Elementary and complex
The 19th Central German Music Theory Conference in March at the Goethe National Museum
The elementary and the complex form a field of tension in which art and education meet. This connection will be the subject of the 19th Central German Music Theory Conference on Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21, at the Goethe National Museum in Weimar. In addition, the disciplines of music theory and aural training will be brought together in the usual manner at the conference, which this year will also be attended by Dutch guests from the Maastricht Conservatory.
“Explaining difficult things in a simple way – that is a basic idea of teaching,” says conference director Jörn Arnecke. “Formulating profound ideas in a way that is easy to understand musically – this is a requirement in composing,” adds the professor of music theory, aural training, and historical composition at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar, who himself enjoys nationwide success as a composer – most recently with the new production of “Der Eisblumenwald” at the Theater Vorpommern and the revival of his family opera “Ronja Räubertochter” at the Aalto Theater Essen.
The conference topics are given local roots through research on the composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel, who worked as court conductor in Weimar from 1819. Among others, Jens Marggraf (Halle) will speak on “Areas of tension in Hummel's Third Piano Concerto,” and Marcus Aydintan (Weimar) will shed light on Hummel's style in his lecture “Figuration and Improvisation.” In the field of education, the “Music Education Working Group” of the Society for Music Theory (GMTH) will organize a theme-related panel.
Yuri Matsuzaki (flute), winner of the Karlsruhe International Competition for Contemporary Music, will be the guest speaker for a “concert lecture” on the topic of “complexism.” Furthermore, contemporary solo concerts and various trends in popular music will be examined from an academic perspective. In this context, Franz Kaern-Biederstedt (Leipzig) will give a lecture on “Manifestations of Anti-Virtuosity” and Johanna Koerrenz (Weimar/Jena) will examine “Rhythm Design in Pop Music.”
Cooperation partners for the conference are the Center for Music Theory at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar, the Composition/Music Theory Department at the University of Music and Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig, and the Department of Music at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in cooperation with the GMTH.
“We want to offer a forum where many music enthusiasts can meet and students from various universities and members of the Society for Music Theory can come together,” explains Prof. Jörn Arnecke.
Registration for the conference is open until March 15 at: institutmuwi(at)hfm-weimar.de
[23 February 2026]