Music as a Signifier of the Past in the Works of Jean Sibelius and in their Cultural Context
Doctoral project of Janne Kivistö
In my research, I aim to combine the viewpoints of music analysis and cultural history to examine how selected works by Jean Sibelius, composed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, signify cultural conceptions of the past. I also ask how musical representations of the past correspond with the historical consciousness of late 19th-century culture.
My primary methodology stems from the theory of musical topics—the study of how musical styles and contexts are imitated in composition and the cultural meanings conveyed through these stylistic associations. In my monograph dissertation, I plan to present four case studies investigating different ways the past is represented in Sibelius’s music.
In each case study I will compare my musical analytical considerations to selected historical source material: (1) depiction of national history in music to historical tableaux, (2) symphonic teleology vs. historical teleology, (3) idyllic nostalgia in salon-styled miniatures, and (4) Sibelius’s musical folklorism. My research will establish connections between music analysis and music history, critically examine the nationalist imagery of Sibelius’s music, and offer new insights into conceptions of temporality and historicism mediated by music.
Keywords: musical analysis, narration, past, history culture
Janne Kivistö is a doctoral researcher in the Research Study Programme at the DocMus Doctoral School.
Future doctors in music
We have approximately 150 doctoral students enrolled at the Sibelius Academy. This blog offers a view to their research projects.
The doctoral students are a part of a research community which is a unique combination of artistic activities, education, and research.
Their projects cover a wide spectrum of topics in the realm of music, combining musical practices and different research approaches.
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