Conference: Socialist Realism in Music, Globally (online)

Conference: Socialist Realism in Music, Globally

University of Leipzig, University of Cambridge (online)

01.07.2022

We are delighted to announce that ‘Socialist Realism in Music, Globally’, an RMA-affiliated one-day conference hosted by the University of Cambridge and Universität Leipzig, will be taking place on Zoom on Friday 1 July from 9am (BST).

Professor Marina Frolova-Walker FBA (University of Cambridge) will be giving the keynote lecture, and 15 international scholars will present on the many intersections and iterations of Socialist Realism and music across the globe. A full programme with presentation titles, abstracts and speaker biographies will be published shortly.

Almost a century since its inception, Socialist Realism remains a highly contested subject amongst musicologists who continue to disagree as to how to identify and define musical works as ‘socialist realist.’ This is because, as the concept transversed social, cultural, and political boundaries over the course of the 20th century, it assumed a multitude of forms and functions through its adaptation to local contexts, inspiring creative workers all over the world to grapple with the purpose of their art.

The first of several such events planned by the conveners as part of a new international research network dedicated to the study of Socialist Realism globally, this launch conference seeks to interrogate how Socialist Realism has been understood beyond the immediate context in which it was developed, and to highlight how it has resonated – and continues to resonate – in music composed all over the world.

Adopting a global lens, this conference examines the intersections of Socialist Realism and music, especially in contexts that have yet to receive much scholarly attention. In so doing, this conference will confront the numerous ‘Socialist Realisms’ which have arisen globally over the past century, and interrogate their impact within and outside of the Soviet Bloc, nuancing our understandings of this term’s ever-evolving conceptual legacy.

Should you wish to attend any part of this conference, please email info @ srm-g.org to register your interest and request the Zoom link.

Eirini Diamantouli, Alexandra Leonzini, Ekaterina Pavlova (University of Cambridge)

Patrick Becker-Naydenov (Universität Leipzig)

More information here.