Images of Russian Otherness in France and the Iberian Peninsula at the Turn of the 20th Century

PEst-OE/EAT/UI0693/2014If collective identity seems predicated on the distinction between “self” and “other”, the notion often entails a further dichotomy, that of “positive” and “negative” otherness. This dichotomy was recast by Debussy in terms of the opposition between the “savage” and the “barbarian” – an opposition with roots in Schiller’sLetters on the Aesthetic Education of Man, an early account of the malaise inherent in the experience of modernity. The stage was thus set for the conquest of Paris by the “noble savages” of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes from 1909 onwards, as the embodiment of a regenerative Slavic energy in an age of global decadence. Through the alliance of the aesthete and the savage, a decisive impetus was given to the resurgence of the “primitive” and its gradual assimilation into modernism. In the Iberian Peninsula, in turn, the Russian “other” was increasingly perceived as a “model self” worthy of emulation, as part of the quest for a viable expression of Spanish and Portuguese identities. The examples set by Glinka, the “Five” and Stravinsky (themselves occasionally drawn to Spanish local colour) became the object of unprecedented scrutiny, as potential templates for the fruitful exploration of the national element in music, reinforced by the belief in a natural affinity between Russian and Iberian sensibilities. In this paper, I offer a discussion of French and Iberian discourses on Russian alterity, with a focus on the ideas of Debussy, Felipe Pedrell, Manuel de Falla and Luís de Freitas Branco, as reflected in their writings and compositional practices. This study deals with representations of Russian otherness in France and the Iberian Peninsula at the turn of the 20th century. The spread of Russian music in the West was driven by the omnivorous taste for the exotic characteristic of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie of the second half of the 19th century. Further on, the Franco-Russian political and military alliance was to act as a powerful catalyst for French Russophilia. The case of Spain and Portugal is particularly relevant, because the Iberian Peninsula in many ways appears to mirror Russia’s location at the edge of the European continent, in more than a merely geographical sense. Special attention is paid to the Portuguese composer Luís de Freitas Branco and his Suite Alentejana. This work can serve as a curious document of the circuitous nature of musical nationalism, by showing how an identity could, on occasion, travel all the way from Iberia to Russia, returning, so to speak, by the back door.publishersversionpublishe

Composer-Critics in Portugal (1930-1955)

UID/EAT/00693/2013Music criticism in Portugal from the 1930s to the mid-1950s was dominated, to a large extent, by composer-critics Luís de Freitas Branco (1890-1955) and Fernando Lopes-Graça (1906-1994), the latter an ex-pupil of the former. The two composers were close associates in a number of publications, from the journal De Música to the much later Gazeta Musical. In the pages of these and other periodicals, Freitas Branco and Lopes-Graça could often be seen to express similar beliefs in their common role as catalysts of Portuguese musical life. There were also political affinities between them: although a monarchist formerly associated with Integralismo Lusitano, Freitas Branco veered towards a more left-wing position in the 1930s, whereas LopesGraça became actively involved in the political opposition, eventually becoming a member of the Portuguese Communist Party. There were also differences between Freitas Branco and Lopes-Graça in aesthetic and cultural-political matters, as shown in a number of articles in which Lopes-Graça dared to challenge some of the most dogmatic views of the elder composer, with regard to the alleged rationality of polyphony and counterpoint as opposed to harmony, the value of racialist thinking in art, or the existence of a true organic tradition in Portuguese music. These controversies reflect wider debates in the Portuguese intellectual context, spurred by conflicting conceptions of modernism, national identity and the social role of the artist, as well as by the metamorphoses of the idea of “classicism” throughout the 1930s and 40s. In this paper, I trace a number of continuities and discontinuities in the critical production of Freitas Branco and Lopes-Graça, drawing on a selection of texts. In particular, it will be my purpose to analyse the textual and rhetorical strategies used by Lopes-Graça in his more polemical writings, testimony to an ‘anxiety of influence’ towards Freitas Branco that would also find a counterpart in his own work as a composer.publishersversionpublishe

Políticas da interpretação no teatro de ópera

PEst-OE/EAT/UI0693/2014De que falamos quando falamos de políticas da interpretação no teatro de ópera? Entre outras coisas, do próprio alcance do conceito de interpretação, e portanto, de um conjunto de questões de que a filosofia se tem ocupado no âmbito da teoria hermenêutica: o lugar ontológico do sentido, a tensão entre reprodução e emergência do significado, a pretensa autoridade do autor, as miragens da fidelidade ao texto, a margem de arbitrariedade permitida ao intérprete, a atitude do “recetor” (designação, aliás, sumamente equívoca, assente num dualismo questionável). Podemos hoje subscrever o anátema lançado sobre (quase toda) a interpretação por Susan Sontag num texto célebre? Ou estamos inevitavelmente condenados, enquanto agentes culturais, à interpretação, senão mesmo aos excessos da sobre-interpretação? Os debates neste domínio estendem-se, na teoria como na prática, aos palcos do teatro de ópera, sobretudo no quadro das transformações dos critérios interpretativos musicais e da renovação das linguagens teatrais nas últimas décadas – naquilo em que alguns veem, euforicamente, uma reinvenção da ópera como espetáculo total, e outros, uma demonstração do niilismo pós-moderno. Quais as potencialidades e os limites de algumas das tendências atualmente em confronto, e quais as suas implicações no presente contexto politico-cultural, é o tema sobre o qual propomos uma reflexão.publishersversionpublishe

Verdi, Wagner e o teatro das nações

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O papel do Itamaraty na definição da política externa do governo Collor de Mello

O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar o papel do Ministério das Relações Exteriores na política externa do governo Collor, relação comumente observada como frágil. Argumenta-se que, em vez de marginalizar o Itamaraty, o presidente reconfigurou a chancelaria, tanto em termos de seus decisores principais quanto em termos administrativos. A consequência foi o estabelecimento de uma política externa de feições mais liberais - um americanismo mitigado - em sintonia com os objetivos tradicionais das relações exteriores do Brasil

NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data

Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, ventilation management, and outcomes in invasively ventilated intensive care unit patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome: a pooled analysis of four observational studies

Background: Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, the practice of ventilation, and outcome in invasively ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remain unexplored. In this analysis we aim to address these gaps using individual patient data of four large observational studies. Methods: In this pooled analysis we harmonised individual patient data from the ERICC, LUNG SAFE, PRoVENT, and PRoVENT-iMiC prospective observational studies, which were conducted from June, 2011, to December, 2018, in 534 ICUs in 54 countries. We used the 2016 World Bank classification to define two geoeconomic regions: middle-income countries (MICs) and high-income countries (HICs). ARDS was defined according to the Berlin criteria. Descriptive statistics were used to compare patients in MICs versus HICs. The primary outcome was the use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) for the first 3 days of mechanical ventilation. Secondary outcomes were key ventilation parameters (tidal volume size, positive end-expiratory pressure, fraction of inspired oxygen, peak pressure, plateau pressure, driving pressure, and respiratory rate), patient characteristics, the risk for and actual development of acute respiratory distress syndrome after the first day of ventilation, duration of ventilation, ICU length of stay, and ICU mortality. Findings: Of the 7608 patients included in the original studies, this analysis included 3852 patients without ARDS, of whom 2345 were from MICs and 1507 were from HICs. Patients in MICs were younger, shorter and with a slightly lower body-mass index, more often had diabetes and active cancer, but less often chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure than patients from HICs. Sequential organ failure assessment scores were similar in MICs and HICs. Use of LTVV in MICs and HICs was comparable (42·4% vs 44·2%; absolute difference -1·69 [-9·58 to 6·11] p=0·67; data available in 3174 [82%] of 3852 patients). The median applied positive end expiratory pressure was lower in MICs than in HICs (5 [IQR 5-8] vs 6 [5-8] cm H2O; p=0·0011). ICU mortality was higher in MICs than in HICs (30·5% vs 19·9%; p=0·0004; adjusted effect 16·41% [95% CI 9·52-23·52]; p<0·0001) and was inversely associated with gross domestic product (adjusted odds ratio for a US$10 000 increase per capita 0·80 [95% CI 0·75-0·86]; p<0·0001). Interpretation: Despite similar disease severity and ventilation management, ICU mortality in patients without ARDS is higher in MICs than in HICs, with a strong association with country-level economic status