Every Tuesday evening in May, you can visit the Athenaeum for a PowerPoint lecture presentation of seminal art works representing the dominant schools and tendencies will be juxtaposed directly with a live musical performance.
The first two lecture-concerts will feature Ms. Martino's original Baroque violin and her custom-built continuo pipe organ; the latter three programs will be performed on modern violin and piano.
The introductory installment in Victoria Martino's annual exploration of the interrelationship between music and the visual arts, this five-part lecture-concert series will take the audience on a fascinating journey through five centuries of European art and music, from the Renaissance to our time. Ms. Martino will reveal and examine the political, social and ideological factors that led to significant stylistic shifts and transformations, illuminating pivotal moments in the cultural development of Europe.
Cost is:
- Series: $85 members/$110 nonmembers
- Individual: $19 members/$24 nonmembers
Schedule is:
May 1, 2012 – The Renaissance
The Renaissance era marked a rebirth of interest in antiquity, the rise of humanism, and a revival in the production of art for its own sake. During this time, artists and composers created works of great freedom and individualism. The masters of the Renaissance were celebrated in their own lifetimes, in contrast to the relative anonymity of their medieval predecessors. With the advent of new printing techniques, works of music and art (as well as literature) were disseminated widely throughout Europe.
May 8, 2012 – The Baroque
As the term itself implies (derived from a Portuguese word meaning “a pearl of irregular shape”), the Baroque era was a period of lavish opulence and unusual extravagance throughout the courts of Europe, with an emphasis on sensuality and ornate, decorative values. Even the religious art and music of the time were characterized by great emotional intensity, in contrast to the more ascetic piety of previous eras.
May 15, 2012 – Enlightenment, Rococo, and Neoclassicism
The late eighteenth century was a period of great upheaval in politics, social mores, and culture. The rational philosophy of enlightenment was mirrored in the arts by strict laws of balance and restraint, observed by artists and composers alike. An avid pursuit of pleasure by the aristocracy prompted the frivolous delights of the Rococo, while noble classical ideals and historical references served the agenda of revolution and power struggles.
May 22, 2012 – Romanticism, Realism, and Impressionism
The dawn of nineteenth century saw the rise of nationalism, manifested in the arts by the appropriation of folk elements and strongly delineated regional styles as an expression of cultural identity. The emergence of the bourgeois class and a new emphasis on materialism created a seemingly insatiable market for secular art and music. As industrialization began to sweep through Europe, the creative fantasy and idealism of romanticism gave way to realism, with its focus on urban life and social emancipation. A heightened awareness and appreciation of nature led to the experimental techniques and subject matter of Impressionism.
May 29, 201 – Fin de Siecle, Modernism, and Postmodernism
Artists and composers from all over Europe flocked to the great cultural centers of Paris, Vienna, and Berlin during the golden age of the Fin de Siecle, ushering in the birth of modernism. The turmoil and destruction of the first world war and the Russian revolution intensified the need for new modes of expression in the arts. In the wake of the second world war, a new sense of global identity resulted in an unprecedented cross-fertilization of artistic styles and ideas, leading to the eclecticism of post-modernism.
