On Frau Musica Nova (FMN)

JWCM(Japanese Women Composers Meeting) is hosting another event of “KIKULAB online” on Saturday, May 1, 2021, after about a year since the last event. For this event, we are having Brigitta Muntendorf as a guest. I interviewed her in advance of the event. (Yukiko Watanabe, composer and director of JWCM)

jwcm presents
KIKULAB online #5 「Frau Musica Nova」
1 May (Sat)
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7PM in Tokyo
12 Noon in Berlin
11 AM in London
*6AM in NY
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Guest: Brigitta Muntendorf
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Translation (Eng, Jp):
Noriaki Mori, Kiyo Kamisawa

Admission:
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jwcm - Brigitta Muntendorf & FMN

(Video from FMN20, performance by Ensemble Garage.)

Yukiko Watanabe (YW): I got to know the activities of Frau Musica Nova when I was living in Germany. The first time I heard of it, I remember it was through Ensemble Garage, which you co-founded. Could you tell me what kind of activities Frau Musica Nova does?

Brigitta Muntendorf (BM): There are a few ways in which I talk about Frau Musica Nova, but I wonder where would be a good place to start. For example, through the programs in this project, we are exploring the boundaries between contemporary Western classical music, experimental music, and pop culture. Frau Musica Nova originally started as a project for women composers, but recently, it is open for every gender that exists in the world.

YW: You mean it is not only for women. There was a discussion similar to that at JWCM, too. That it’s not something that can be categorized easily to two groups, women and men.

BF: Yes. It is a common topic discussed in Germany as well. However, it is only a recent development, as the climate was completely different 15 years ago. 15 years ago, it was very important that it was “specifically for women.” Yet, as the conversation around gender gradually changed, now it is becoming more standard to include the spectrum of LGBTQIAP+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Pansexual).

YW: In Japan, I can also sense the change of zeitgeist. Yet, in the field of contemporary Western classical music, I think the environment is still the same as that of Germany 15 years ago. I am really curious how Germany, or Frau Musica Nova, made progress in these 15 years.

I recall, a few years ago, there was a research project called “GRID” in Darmstadt, wasn’t there? Since then, I have an impression that this gender issue has been brought up often. In fact, there was also a movement to make the ratio of participants’ gender a 50/50.

GRID

BF: In the university where I teach, even now the student body consists of ⅓ women and ⅔ men. I think it is a problem. However, support for women composers is surely increasing, as seen in their increasing appearances in festivals and grants. At the same time, interestingly, according to the research by Deutscher Musikrat, income of a woman composer is on average 30-40% less than that of a male composer. This means, while opportunities for women composers are expanding, women composers are paid less than male composers for a composition commission fee.

BF: In the university where I teach, even now the student body consists of ⅓ women and ⅔ men. I think it is a problem. However, support for women composers is surely increasing, as seen in their increasing appearances in festivals and grants. At the same time, interestingly, according to the research by Deutscher Musikrat, income of a woman composer is on average 30-40% less than that of a male composer. This means, while opportunities for women composers are expanding, women composers are paid less than male composers for a composition commission fee.As I mentioned earlier, the environment surrounding women composers is, overall, improving. That being said, it is not yet 50/50 at all. Recently there was also a problem at ZKM (Center for Arts and Media Karlsruhe) and all the related events got cancelled. In summary, what I’m saying is, issues around gender are getting a great deal of attention, yet they are far from achieving complete equity.

At Frau Musica Nova, however, that is not the purpose. In fact, I don’t feel that making the men-women ratio equal is the absolute necessity.

Neue-Musik-Diskussion ohne Frauen: ZKM muss Veranstaltung überarbeiten

YW: Speaking of the ratio of male/female students at the university, how about the ratio among the faculty members within the music school?

BF: The number of women faculty is relatively low in Germany too, but it is gradually becoming more. If I think back to the time when I was a college student, the only woman faculty was Younghi Pagh-Paan, but now there are a few more. I cannot say for sure, but about 20-25% of the faculty members.

YW: Still, as music schools in Germany in general, their general direction is “let’s hire more women faculty members,” is it?

BF: Yes, I think so. How about in Japan?

YW: Let’s see. In Japan, while there are many female college students, the number of women faculty members is extremely low. There are women in the faculty, but it is still definitely a male-dominant field. In addition, the research about gender inequality in Japan, both in academia and in general, is not as active as in Germany. So partially, the situation is kept invisible.

BF: Why do you think there are so few women professors? What are the causes?

YW: I think part of it is simply coming from the stereotype of a professor being a male. Another big reason I think is perhaps the way the profession works. It’s difficult to have a job with inflexible time assignments while raising a child, I think.

Brigitta Muntendorf
The German-Austrian composer Brigitta Muntendorf creates music that exists at the intersection of various art forms and modes of expression, a web of multi-layered references and connections. She established the concept of social composing, believes in media sensuality and collaborative forms of production such as the community of practice. Since 2017 Brigitta Muntendorf has been Professor of Composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Cologne.
https://www.brigitta-muntendorf.de/

Frau Musica Nova
FMN (FRAU MUSICA NOVA) presents forward-looking composers, performers and interpreters whose artistic language evokes a confrontation with the present and the contemporary. The focus is on an experimental approach to music and its interaction with media, performance and theatricality. FMN explores boundaries, continuously expands the spectrum of transmedial productions and advocates overcoming the boundaries of genre and gender. In addition, FMN stands for the opening of the genre „contemporary music festival“ towards an open encounter platform of the arts.
https://www.fmn-space.de/