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Nuno Bettencourt
Modernism and modernity in Portuguese music of the first half of the twentieth century: interdisciplinary approaches to the role and eclectic work of Luis de Freitas Branco (1890-19955)
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PhD Full-time |
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Prof. Nicholas Cook |
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Abstract
With my research I intend
i) To describe and discuss the musical eclecticism of Luis de Freitas Branco in historical, analytical, performative and aesthetical/cultural terms;
ii) To investigate and to theorize critically the many pioneering ways through which he contributed to the creation of musicology in Portugal;
iii) To show how his music, artistic interests, social concerns, and professional endeavour contributed to the nationally and locally specific nature of Portuguese modernism and modernity.
Here's a provisional dissertation plan: an introduction (including a sketch of a biography of Freitas Branco), followed by eight chapters, a conclusion and an afterword (plus all the necessary appendixes). The first six chapters will be interdisciplinary case studies, organized according to specific periodizations and categories, and covering a wide range of genres; the seventh chapter will discuss Branco’s contributions to the establishment of musicology in Portugal, and the eighth will explore thoroughly his role as a music/art modernist as well as an extraordinary musical modernizer. This last chapter will synthesize the issues discussed in the previous chapters through consideration of the distinctive features and trends of Portuguese modernism and modernity.