The reception history of Norwegian composer Trond Reinholdtsen’s publicly funded, music-theatrical piano concerto Theory of the Subject (2016; hereafter Theory) shows how the artistic outcomes of a society choosing to free artists economically can conflict with a neoliberal governing rationality that seeks to economize everything. Integrating elements of concerto, performance art, art theory, installation, live video, and political commentary, Theory offers an institutional critique aimed not solely at the New Music institutions it inhabits but more broadly at the world which creates the conditions for the failures of these institutions. Theory’s theatrical narrative is the story of New Music piano soloist Ellen Ugelvik’s struggle (and failure) to play truly new and socially transformative music within a neoliberal world. The work’s ridicule by the right-leaning Norwegian Facebook group “Sløseriombudsmannen” and its inclusion in Morten Traavik’s theatrical production Sløserikommisjonen (2021) propelled Theory into the heart of polarizing debates concerning the role and value of publicly funded art in Norway. Through its role in this debate, Theory expanded the typical political scope of New Music, demonstrating public art’s capacity for powerful societal introspection.

 

About the Speaker: Emerson Voss is an intermedia composer whose work transports participants to dramatized recreations of small everyday moments. He uses combinations of music and field recordings, video and lighting, performance and narrative, as well as site-specificity and audience interactivity to plunder these moments’ emotional depths, expose their intimacies, and elevate their meanings within our lives. These installations have premiered internationally, most recently in Oslo, Norway and will be shown in Novi Sad, Serbia early next month. His scholarly research on Norwegian public arts funding has been presented internationally, most recently in Seoul, South Korea. He received a PhD in music composition and theory from Pitt. He is on the music faculties at Pitt and Duquesne University teaching classes on electronic music, sight-singing, and music theory. He is originally from Raleigh, North Carolina and moved to Pittsburgh in 2018.