Focus − Teaching Music History. Universities, Conservatoires and Schools

On 30 October 2024, SagGEM – the music education group of the association «Il Saggiatore Musicale» – will devote its annual meeting to the topic of “Teaching Music History: Universities, Conservatories, Schools”. Held at the auditorium of the Opificio Golinelli in Bologna, the meeting featured speakers Luca Aversano, Lorenzo Bianconi, Michele Calella, Donatella Restani and Alessandro Roccatagliati, as well as discussants Antonio Caroccia and Luisa La Guardia. Juan José Carreras’s introduction, On the Necessity of Music Historiography, drew attention to a crucial issue: while music historiography has been in a state of perpetual crisis since the 1970s as part of a broader reflection on history and the humanities, this very crisis reinforces the need to reaffirm the value of history, historical consciousness, and the pursuit of new historiographical approaches and communication strategies. Luca Aversano, President of the Association of Italian University Music Teachers, echoed this sentiment in his contribution, Legitimising the Teaching of Music History in the Contemporary World: the Role of Universities, reiterating the urgent need to foster a genuine and deep interest in music history among younger generations. The issues at hand were addressed from different institutional perspectives, with contributions from schools, conservatoires, and universities. We are grateful to the authors who have made their texts available and we present here the work of Lorenzo Bianconi, Michele Calella, Donatella Restani and Alessandro Roccatagliati, together with short contributions from Antonio Caroccia and Luisa La Guardia.