Karina Zybina

Short presentation

I’m a musicologist working across the field of reception studies. In my current project, I explore the posthumous histories of W.A. Mozart’s opera fragments. I am also active as a teacher, writer, and organizer.

Biography

It’s a great honor for me to be a part of the Department of Musicology at Uppsala University. Since July 2023, the Department has been hosting my research project COIN (Complete Incompleteness: The posthumous histories of Mozart's opera fragments), which was funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet). Here, I’d like to introduce myself using as a template a series of questions I’m normally bombarded with.

Where are you from?

That’s the tricky question. I was born in one of the biggest metropoles in the World: Moscow. There, I went a few steps towards being a musicologist. Then, a desire for a varied field of vision brought me to Switzerland and after that – to Austria, where I’ve spent a significant part of my life. Russia is always in my heart. But I already established an intimate connection with Austria. So where am I from? I don’t know…

What is your area of research?

That’s another difficult question. The title of my research project creates the impression that I’m studying the music of the most famous Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. No, I’m not a Mozart specialist. I’m rather interested in the reception of his music, using it as an effective research instrument for exploring changes and trends in the world after the composer’s death.

In my current project, I focus on the reception of his opera fragments tracing their “ghostly shapes” that loom out of the fog of history. Traveling from one archive collection to another, I hunt after unknown or forgotten completions of these incomplete works. I then analyze and compare them, trying to understand the reasons behind different approaches towards the same initial materials. I also observe them from an artistic perspective bringing them to performance and gaining artistic feedback.

Here is the list of research fields I work in currently:

• theatre and opera studies;
• librettology;
• migration studies;
• performance studies;
• artistic research;
• studies of soundscape.

What other types of activities are you involved in?

Oh, lots of! Firstly, I’m a teacher. I work at Salzburg University teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. I really like to spark inspiration for studying music in my students!

Secondly, I’m a writer. I compose original texts about music for non-experts and music lovers. It’s such a joy sharing the knowledge with people outside the academia! You can find my recent article here.

Thirdly, I’m an organizer. I create connections between people, bring them together, and initiate animated discussions. In 2024, I ran a small workshop at Uppsala University dedicated to opera in Mozart's time and its role in the modern world. 'Mozart's opera fragments then and now!' Download the booklet here!

Last but not least, I am an amateur video maker. Most of my university courses are advertised via my YouTube channel. Take a look at one of them!

Is there anything else you can do outside of research?

Yes, quite a lot! For example, my extensive practical experience of writing grant applications (sometimes successfully!) has given me knowledge and understanding of funding opportunities, reinforced by numerous grant application training sessions both in Sweden and abroad. If you have a research idea and are looking for funding, or if you have applied for a grant and/or would like someone to review your application, just contact me and let me be your research manager!

What instrument do you play?

That’s the leading question! I started my way toward music as a pianist. And I do play piano, sometimes. But I’m not a musician.

What languages do you speak?

That’s the simplest one! I’m a native speaker of Russian and fluent in German. I also speak English, of course. Before my short research stay in France in 2021, I started learning French but wasn’t very successful. Now, I’m learning Swedish. I’ll report on my success soon…

Do you have other questions? Contact me! Looking forward to hearing from you!

Media

Here you can watch the recording of my lecture recital held at the Mozart Society of America and Society for Eighteenth-Century Music Joint Conference (2022).