Fiona-Olivia Plüss is 17 years old. She has been taking piano lessons at the Musikschule Konservatorium Zürich (MKZ) for more than five years, three of them with music teacher Sophie Aeberli. The fact that access to music lessons was so straightforward for her despite having Down's syndrome certainly has something to do with the pragmatic approach taken at the MKZ. There is no specific support or integration program for children with disabilities. The lessons are "inclusive" and - as Sophie Aeberli puts it: "I approached them without fear and with 'Gwunder'."

In conversation with Fiona, her parents and Sophie Aeberli, it becomes clear how beneficial such lessons can be for everyone. Nevertheless, the number of children and young people with disabilities who are taught at music schools is still in the low single-digit percentage range.

Fiona's introduction to the piano was via the melodica. Fiona learned to read music and play a keyboard instrument. When her older sister wanted to take piano lessons, Fiona said: "I want that too!" Anyway, Fiona was always there everywhere. Her parents were strongly committed to the inclusive path. Fiona attended the same regular kindergarten and then elementary school as her sister. Today, she attends the second secondary school class at Zurich's Letzi school with the children from the neighborhood. "That was the best decision," says Fiona's father.

Access to the municipal music school was easy, although neither the website nor other publications refer to the range of inclusive music, dance and theater lessons. A recent survey of teachers at the MKZ revealed that significantly more pupils with disabilities are being taught than was previously known.

Fiona is enthusiastic about her lessons with Sophie Aeberli. She beams when she talks about her piano teacher. In addition to piano lessons, she attends drama lessons with drama teacher Arniko Dross with a group of MKZ pupils. She practices regularly, independently and is proud to have something "for herself". She also really enjoys her auditions. Fiona doesn't really have stage fright, she is in her element on stage. Her mother remarks: "Her older sister would have loved to run away during the audition, but Fiona enjoyed the performance."

We ask her mother whether her musical education has influenced Fiona's development. She says: "I think so. But because she is currently also receiving good support at school, it is difficult to assess what has what effect. André Frank Zimpel, a professor specializing in mental development and disability education at the University of Hamburg, also believes that playing the piano is one of the best ways to promote coordination. It has an effect on the brain, just like singing and dancing."

Sophie Aeberli sees Fiona's great enjoyment of music as the key to her success: "I often let her play. So that she doesn't have the feeling that she has to learn this or that. The point is, we simply get on well as people and meet as equals." For her, there is no separation between special support or didactics and normal lessons. The practice is probably somewhere in the middle.

Did she adapt the piano lessons specifically for Fiona? "We read less music, it takes too much time. Fiona's motor skills are rather tense, but her fingers are strong. Fluency or speed are therefore not her thing, so I prefer to focus on other topics such as sound," reveals the music teacher. It's also important that Fiona doesn't get into stress mode. She has started to play a lot by heart with Fiona, which works well. Sometimes she records what she plays in a kind of graphic notation. Aeberli also encourages her to play together with a friend (who also has Down syndrome). "We deliberately set ourselves smaller goals, but we achieve them."

Inclusion was not an issue during her training as a piano teacher in Lucerne, or at most was only mentioned in passing. Aeberli therefore took a rather pragmatic and intuitive approach to Fiona's lessons. She didn't do much research, but tried out different things. After all, in one-to-one lessons, every pupil is something special and she always responds differently to learning styles and speeds. Now, however, she feels the need for specific further training or an exchange between teachers. One topic that concerns her is the assessment of performance in level tests. Aeberli is critical of purely performance-oriented assessments because the differences between pupils are seen as a weakness and not an asset. If, on the other hand, concerts and level tests are designed as playful, motivating moments of making music together and exchanging ideas, everyone can participate, as is the case at the MKZ.

With around 23,000 students, the MKZ is the largest music school in Switzerland and one of the largest in Europe. There is not (yet) a concept for the inclusion of students with disabilities for the approximately 600 qualified music, dance and theater teachers. Opportunities for further training or exchanges take place occasionally. However, there is a great deal of openness on the part of the management and teaching staff.

Sophie Aeberli advises teachers who are new to such a task to remain relaxed, to seek an exchange with experienced colleagues and to establish constructive contact with parents.

The Bern Conservatory Music School is playing a pioneering role. On its website, it explicitly refers to its music lessons for people with disabilities. The lessons are individually adapted. There are also band lessons for people with disabilities. A separate concept goes into the various methods. Among other things, lessons for people with cognitive impairments are coached and supervised by the Bern University of Teacher Education. The music school bears the "Kultur inklusiv" label, an award for cultural institutions that are particularly committed to the topic of inclusion.

- Spectrum Inclusion - we are part of it! Ways to develop inclusive music schoolsVdM, Association of German Music Schools (a very comprehensive guide with concrete examples)

- Making music with a disability at the Bern Conservatory Music School (Concept for inclusive access and teaching)

- Because disability is not an obstacle, Thurgau Music Schools Association in collaboration with Pro Infirmis and Insieme Thurgau

"Cantata performances impossible - but we're streaming anyway!" This is how the St. Gallen Bach Foundation welcomes visitors to its website bachipedia.org. The coronavirus crisis has temporarily disrupted her schedule of performing all Bach cantatas in recitals by 2027 and making the live recordings accessible worldwide. To bridge the gap, it has now turned its web portal into a showcase for current streaming activities. Similarly, the Stuttgart International Bach Academy is now streaming its concerts under the title Baroque@home has been replaced by highly interesting monthly web podcasts on key works of Baroque music. Both Stuttgart and Sankt Gallen present themselves with high-quality and technically and dramaturgically absolutely professionally produced content. Both make clever use of the educational opportunities offered by the new media and explicitly address the younger generation. The historical discipline of baroque music has firmly established itself on the Internet.

"Everything you always wanted to know about improvisation" is the title of a recently published bachipedia.org published stream with a musical conversation between the musically talented managing director Xoán Castiñeira and Rudolf Lutz, artistic director and mastermind of the entire company. In English, German and Spanish, the two give a relaxed and well-founded introduction to baroque improvisation practice in the empty church of Stein/AR. The audience is spellbound as Lutz improvises a fugue in C sharp minor on the D minor theme of the "Art of Fugue" or musically depicts different emotions when called upon. Creativity born of necessity - the distant past is brought to life in a captivating way. It is not the only contribution on this web portal that will amaze you. Bachipedia.org is accessible to the general public, and those who enter here will find themselves in a veritable treasure trove of baroque music culture.

https://www.bachipedia.org
https://www.bachipedia.org/live_stream/improvisation-20200619/
https://mediathek.bachakademie.de/

According to researchers at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, special filters for brass instruments and a special face visor called "BauhausUniVisor" can be used to make music safely. The filters are made of conventional cellulose, which is cut into a honeycomb shape and loosely attached in front of the bell of the respective wind instrument or in front of the mouthpiece of the flute with the help of adhesive tape. Information and patterns are available to download free of charge.

The effectiveness of the prototype filters and the "BauhausUniVisor" was previously proven in a multi-stage experiment at the Chair of Building Physics. The breathing air reached a maximum of around 1.1 meters into the room when making music. Breath expulsion was particularly pronounced when playing the flute (air blown over the mouthpiece), clarinet (secondary air escaping from the mouthpiece), oboe and bassoon (exhalation between phrases) and when singing.

Original publication: https://idw-online.de/de/news753255

According to the canton's announcement, cultural workers in the canton of Ausserrhoden can apply for compensation for lost engagements and commissions from July 1, 2020. These are engagements and commissions that would have been expected during normal cultural operations and fall within the period from July 1 to October 31.

The financial losses incurred in this way are checked for plausibility using the budget and the comparative figures or invoices from the two previous years. In connection with lost income due to fewer audiences, it is necessary to declare which protection concept was applied in which period. The loss compensation can be claimed for events, engagements and orders until October 31, 2020.

It is important to note that the submission deadline for all applications is September 20, 2020. Late applications can no longer be considered, the canton points out. The Office of Culture recommends submitting applications close to the last possible submission deadline of September 20, 2020, as it is hardly possible to calculate in advance the ongoing damage resulting from fewer audiences, additional expenses or lost engagements and commissions.

More info: www.ar.ch/kulturfoerderung
 

With the Südpol, the Lucerne Theater, the Lucerne Music School and now the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and the Lucerne School of Music, five institutions are now housed on one site. From September 2020, over 500 Bachelor's and Master's students, almost 500 continuing education participants (MAS, DAS, CAS, courses) and around 200 employees will be learning, teaching and researching on around 8,000 square meters in the latter, as well as presenting their work to the public.

The official opening of the new building will take place from September 11 to 13, 2020 under the title "OuverTüren". Visitors are invited to take part in musical tours of the building. The number of participants is limited and registration is required.
Link to registration

With all the music from Vienna, people tend to forget that there was a war in Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. Not everywhere and not everywhere at the same time, but for years. Unrest was caused by Napoleon, who first fought against Austria, then against Prussia, simultaneously on the Iberian Peninsula, finally against Russia and again against the allied troops in central Germany. The number of victims on each side ran into the hundreds of thousands, but in total into the millions. The Grande Armée shrank within a few months from the original 600,000 soldiers to a small remnant of 10,000 men. The victory of the Russian troops only went down in musical history decades later with Tchaikovsky's Ouverture solennelle 1812 the Battle of Vitoria in Spain (1813), Beethoven created in Wellington's victory op. 91 immediately after the battle. In contrast, the numerous compositions by many contemporaries for the decisive battle at Leipzig (1813) have long been forgotten today.

However, Beethoven could not and did not want to escape the demands of the Viennese "home front" and supported the troops' morale with several marches in 1809/10. The one in F major (WoO 18) was initially only written down for small harmony music and dedicated to Archduke Anton Viktor Joseph of Austria and thus to the Hoch- und Deutschmeister regiment. However, Beethoven then changed his mind and dedicated the few bars in the manuscript to the Bohemian Landwehr (an infantry regiment formed as the last reserve). In the meantime, the march was used as "carousel music" for a horse show in the palace gardens of Laxenburg, which Beethoven commented on ironically: "I want to see if this allows the riders to do a few deft somersaults." However, the play only became truly famous when it was performed in the 1817/18 Royal Prussian Army March Collection for "Turkish music" - and appeared there as a reverence to a unit commanded by Ludwig Graf York von Wartenburg without the composer's involvement as a March of the York Corps 1813 was labeled.

Compositionally, Beethoven also ennobled this occasional work. The motivic nucleus is the upbeat anapaestic rhythm on a single note. This is followed by sequences that systematically expand the tonal space in the opening movement, first to the second, then via the third to the fourth, while the second movement is led melodically from the fifth via the sixth to the dominant. In the second part, after the motif has been condensed, it is even resolved - including several pauses that are highly dangerous for the military lockstep.

The fact that Beethoven subsequently added a trio to the march in 1822/23 has also remained largely hidden from civilian performance practice to this day.

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Link to the project homepage "52 x Beethoven"

The law gives the Federal Council the authority to continue to support cultural enterprises, creative artists and cultural associations in the non-professional sector with financial aid. It is currently being discussed in various committees of the National Council and Council of States and will then come before parliament in the fall session.

The Music Council is of the opinion that the cultural sector needs the adoption and targeted implementation of the Covid-19 Act. The funds for cultural measures provided for in the law would only be sufficient if cultural professionals and companies continue to be supported by loss of earnings and short-time working compensation.

The Music Council is also calling for a good insurance solution so that "the broadest possible resumption of event operations is facilitated and new events can be planned with a calculable risk". Better and, above all, early involvement of cultural associations at an administrative level is also desirable.

Cultural professionals and cultural enterprises can now apply to the canton for compensation for losses incurred in September and October 2020.

The cantonal government has approved additional funding of CHF 1.396 million for loss compensation in the cultural sector, which will be doubled by the federal government. This means that a total of CHF 10.894 million is now available for compensation to cultural workers and cultural enterprises in Basel.

From now until September 20, 2020, cultural professionals and cultural enterprises can once again submit applications for cancellation compensation. They can claim financial losses that are associated with the cancellation or postponement of events and projects or with business closures and were caused by government measures to combat the coronavirus in the period from September 1 to October 31, 2020.

Only persons and companies that are at least 50 percent active in the cultural sector are eligible. The definition according to the Federal Council's COVID Ordinance on Culture applies. Its interpretation and scope of application are specified in detail by the federal government.

Profit-oriented companies are treated as hardship cases by the Government Council if they are covered by the scope of the ordinance and there is a particular cultural policy interest. For these cases, the Government Council has set an upper limit for compensation of CHF 500,000 per profit-oriented company. In doing so, it is taking account of the importance of these companies for the cultural sector. At the same time, it is important to it to maintain proportionality in the context of the COVID measures for the economy. The Government Council dealt with the first applications for loss compensation from profit-oriented companies and approved funds for hardship cases totaling CHF 38,355.
 

In addition to the electro-mundart duo "Dachs", Basil Kehl is also on the road as solo artist "Wassily". The problem with his live sets, however, is that he usually disappears behind a wall of synthesizers, electronic tools and controllers. Now he wants to have more "direct contact" with the audience in future. To create these live moments, he wants to reduce the electronic devices and use instruments such as bass, guitar or percussion.

The project by Flawil musician Ramon Landolt is completely different: When ice melts into water, a multitude of extraordinary noises, sounds and tones are created. It is these "iced sounds" that interest him and provide the sound material for his latest musical project, among other things. In it, the young musician explores climate change and its effects on the environment and people in a personal and emotional way.

And Raphael Loher, a musician with a background in jazz, is different again: he works on pieces for solo piano. To do this, he prepares the strings with magnets, adhesive tape and plasticine, creating an adventurous space and experimenting with alienated sounds. The technique of piano preparation originates from the composer John Cage and still offers many unexplored possibilities today.
 

It was not only Bartók, Berg and Brahms who wrote their violin concertos for a specific soloist; Ludwig van Beethoven also had the artistry of an instrumentalist associated with him in mind when conceiving his work: Franz Clement (1780-1842), who was director of the orchestra at the Theater an der Wien from 1802 and was later appointed to the same position at the Estates Theatre in Prague by Carl Maria von Weber. Beethoven had already heard the young virtuoso in 1794 and made a note of his appreciation in his notebook: "Dear Clement! Continue along the path that you have trodden so beautifully, so splendidly. Nature and art are competing to make you one of the greatest artists. Follow both, and you must not fear to reach the great - great goal that is possible for the artist. Be happy, dear boy, and come back soon so that I can hear your lovely, wonderful playing again. Your friend L. v. Beethoven."

The idea for the Violin Concerto op. 61 - in the key of D major, characteristic of the instrument - probably goes back to a benefit concert organized on 7 April 1805, at which not only Beethoven's Eroica was performed in its entirety in public for the first time, but Clement also presented his own respectable violin concerto (also in D major). The close, friendly relationship between composer and performer is reflected in Beethoven's handwritten, witty dedication "Concerto par Clemenza pour Clement primo Violino e direttore al theatro a vienne" (Concerto out of generosity for Clement ...). In the printed edition, however, he dedicated the work to his friend and librettist Stephan von Breuning; the piano version is dedicated to his wife Julie, the daughter of Beethoven's doctor, who died at the age of just 18.

There are also considerable musical differences between the manuscript version and the later publisher's edition, particularly in the solo part: The piece was written down in great haste within a few weeks and played by Clement prima vista, so to speak. Only afterwards did Beethoven return to the solo part for a detailed reworking. However, the formal structure remained untouched, which, particularly in the first movement with its abundance of thematic figures, has an almost symphonic scale of 535 bars and thus goes beyond the contemporary framework. The introductory, throbbing timpani motif is particularly striking (it is heard more than 70 times in total), as is the main theme played by the woodwinds, which determines the character of the entire movement with its lyrical gesture. The Larghetto, conceived as a romance, is shorter, while Beethoven presents the finale as a rondo in a lively 6/8 time signature and to a certain extent evokes the expressive world of his Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, written only a little later. Pastoralanticipates.

Incidentally, the violin concerto by Franz Clement mentioned above was recently released on CD (Sony) in a new recording with Mirijam Contzen (violin) and the WDR Symphony Orchestra under Reinhard Goebel.

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Link to the project homepage "52 x Beethoven"

According to Lucerne Festival, the campaign has raised a six-figure sum since August 12. In order to raise money with the #SolidarityForMusic campaign (SMZ message from 13.8.) to raise even more money, it will be extended until September 11.
 

The financial situation of the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich requires a rapid and substantial improvement, according to the city's press release. The association has therefore decided to change the legal form of the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich from an association to a public limited company. This would enable an increase in capital to be made in order to provide the orchestra with a financially secure future. This step was also announced in the City of Zurich's 2020-2023 cultural vision, published in June 2019.

The change in the legal form of the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich has prompted the City of Zurich to undertake a complete revision of the subsidy agreement. The new subsidy agreement replaces the previous agreement between the City of Zurich and the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich association dated March 2, 1988. The central contents of the previous subsidy agreement - its purpose, the support of the Zurich Symphony Orchestra (Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich), and the annual subsidy contribution of CHF 19,781,648 (as of 2020) - remain the same in the new subsidy agreement. The new subsidy agreement has a coherent structure and system, takes into account the current priorities and requirements of the City of Zurich with regard to subsidies in the cultural sector and is adapted to the new legal form of the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich.

The City Council requests the Municipal Council to approve the new subsidy agreement between the City of Zurich and the newly founded Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich AG for the time after the capital increase has been implemented. If the City Council agrees, the City of Zurich would like to acquire a stake in Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich AG in order to continue its current membership of the association in its new organizational form and to underline its commitment to the symphony orchestra. The plan is to acquire 2,500 registered shares with a nominal value of CHF 100 each, i.e. a total of CHF 250,000.