Topics and Hispanic music: 18th–21st centuries

In recent years the analysis of topics has established itself as one of the most attractive methodological proposals for the study of musical signification. Recent bibliography (Sheinberg 2012; Panos et al. 2013; Mirka 2014, Plesch 2017) reveals the practical capacity of Topic Theory to extrapolate the overcoming of purely descriptive analytical visions to repertoires after the original European classical-romantic canon. The scope of study is extended now: chronologically, towards Baroque and the present time; culturally, towards different environments from the Austro-German, Italian and French traditions, including Latin America. Nevertheless, the ambiguity of “topic” concept has led to its use as an analytical tool occasionally becoming a more mentioned than understood resource. It has become a catch-all to lump together disparate realities and in some cases without the necessary methodological rigor. The aim of the International Conference “Topics in Hispanic music: 18th-21st centuries” is to invite the musicological community to show and discuss their proposals for the application of the Topic Theory and its derivations to Spanish and Latin American music, from the eighteenth century to the present.