The Gothic Imagination

Exploring Dr. Joe Davies’s new book and masterclass on Franz Schubert

On Friday, April 12, 2024, the Department of Music hosted a masterclass and launch of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow Dr. Joe Davies’s book, The Gothic Imagination in the Music of Franz Schubert. The book offers a major new framework for understanding the gothic influences of Schubert's songs and instrumental music. It examines how his work blurs the lines between past and present, life and death and offers fresh ways of interpreting the gothic at the intersection of music, literature and the visual arts.

Davies led a masterclass with UC Irvine student pianists Isabella Cao and Kathryn Lau, complemented by opening remarks from Professor Nina Scolnik, drawn from her foreword to the book. The event celebrated research, student artistry and departmental collaboration.

“The Claire Trevor School of the Arts – with its emphasis on art as the essence of human expression – offered a rich environment for reflecting on what it means to launch a book – and on what a masterclass can be and do,” said Davies. “My vision was to develop a place for sharing, reflecting and listening together; for encouraging the students to discover their inner voices; and for embracing how to think, not what to think.”

The audience, including students and faculty, was captivated by the immersive experience, underscoring the depth and complexity of Schubert's compositions. The event was not only academic but also a space for creation.

“Davies guided student performers on a sensory journey through the gothic,” said Scolnik. “Macabre art images projected on a screen heightened Davies’ cross-disciplinary and layered discussion of the gothic while students relinquished the security of preconceived interpretations and entered into an organic process that invited them to locate and imagine how gothic inferences in the music might expand the expressive range of their playing.”

Image: (from left to right) Professor Nina Scolnik, Dr. Joe Davies, Kathryn Lau, Isabella Cao

Davies’ approach to the masterclass brought the book into dialogue with performance, pedagogy and public engagement, sparking new conversations across these domains. The masterclass provided students with an opportunity to deeply engage with the material, encouraging them to think critically about their interpretations.

“I was enthusiastic about the fact that one of the goals of the event was to teach students how to interpret music,” said Lau. “I had to think critically about each note and the process that led me to play a passage a certain way. This intricate level of thinking is extremely beneficial for a musician and enables a more holistic view of a musical piece. As this is my first Schubert piece that I have played professionally, it was an enlightening experience.”

Students also explored how the gothic elements explored in the book, like Schubert's graveyard settings and nocturnal imagery, could inform their musical interpretations.

“Musicology and performance came together in fascinating ways,” said Cao. “I had only a few Schubert pieces in my repertoire compared to other composers such as Chopin and Beethoven, but when I first heard the Andantino of the Piano Sonata in A Major D 959, I was struck by the portrayal of deep sorrow. It felt like a funeral, yet also transcendental.”

"Throughout Davies’ residency at UC Irvine, his passion for collaboration has consistently driven his projects, including the Clara Schumann Studies Book Launch, Women at the Piano: 1848–1970 International Conference and most recently, Finding A Voice," said Scolnik. "However, Davies aspires to go beyond collaboration. He is dedicated to dismantling barriers between traditionally siloed disciplines and fostering new and expansive conversations."

To learn more about Davies’ new book, watch him in conversation with Professor Scolnik here.