The UAL to host an international conference on the history of music criticism in Spain

The University of Almeria will host the congress entitled ‘Towards a history of music criticism in Spain’, which will be held from 28 to 30 April on the university campus. The aim of the 10th MUSPRES International Congress is to provide a framework for exchange and debate on the history of music criticism in Spain published in the press.

The aim of this event is to offer a framework for exchange and debate on the history of music criticism in Spain published in the press. Nowadays, the digitised historical press has become an essential source of musicological research to learn about our musical past.

Specifically, the event will bring together research proposals that will help to elucidate stages, contexts, discourses, personalities, events and transfer processes in the history of music criticism, still pending in Spain.

For this tenth edition, the directors of the conference, Mónica Fernández and Mauricio Rodríguez, from the University of Almería, and María Belén Vargas, from the University of Granada, have opted for the hybrid format, thus accommodating researchers from the University of Indiana (USA) and Warsaw (Poland). The conference will be held in the lecture hall of the Technical Science Building V, which is equipped with the latest video technology, allowing live broadcasting and on-line participation.

As for the speakers, Professor Leandro Álvarez, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Seville and expert in historical press and research methodology, will give the inaugural address entitled ‘The press and historical research: from newspaper archives to digitalisation’. Other speakers include María Encina Cortizo and Ramón Sobrino, leading figures in Spanish musicology.

The event is divided into eight sessions with different themes: Lyric theatre; Historical music criticism; Musical life through the press; Music journalism and women; Media image of composers; Reception of instrumentalists; Critics and Speeches.

In addition to the talks, presentations and debates, participants will be able to enjoy a visit to the Alcazaba and the historic centre of Almería on the last day.

The conference is organised by the ‘Grupo de investigación Estudios del Tiempo Presente (HUM 756)’, of the UAL, and the Comisión de trabajo Música y Prensa de la Sociedad Española de Musicología, with the collaboration of the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Humanities, the Department of Education and its own research plan.

Also collaborating in its organisation are the ‘Asociación Sapere Aude’ (UAL), the Student Delegation of the Faculty of Humanities, and the professors of the University of Almería: Francisco Luis Aguilar, Pilar Fernández, Carlos Sánchez, Adrián Tudorica and Emilia Martos.

Source: UAL NEWS