Alkan 2013 - 2013 Charles-Valentin Alkan USA Bicentennial Conference

November 9, Utah Valley University
Dr. Hugh Macdonald, Keynote Speaker
Dr. Hilary Demske, Organizing Chair
Established and emerging scholars are invited to participate in the Alkan USA Bicentennial Conference, held November 9, 2013 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The keynote address will be given by eminent Alkan scholar Dr. Hugh Macdonald, Avis Blewett Professor of Music at Washington University in St. Louis.
This one-day conference will feature performances, lecture-recitals, and paper presentations on Alkan’s life and work. Interdisciplinary proposals from pianists, instrumentalists, composers, musicologists, historians, linguists, and researchers in a broad field of humanities are welcome.
You may download a Microsoft Word document of this Call for Papers, Lecture-recitals, and Performances here.
I. Papers
Paper topics may include any subset of Alkan’s music and musical culture, and will last 15 minutes with a 10-minute question and answer session. A $200 cash award will be given for the best graduate or advanced undergraduate student paper.
II. Lecture-recitals
Lecture-recital proposals are particularly welcome. The conference seeks to include as many live performances as reasonable involving both amateur and professional pianists and musicians. Topics can highlight a specific piece or group of pieces, make comparisons with other piano composers, offer new transcriptions for chamber music settings or include original compositions inspired by his music. Lecture-recitals will last 20-30 minutes with a 10-minute question and answer session. A $200 cash award will be given for the most creative lecture-recital.
III. Performances
Recital performances are invited. The conference seeks to highlight Alkan’s wide range of compositions, from a one minute Prelude to a virtuosic etude. Accordingly there is no age limit or audition to participate in a recital and pieces do not need to be memorized. Solo, duet, and chamber performances are all encouraged, as well as original chamber music transcriptions and Alkan-inspired compositions. There is no formal competition, but two (2) $200 cash awards will be given to the two performances that are heard to most closely align with the spirit of Alkan’s music. Many of Alkan's compositions can be heard online for free at http://www.spotify.com and downloaded for free at http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Alkan,_Charles-Vale....
Awards Summary:
One $200 prize will be awarded for the best student paper.
One $200 prize will be awarded for the most creative lecture-recital.
Two $200 prizes will be awarded to performances that are heard to most closely align with the intent of the conference and the spirit of Alkan’s music.
All prizes will be chosen by the Organizing Committee and awarded at the closing banquet. Participants may be involved in all three categories.
Possible Paper Topics:
Musical Paris in the 1830s and 1840s
Chopin, Liszt and Alkan
Orchestral elements in Alkan’s piano writing
Alkan’s music as a pedagogical tool
Alkan and contemporary parallels
Alkan’s influence on other composers
Talks on specific pieces or styles
Talks on specific time periods in Alkan’s life
Possible Lecture-recital Topics:
Side by sides, comparing a piece by Alkan and another piano composer
Alkan interpretation possibilities
Theoretical exploration of piece
Historical exploration of piece
Compositional exploration of piece
Possible Performance Pieces:
Any piece composed by Alkan
An original composition inspired by Alkan