Symposium Composition & Crisis

5-7 March 2027

Gustav Mahler University for Music Klagenfurt, Austria

There are numerous ways to interpret the relationship between the terms’ composition’ and ‘crisis’. These two terms could be understood as having an antagonistic relationship, existing in a dichotomy, or as being an amalgamation to one another. As concepts, they can also relate to one another in a productive, mutually enriching manner. Prepositions and conjunctions serve to effectively illustrate the diverse connections between the terms: composition and crisis, composition or crisis, composition as crisis, composition in crisis, crisis in composition, composition through crisis, composition deriving from a crisis, composition moving to the crisis, composition between crises, composition during the crisis, or simply composition | crisis—with the void, the interspace, the gap between the two terms.

Perspectives on composition and crisis highlight the deeply personal, self-reflective struggles composers face. The act of composition is not merely a technical or aesthetic endeavour but often an existential confrontation with one’s artistic identity, purpose, and creative methodology. The proposed introspective and analytical approach suggests that crisis is not just an external force acting upon the composer but something that arises internally—the product of critical reflexion that fuels artistic growth and transformation. The process of questioning becomes a means of navigating doubt, self-criticism, and the search for meaning in one’s own work.

These fundamental questions illuminate the existential nature of the compositional process, positioning it as a continuous and critical act of reflection. The following questions unpack different aspects of this process:

1) Why do I compose? What are the existential motivations and driving forces behind artistic creation, and how do these exist within a situation of crisis?

2) What do I compose? How does the compositional approach examine and create a personal artistic language, and how does its content relate to or express situations of crisis?

3) How do I compose? How do the methods, techniques, values, and creative strategies change and develop within situations of aesthetic, personal, and paradigm-shifting societal crises?

4) For whom do I compose? How do the intended audience, reception, and relationship between composer and listener exist within a situation of crisis?

5) Who am I when I compose? How does the shifting identity of the composer create or mirror a situation of personal crisis in the act of composition?

6) What occurs within me during the act of composing? How do the emotional, psychological, and physiological states affect, impact, and inform the compositional process?

7) Is what I create good? How might individual artistic ambitions and struggles with self-doubt and validation create a situation of crisis, and how can this be productively instrumentalized?

8) Should I stop composing? What are the factors that influence one’s decision to capitulate and stop composing?

This symposium seeks to provide a multi-perspective view of composition and crisis.

Composers, performers, artistic researchers, musicologists, artists, philosophers, psychologists, cultural theorists, art critics, economists, and sociologists are invited to submit proposals on all topics related to composition and crisis.

The following formats may be submitted until 15 September 2026:

⁃ Papers (20 minutes + 10 minutes discussion)

⁃ Papers with extended sound examples (30 minutes + 10 minutes discussion)

⁃ Lecture Recitals (30 minutes + 10 minutes discussion)

⁃ Panels with 3-4 papers (90-120 minutes)

⁃ Discussion panels with 3-4 participants (45-90 minutes)

Prospective applicants are invited to submit an abstract (max. 250 words, including five keywords), a short biography (max. 100 words), and their contact details to hakan.ulus@gmpu.ac.at. A confirmation of receipt will be provided. Presentations may be delivered in either German or English.

Applicants will be notified about acceptance by 15 October 2026.

A publication featuring selected papers is planned for release.

For any inquiries, please contact Prof. Dr. Hakan Ulus (hakan.ulus@gmpu.ac.at).