Various aspects of anxiety and fear, as well as how these emotions are dealt with in the contexts of art, education, and research, are illuminated by the Special section in this year’s first issue of mdw Magazine.
We deal with the question of how one can employ anxieties and fears in a targeted manner in artistic works—and/or confront them professionally when the point is to get over them. One contribution here focuses on how composers describe their use of music to evoke these emotions in films, while we also report on related music therapy work at the mdw as well as about the Psycho-Social Support Centre, which provides concrete help to students.
You can also read about how the mdw marked the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 2018 with a panel discussion entitled “Dignity – Freedom – Justice: Human Rights in the Context of Culture”.
In terms of music-related topics, we look back upon the successful collaboration between the mdw and Paris Conservatory, whose students our Webern Symphonie Orchester joined for a performance of Ein Deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms at the Dôme des Invalides. Another mdw formation that regularly presents its successful programmes on international tours is the WebernKammerchor—and just how such trips contribute to the artistic development of individual musicians and the entire choir is the topic of its own article. Furthermore, a photo series gives you a behind the scenes impression of the Directing Tutorial at Film Academy Vienna.
And finally, the research-focussed stories in this issue include an introduction to the mdw’s new publication server, which has been up and running since December and ensures the sustainable usability of scholarly publications at our institution.
With the hope that your 2019 is off to a great start, I wish you an enriching read!
