Wilde (soprano) and Kris Defoort (composer and pianist)
session 2: the social impact of making music together (in Dutch)
Making music is pre-eminently a social activity: music only exists in the exchange with an audience, with fellow musicians and within a social context. Although the social impact of making music together long remained somewhat underexposed in classical music, the topic has received renewed attention in recent years. The social dimension of making music together is increasingly taken seriously as a quality, just as, say, virtuosity or historical accuracy can be. In this session, we will give an overview of this quality from an academic and practical perspective. With An De Bisschop, teacher KASK & Conservatory and associated with the academic chair Jonet (Centre Social Action & Music Making) and Lise Thomas, coordinator Vonk (Opera Ballet Vlaanderen)
session 3: learning and unlearning (in English)
Classical music has a notoriously steep learning curve. Only those who have sufficiently mastered technique, theory and repertoire stand a chance of a place on stage. But sometimes performers and creators experience educational frameworks as a constraint rather than a help. Some therefore ‘unlearn’ what they have previously rehearsed with much blood, sweat and tears. This can be an arduous and confronting process, but often has an emancipating effect. In this session, a maker and performer and a teacher talk about the process of learning and unlearning. With Ine Vanoeveren and Paul Craenen (lecturer, researcher, composer and sound artist)
session 4: classical repertoire between tradition and innovation (in Dutch)
The classical repertoire has stood the test of time and thus an important test of quality. No one doubts the quality of the works that are revived year after year. More so, the works that belong to the permanent repertoire are considered qualitative just because of that. But there is also a danger in this reference role. From a contemporary perspective, we can hardly look aside from the skewed social relations in the classical repertoire. If Bach, Beethoven and Brahms are the yardstick by which classical music is measured, are we not in danger of thinking too quickly that music by non-Western, non-white and non-male composers is not qualitative? And how do we keep our heritage alive in a context where classical music is in danger of losing relevance? With Masa Spaan (classical programmer at De Doelen), Orville Breeveld (musician, singer, composer, arranger, producer, marketeer, at Concertgebouw Amsterdam and podcast maker) and Elizaveta Agrafenina (soprano and member of Bosmans & Beyond, among others)
session 5: the paraorchestra – reinventing the orchestra for the 21st century (in English)
Paraorchestra blend artforms, genres and technology to create large scale orchestral music experiences. Their ensembles of disabled and non-disabled professional musicians tour UK and overseas performing in unconventional and unexpected places and spaces to new and diverse audiences. This high-octane music-making, together with an emerging artist development programme for disabled musicians, is pioneering a new orchestral landscape, reinventing the orchestra for the 21st century. Explore their inspiring history and ground-breaking concept in this session. With Lloyd Coleman (deputy artistic director Paraorchestra) and Rylan Gleave (vocalist and artist in residence at Paraorchestra)
session 6: music criticism (in Dutch)
For a music critic, the question of quality is daily business. Which quality criteria apply in music criticism? What is decisive: a perfect performance, a lived interpretation or stage presence? What makes a performance a benchmark and is it desirable to measure new interpretations against it? In this session, we will explore the music critic’s conscious and unconscious criteria and the influence it has on the perception of quality by artists, programme organisers and audiences. With Annemarie Peeters (journalist De Standaard – moderation), Jasper Croonen (cultural journalist and musicologist) and Rudy Tambuyser (music journalist)
Programme
1:30 pm reception with coffee
2:00 pm welcome by Jeroen Vanacker & Joost Fonteyne (in Dutch)
2:05 pm state of the union by Toks Dada (in English)
2:30 pm state of the youth by Djuwa Mroivili (in English)
3:00 pm coffee break
3.30 pm choice of 1 of 3 parallel sessions:
- Session 1: Own voice
- Session 2: Social impact of making music together
- Session 3: Learning and unlearning
4:20 pm short break
4.40 pm choice of 1 of 3 parallel sessions:
- Session 4: Classical repertoire between tradition and innovation
- Session 5: Paraorchestra
- Session 6: Music Criticism
5.30 pm network reception
6:30 pm end
8:00 pm concert become ocean
Echo?
Echo is the annual moment of reflection for anyone professionally active in classical music. Each edition we explores a topic that is connected to how we create, perform and experience classical music today. The topic for ECHO 2023 will be ‘quality/qualities’.
Echo is an initiative of Klarafestival, Flanders Arts Institute, DE SINGEL and Concertgebouw Brugge. Echo 2023 is the second edition.
