Homage to René Leibowitz

A French composer of Polish origin, but also a musicologist, theoretician, pedagogue and conductor, René Leibowitz played a vital role in promoting the music of the Second Viennese School. His publications Schoenberg et son école (1947) and Introduction à la musique de douze sons (1949), his articles in Les Temps modernes and his teaching of the younger generation of composers (Boulez, Philippot, Le Roux, Nigg, etc.) greatly contributed to the dissemination of the serial language. However, during the 1950s, Leibowitz was accused of dogmatic orthodoxy and academicism by the radical wing of post-serialism and his own music has been unjustly underestimated and eclipsed in favour of the dominant approach. This day session will re-examine the output, the work and the theoretical approach of this important figure for modern music of the second half of the twentieth century, the centenary of whose birth will be celebrated this year. Among other focuses of attention will be the years of apprenticeship (Riga/Warsaw, Berlin, Paris), his relationship with the music and theories of Schönberg, his teaching, his theoretical and musicological writings, but also his own compositions as well as his performances as a conductor.

Morning session

9h30 Welcome for participants

10h Opening of the day session
Laure Marcel Berlioz, director of the Cdmc and Max Noubel, University of Burgundy, CRAL, music team

Moderator: Esteban Buch, CRAL/EHESS, Paris

10h15 René Leibowitz, musician of commitment:
a) Jewish culture and the years of apprenticeship
b) The composer
c) The performer (Beethoven, Offenbach, Schönberg)
Juan Allende-Blin, composer

11h The author as performer. Leibowitz after the war
Sabine Meine, Deutsches Studienzentrum, Venice

11h45 René Leibowitz in post-war radical periodicals: theoretical and aesthetic synthesis
Pierre-Arnaud Le Guérinel, Paris Conservatory

Afternoon session

Moderator: Max Noubel

14h René Leibowitz - Arnold Schönberg: myth or reality?
Yvonne Schürmann-Zehetner, Vienna

14h45 Analysing Leibowitz: the example of opus 54 and 81
Emmanuel Ducreux, Lyons Conservatory

Pause

Moderator: Emmanuel Ducreux

15h45 Leibowitz the composer - some hints for understanding
Reinhard Kapp, Institut für Analyse, Theorie und Geschichte der Musik
Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Vienna

16h30 Todos caerán (1971): on a little-known opera of René Leibowitz
Esteban Buch, CRAL/EHESS, Paris

17h15 Round table with Jean-Marie Morel, Gérard Gubisch, Humbert Camerlo (to be conformed) and the speakers

18h15 End of the session

Partnership Cdmc – EHESS