The musical aesthetic of Pau Casals and the role of music in peacebuilding are the two new projects awarded grants by the Pau Casals UNESCO Chair

Between mid-March and mid-May, a total of 26 research projects on Pau Casals were submitted to the Pau Casals Foundation and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) Pau Casals UNESCO Chair. The grants programme aimed at promoting research and knowledge about Casals' musical and humanistic legacy made a second call for applications this year. The proposals received included "The musical aesthetic of Pau Casals. Tradition and Modernity", by Magda Polo, and "The roles and functions of music in United Nations peacebuilding", by John Gledhill, which have been selected to receive grants of €2,000 each.

The call, which was open to students and researchers from all over the world, received a total of 26 very different proposals. They range from musicological projects on Casals' legacy to projects on the role of music in conflict prevention, or peacebuilding. The proposals came from 11 different countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Italy, Latvia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia and Spain); 4 came from Catalan universities and research centres, 11 from institutions elsewhere in Spain, and 11 were international.

The selection committee, made up of Joan Fuster-Sobrepere, Alfons Martinell, Bernard Meillat, Núria Ballester, Miguel Ángel Elizalde, Marc Gil, Pepe Reche and Jordi Pardo, emphasized the quality, excellence and interest of the proposals presented, and decided to award two grants for the projects: "The musical aesthetic of Pau Casals. Tradition and modernity", presented by Magda Polo, Professor of Aesthetics and Theory of the Arts and History of Music in the Department of History of Art at the University of Barcelona and "The roles and functions of music in United Nations peacebuilding", presented by John Gledhill, Associate Professor in the Department of International Development at the University of Oxford.

1.      "The musical aesthetic of Pau Casals. Tradition and modernity", by Magda Polo

The first beneficiary seeks to understand the fundamental beliefs and aesthetic values that guided the life and musical work of Pau Casals. She will carry out an exhaustive study of the impact of both many of the composers who are undoubted influences on his performances and works, and the currents of thought that ran through his life, from neopositivism to existentialism, including phenomenology. This project aims to fill a gap in the field of research on Pau Casals, and specifically, in his musical aesthetic both nationally and internationally.

2.      "The roles and functions of music in United Nations peacebuilding", by John Gledhill

The second project to have received a grant highlights the use of music as a tool for building peace by various actors in the United Nations (UN) system, including the Secretariat, peacekeeping missions, UNESCO and the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). To date, the ways in which UN actors have used music for peace have not yet been systematically documented, analysed and categorized.

This research project aims to fill this gap in our collective understanding by achieving two objectives:

-          Identifying which UN actors have used music to support peace, and then documenting the various programmes that these actors have carried out.

-          Analysing all the projects identified in order to isolate the mechanisms through which UN-supported music programmes could facilitate peace. This analysis aims to create a classification system that can be used to categorize the different UN music for peace projects according to their contributions to peacebuilding.

Annual research grants

The Pau Casals UNESCO Chair, in partnership with the Spanish Society of Performance Artists (AIE), offers a financial endowment of €2,000 for each project receiving a grant, as well as support from a committee of experts and access to Pau Casals' documentary collection in the National Archive of Catalonia, among other benefits.

In the first round of the grants, the two projects selected last year were "The evolution of international protection mechanisms for musicians: a historical perspective", presented by Laurence Cuny, and "From Festívola to the Prelude of El Pessebre. A first approach to the catalogue of Pablo Casals’ musical work from his sardanas", presented jointly by Anna Costal and Albert Fontelles.