Bach in Italy, 22–28 November 2020

Abstract

T he international conference “Bach and Italy” took place in a digital format from 22 to 28 November 2020. It was coorganized by the Association JSBach.it, founded by Maria Borghesi and myself, by the Conservatory “G. Verdi” of Turin, and by the Istituto per i Beni Musicali in Piemonte, a research institution for the promotion of the musical heritage of Piedmont. The conference committee included Kenneth L. Hamilton (Cardiff University), Michael Heinemann (Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber, Dresden), Stefano Leoni (Conservatory “G. Verdi” of Turin), Michael Maul (Bach Festival and Bach-Archiv Leipzig), Ruth Tatlow (Uppsala University and Bach Network), and Yo Tomita (Queen’s University Belfast and Bach Network), along with Maria Borghesi and myself, representing JSBach.it. The Covid-19 situation led us to consider various options for restructuring an event that had originally been planned in a traditional form. After much pondering, we decided to broadcast the conference on our social media channels, to make it available at no charge, and to maintain an archive of all videos, which will constitute a repository of research, knowledge, and music for all those interested in Bach. Moreover, we decided to extend the conference’s duration from the initial three days to an entire week, in order for the sessions and other events to be more temporally distanced, and thus to allow the audience more time to enjoy the rich program. The result exceeded our expectations in many respects. The artistic and scholarly level of the presentations, roundtables, keynotes, and concerts was very high. Moreover, following the presentations in each session, debate was encouraged by the chairs, and it involved both the session’s speakers (who were virtually gathered in a “room” provided by a videoconference platform) and the audience following the session on social media. Listeners were invited to interact by writing their questions and comments in the social media chat, and this resulted in long and fruitful discussions, frequently longer than one hour. Thus, one of the most important aspects of scholarly gatherings, that is, the discussion and interaction, was not sacrificed due to the need for social distancing. Another unexpected result was that speakers, audience, and BACH: Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute, Vol. 52, No. 1, 2021 Copyright © 2021 Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, OH