Being a Salonnière: New Perspectives for Historically Informed Performance.

Within the framework of a salon gathering, Ivana's aim is to question present performance practices of 18th- and 19th-century music and to reconsider paradoxes of established historically informed practices, as well as explore their limitations and potentials. Using the cultural life of Dubrovnik [Croatia] as a groundwork, she is putting myself in a role of a 21st-century salonnière in order to both re-create salon performances of the past and curate current salon gatherings.

The chief outcome of this research will be current salon performances that are open to unexpected rituals and thus propose an alternative to established concert performances.

Unlike salons in other European cities, no relevant research has yet been conducted on musical salon gatherings in Dubrovnik. A vital aspect here is to contextualize Dubrovnik’s cultural life within the framework of the corresponding forces at work in Europe. Precisely because of its specific political position, wise cultural politic and a highly developed diplomatic network in the past, contacts were made with many European lands and capitals; from neighbouring Italian areas to Vienna, England, Germany, Russia etc. In recent times Dubrovnik has been recognized internationally as a city of extremely rich cultural heritage.

By identifying her historical counterparts, to be selected especially from Dubrovnik salonnières of the past, Ivana will trace the works they were performing, the instruments they could have used, the spaces where salon gatherings took place and these musicians' relation to local and European cultural circles of the time. This work will provide new knowledge on both the historical context and the performance practices of the past, as well as help select repertoire for performance.

By adopting the postmodern ideology of rejection of the canonized traditions, Ivana's artistic practice inclines above all towards a deconstruction of the standardized norms and conventions of performing in concert halls.

Experiments with materials (musical manuscripts and scores, archival documents and instruments) and environments (performance space and audiences) will open up a dialogue between present and past in order to answer the following questions: How can we enact historical knowledge within current performative frameworks and conditions? What are the possible roles of a 21st-century salonnière? How can she establish a new dynamism within the performance?