Throughout my studies, but especially my master’s, research has been becoming an increasingly important and fulfilling endeavour for me, providing me not only with inspiration for my playing, but rewarding me with scientific findings worth publishing, too. Below, a short impression of my most recent work. Feel free to contact me should you be interested in the papers.
S. S. Prokofiev – Violin Concerto No. 2
A nostalgic chess player’s daydream of homecoming
2022, Master’s research (111 pages, English)
Over the course of this paper’s six chapters, Prokofiev’s second violin concerto has been contextualised in his personal biography, his oeuvre, and – together with the commonly cited ‘canonical’ recordings of the concerto – the historical context of Russia’s particular musical traditions and the Soviet ideals. This network of guiding circumstances and parallels kept growing bigger and wider throughout the research process and was endlessly stimulating in the pondering of the concerto’s meaning and possible interpretation.
The central takeaways of the work are that Prokofiev is, throughout his life, fundamentally invested in telling stories and expressing concrete thoughts through music, be it openly so – as is the case with his operas and ballets –, or inwards, not intended for the public eye. His earliest musical steps lead him down this path and he remains true to himself both in his music and his often-quoted perpetual childlike nature. Thus, it is essential to regard his non-figurative music through the prism of storytelling, as his music is never formalistic and free of meaning, even when the level of abstraction is heightened. At the same time, it is important to understand the significance of spirituality and philosophy in Prokofiev’s life and work; his dedication to his ideals and expectations. As an optimist and devotional man, Prokofiev is no stranger to struggle and conflict but guided by his deep trust in the positive outcome. This is at the centre of many of his libretti but is also true of the composer’s personal development. Prokofiev’s doubt-evoking struggle caused by the contradictions between his newfound spiritual beliefs and his musical aspiration of constant innovation is severe and affects his entire work. Only because of his assuredness is it that he transcends his constant professional misfortunes and lows and keeps striving.
a thorough look at Prokofiev’s second violin concerto motivated by the seemingly monumental consistency in its interpretative legacy.
CHEATING DEATH
the portrayal of the Holocaust through the rehumanization of the individuals within the multitude in Weinberg’s music
2022, research paper (10 pages, English)
The symphony also includes segments of anger, agitation, and grief, expressing the full spectrum of social life through the individual’s eyes, thereby underlining the individualism of the members of the multitude through the contrasting and ever-evolving nature of the music. What is, however, clearly absent, is the suffering at the scale of the Holocaust. The symphony shows grief, sure, but it cannot be misunderstood as an expression, not even as an allusion to the horrors of the Shoah. This is all well within the realms of life as we know it rather than the sacred. It is a kaleidoscope of memories, a remembrance of the victims of the Warsaw ghetto, rather than their death.
On Weinberg’s approach to expressing and processing the horrors of the Holocaust in the context of its societal and specifically artistic taboo.