Ben Swartz, DAAD Grant, 2013–2014

“I arrived in Baltimore as a wayward double-degree-er at Hopkins (BA/MA, history) and Peabody (BMus, cello), and I decamped four years later – admittedly, no less wayward – with a hunger to set sail for Europe to learn Western art music in its natural habitat. Based on the northern edge of the Schwarzwald in the small village of Karlsruhe-Durlach, my year as a DAAD-Stipendiat was the capstone of an extended tour of Western Europe: first, living for a period as a JHU Woodrow Wilson Fellow in Amsterdam, Holland, studying the historically-informed performance practice of J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites with legendary cellists Anner Bijlsma and Pieter Wispelweij; and, next, a term of postgraduate study at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Conducted outside of an academic environment and without seeking any formal degree, my research in Germany dealt with parallels between 16th- and 20th-century applications of proportional ratio systems of extended Just Intonation (a form of microtonal theory & practice). What I relished most was the time to study what I wanted, at the pace at which I wished to study it, and (in my case) outside of any formal academic context. When not researching music theory or hiking the Schwarzwald (the “Black Forest” of Brothers Grimm fame), I used my European residence as a springboard to travel widely and thoroughly – to Turkey, Iceland, Singapore, and far beyond.

What became easier over time was taming the Schwäbschedeutschedialekt (the local Swabian dialect spoken in Baden-Württemberg), as well as the German language’s notorious canon of compound words – for example, Handschuhschneeballwerfer (a coward, literally “mittens-snowball-thrower”) or Fremdschämen (to feel ashamed on behalf of someone else). Without reservation, I whole-heartedly recommend foreign study to all students – particularly to musicians – and I remain grateful to the Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst and the taxpayers of Germany for generously supporting my time there.”