HomeMusic and urban sociability in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Europe
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Published on Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Abstract

The city is a privileged field for encounters between historians and musicologists. The work of recent decades has seen a significant renewal, particularly with regard to the Modern Age, during which music became a central component of the urban experience. The diversification of themes is the key ingredient to this renewal. Institutional studies have given way to more complex approaches that combine artistic, social, political, cultural and economic issues to show how music was negotiated in urban contexts. Through the central theme of urban sociability and an unusual periodization, this workshop aims to highlight the original work of emerging scholars in which the spatial issues of urban musical practices are predominant, in order to compare sources, methods and questions.

Announcement

Journée d’étude « Musique et sociabilités urbaines fin XVIIIe-début XIXe siècles : nouvelles méthodes, nouvelles perspectives » Journée d’étude organisée par Mikko Saira (University of Turku, Finland) et Thierry Favier (Université de Poitiers) avec la collaboration de Katharine Ellis (Cambridge University) Contributions de dix chercheurs émergents, doctorants ou jeunes docteurs venus d’Europe et des États-Unis. Financement Institut Universitaire de France et Laboratoire Criham Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires en Histoire, Histoire de l’Art et Musicologie - UR 15507

Programme

Lundi 4 mai 2026 – 9h / 18h

9 :00 – Accueil

9 :30 – Thierry Favier Introduction

9 :45 – 11 :30

  • Mikko Saira (University of Turku) Musical life in Turku and the circulation of music 1790–1840 : Challenging previous research and methods

Respondent : Paul Ailleret

  • Mateusz Pawel Kawa (Universität Mozarteum Salzburg) “So Many Asses and So many Virtuosi” : Urban Musical Sociability in Correspondence of Chopin and his circle

Respondent : Damián Martin Gil

  • Paul Ailleret (Université de Poitiers) A survey of concerts in the capital : Venues for symphony concerts in Paris in the late 18th century

Respondent : Mary Kirchdorfer

11 :30 – Pause

11h :45 – 13 :00

  • Clare Beesley (Utrecht University) Performing childhood : examining the performance of child-adult relationships in the repertoire of the British eighteenth-century prodigy Marianne Davies (c1743/4-buried 1814) and the music and poetry her performances inspired

Respondent : Jan Temme de Vries

  • Nadav Ovadia (CNSMD Lyon, HfMT Hamburg) The Pantaleon Beyond the Court : George Noëlli’s Career Pursuits and Networks in the Beau Monde

Respondent : Mateusz Pawel Kawa

Après-midi

14 :30 – 16 :15

  • Mary Kirchdorfer (Universität Wien) Uncovering the Roles of Women in Viennese Concert Life 1780–1830

Respondent : Clare Beesley

  • Jan Temme de Vries (Universität Basel) Scientific Revolution and Divine Revelation : The Theological Use of the Night Sky in Devotional Music in Copenhagen, 1770–1799

Respondent : Peter Koch Gehlshøj

  • Damián Martin Gil (Université de Poitiers, Conservatorio Profesional de Cáceres) : The guitar in the city : the example of Paris at the end of the Ancien Régime

Respondent : Peter Kohanski

16 :15 – Pause

16 :30 – 17 :45

  • Peter Koch Gehlshøj (University of Copenhagen) “Not Merely for Pleasure” : Satire and Censorship in 18th-Century Copenhagen’s Music Theatre

Respondent : Mikko Saira

  • Peter Kohanski (University of North Texas) Musical Sociability and Anglo-American Masculinity in Colonial Philadelphia

Respondent : Nadav Ovadia

17 :45 : Katharine Ellis (Cambridge University)

Conclusions

Illustration : De Bully ( ?), Intérieur d’une salle de spectacle du XVIIIe siècle lors de l’entracte, dessin à la plume et à l’aquarelle.

Informations complémentaires

En présentiel à Poitiers et en visioconférence (sur inscription)

Contact et inscription (pour la visioconférence)

Thierry Favier thierry.favier@univ-poitiers.fr

Places

  • Bâtiment E08 Salle 2 Rez-de-jardin - Pavillon Universitaire Musique et Danse 15 rue Guillaume VII le Troubadour
    Poitiers, France (86)

Event attendance modalities

Hybrid event (on site and online)


Date(s)

  • Monday, May 04, 2026

Keywords

  • musique, sociabilité, europe, opéra, concert, histoire, musicologie, lumières

Contact(s)

  • Mikko SAIRA
    courriel : mivasa [at] utu [dot] fi

Information source

  • Thierry FAVIER
    courriel : thierry [dot] favier [at] univ-poitiers [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Music and urban sociability in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Europe », Study days, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, https://doi.org/10.58079/165ep

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