2020s: A New Era
Ingrid Geuens, Founder & Artistic Director
Does history tell us that we are due for a new era?
by Luke Hsu, Music Director
As 2019 comes to a close, a new, exciting decade awaits us as we embark into a new technological era for humanity. This season, K&Mfest invites musicians and listeners alike to reflect and draw parallels on the artistic, musical, and cultural values between today and the past.
Some say that history repeats itself every 100 years, so I wanted to see if I can draw any parallels between the music of the 1720s, 1820s, 1920s, and today.
The 1720s, the beginning of the Enlightenment Era, featured a new confidence in art, philosophy, and science in Europe, rising from the ashes of the Thirty Years War (1618-48) and the unsuccessful Ottoman invasion of Vienna in 1683. A tenuous peace was restored from countless wars, and music blossomed in courts throughout Europe, showcasing a popular belief in divine power and glory in the face of hostile forces.
In the 1820s, a similarly unstable peace ensued after the bloody Napoleonic Wars. Inspired by the revolutionary ideals of Napoleon, composers were breaking down 18th-century conventions. Without sacrificing elegance, composers tended toward exaggeration of dynamics, virtuosity, and abstract expression. Music turned away from its aristocratic roots and looked towards the newly-formed bourgeoisie for support. They demanded music that not only entertained them but also transported them beyond reality.
At the turn of the century with industrialization happening at a feverish pace, the stage was set for one of humanity’s deadliest conflicts: World War I (1914-18). Following the war, the Roaring Twenties displayed an overwhelming decadence in life and the arts. Coined as The Jazz Decade, the 20s saw an unprecedented wave of musical innovation and experimentation. Sadly, the extravagance of the 20s came to an abrupt end in the 1929 financial crash, which led to terrifying decades of poverty, political extremism, and unspeakable atrocities against mankind.
Today, Looking forward to the 2020s
As the 2010s come to a close, what is the relationship between music and the world today? Or tomorrow? K&Mfest is excited to present the project, Sounding Philosophy (2019), with a new composition by composer Dániel Péter Biró in partnership with choreographer Hagit Yakira and painter Kjell Pahr-Iversen to address questions of how the arts inform and influence our perception of our place in the world. This project will be coupled with a performance of its inspiration, Schubert’s G Major String Quartet, D. 887 (1826), a piece that reflects the sentiments of the post-Napoleonic era.
This season, by exploring the music across four centuries, we hope not only to build bridges between various disciplines, but also to create a dialogue between history and today, artists and audiences, the world and Stavanger, and most importantly, humanity and the arts. Today, in a world where misunderstanding is becoming a norm across societies despite being technologically better connected than ever, there is an even stronger calling for musicians and artists to create and cherish these dialogues so that a common understanding of humanity can shine for tomorrow. This is my hope for this year’s K&Mfest season and all those to come.