Recent achievements highlight music theory's expanding scope and influence.
At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Prof. Yoel Greenberg has been awarded a €2 million European Research Council grant for his project, Toward a Diachronic Music Theory. This research shifts the focus from static temporal frameworks to the processes driving stylistic change over time. By analyzing thousands of musical works composed between 1680 and 1829, Greenberg aims to uncover patterns in forms, phrase structures, cadences, and recurring motifs that shaped musical evolution. His work provides a dynamic framework for reexamining music theory methodologies in the digital age and deepens our understanding of historical styles.
In Portugal, the European Research Council has awarded the University of Coimbra a five-year, €2.5 million grant to establish a research cluster in music theory and analysis. Funded by the biennial program of ERA-Chair, the music research cluster named MusicAnalítica will be co-administered by José Oliveira Martins, who directs U. Coimbra's Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, and Richard Cohn, who will serve a five-year term as Holder of the European Research Area Chair. In consultation with an international board of music scholars, Cohn will oversee the appointment of three permanent faculty positions at Coimbra, as well as term-limited senior and post-doctoral research positions, and funding for three PhD candidates. Positions to be filled in 2026 will seek to build a research team capable of approaching music-theoretic and analytic topics from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including cognitive neuroscience and music perception, the history of music theory, mathematical and computational music theory, and anthropological and analytical approaches to world music.
These initiatives illustrate the growing recognition and support for the field of music theory on a global scale. The significant competitive funding and institutional backing devoted to these projects underscore the world’s interest in advancing the discipline. This marks an exciting moment for music theory as it gains prominence and resources. The achievements of Greenberg, Martins, and Cohn are not just individual milestones but evidence of music theory’s vitality and relevance in today's academic landscape.