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Dr. R.M. (Rutger) Helmers

Faculty of Humanities
Capaciteitsgroep Muziekwetenschap
Photographer: Larisa Jackson

Visiting address
  • Nieuwe Doelenstraat 16-18
  • Room number: 1.07
Postal address
  • Postbus 93058
    1090 BB Amsterdam
  • Profile

    Rutger Helmers (1980) is Assistant Professor of Musicology, specialized in nineteenth-century music history, Russian music, opera, and nationalism. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2012 at Utrecht University under the supervision of Emile Wennekes and Marina Frolova-Walker (Clare College, University of Cambridge), and, in addition to his position at the University of Amsterdam, has taught at the Musicology programme at Utrecht University and Literary and Cultural Studies at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen. He has been an editor at the journal De Moderne Tijd (Modern Times: The Low Countries, 1780-1940) since 2015, and served as member the board of the KVNM (Royal Society for Music History of The Netherlands) from 2016 to 2019. His current research focuses on musicians' travels in the nineteenth century, and musical representations of Ukraine in nineteenth-century Russian music. In relation to the latter project, he will be a HURI Research Fellow at the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University in 2021/22.

  • Publications

    2023

    • Alexander, T., & Helmers, R. (2023). Introduction: Tsarist Russia and the Musical World. Nineteenth-Century Music Review, 20(2), 253-260. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1479409822000271 [details]
    • Helmers, R. (2023). Navigating the Local Elites: Travelling Musicians and their Encounters with the Russian Court and Aristocracy in the Mid-Nineteenth Century. Nineteenth-Century Music Review, 20(2), 305-333. https://doi.org/10.1017/S147940982200012X [details]
    • Helmers, R. M. (2023). "Closer to the Serbian?": Ukrainian Song and the Mental Mappings of Music in the Russian Empire. Manuscript submitted for publication.

    2020

    2014

    2010

    • Helmers, R. M. (2010). ‘It Just Reeks of Italianism': Traces of Italian Opera in 'A Life for the Tsar'. Music & Letters, 91(3), 376-405. https://doi.org/10.1093/ml/gcq058

    2023

    • Helmers, R. (2023). The dynamics of national music: Opera and classical music in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In C. Carmichael, M. D'Auria, & A. Roshwald (Eds.), The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism. - Volume II: Nationalism's Fields of Interaction (pp. 749-767). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108551458.037 [details]

    2022

    • Helmers, R. M. (2022). Mixed Messages: Nation and Empire in Tchaikovsky’s ‘Ukrainian’ Works. In L. Braun, C. Flamm, S. Keym, & P. R. Bullock (Eds.), Čajkovskij-Analysen: Neue Strategien, Methoden und Perspektiven (pp. 331-349). (Čajkovskij-Studien). Schott.

    2018

    2017

    2014

    • Helmers, R., & Westbroek, P. (2014). Conflict en compassie: 200 jaar Richard Wagner. Amsterdam: Nationale Opera & Ballet. [details]

    2010

    • Helmers, R. M. (2010). N. A. Rimskij-Korsakov, 'Tsarskaja nevesta' i sud'ba muzyki v XX veke. In L. Ader, & J. Powell (Eds.), N. A. Rimskij-Korsakov i ego nasledie v istoričeskoj perspektive: materialy meždunarodnoj muzykovedečnoj konferencii (pp. 90-97). St Petersburg: GMTiMI.
    • Helmers, R. M. (2010). Rimsky-Korsakov, 'The Tsar’s Bride', and the Fate of Music in the 20th Century. In L. Ader, & J. Powell (Eds.), N. A. Rimskij-Korsakov i ego nasledie v istoričeskoj perspektive: materialy meždunarodnoj muzykovedečnoj konferencii (pp. 335-341). St Petersburg: GMTTiMI.

    2016

    • Helmers, R. (2016). [Review of: N. Rimsky-Korsakov. The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh (2014) Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by M. Albrecht, geregiseerd door Dmitri Tscherniakov. DVD]. Nineteenth-Century Music Review, 13(2), 387-389. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1479409815000774 [details]

    2015

    2014

    2013

    2010

    • Helmers, R. M. (2010). [Bespreking van: C. Levine (2007) Provoking Democracy: Why We Need the Arts]. Nexus, 54, 155-158.
    • Helmers, R. M. (2010). [Bespreking van: M. Steinberg, L. Rothe (2006) For the Love of Music: Invitations to Listening; T. Blanning (2008) The Triumph of Music: The Rise of Composers, Musicians and Their Art; P. Kivy (2009) Antithetical Arts: On the Ancient Quarrel Between Literature and Music]. Nexus, 57, 201-205.

    2024

    • Helmers, R. M. (2024). The Politics of Dikanka Operas in the Late Russian Empire. Paper presented at Annual Conference of the BASEES Slavonic and East European Music Study Group (SEEM), Durham, United Kingdom.

    2019

    • Helmers, R. M. (2019). Mixed messages: Reading portrayals of Ukraine in nineteenth-century Russian music. Paper presented at Institute for Russian Music Studies (IRMS) Annual Conference, Vipiteno, Italy.

    2018

    • Helmers, R. M. (2018). The Nation and the Empire: Re-Examining Čajkovskij's "Ukrainian" Music. Paper presented at 25. Internationale Tagung der Tschaikowsky-Gesellschaft, Tübingen, Germany.
    • Helmers, R. M. (2018). ‘The flattering souvenirs of St Petersburg’: Italian operatic performers in Russia, 1843–1885. Paper presented at Institute for Russian Music Studies Annual Conference, Vipiteno, Italy.

    Membership / relevant position

    • Helmers, R. (2016-2020). KVNM (Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis).

    Journal editor

    • Helmers, R. (member of editorial board) (2017-2021). De Moderne Tijd. De Lage Landen, 1780-1940 (Journal).

    Talk / presentation

    • Helmers, R. (speaker) (29-9-2017). Rethinking Russian musical nationalism through César Cui, Rethinking the Dynamics of Musical Nationalism, Amsterdam.
    • Helmers, R. (speaker) & van Nieuwkerk, M. M. (speaker) (28-9-2017). Exploring the Dutch Opera Repertoire, CREATE Salon.

    Others

    • Helmers, R. (organiser) & Batstone, L. (organiser) (19-5-2023 - 21-5-2023). Ukraine in Music History, Vienna. Ukraine is a country rich in musical traditions yet its role in music history has attracted limited attention beyond its borders. The recent Russian (…) (organising a conference, workshop, ...). https://ukrainemusichistory.org/
    • Helmers, R. (visiting researcher) (1-2-2022 - 31-5-2022). Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) (visiting an external institution).
    • Helmers, R. (organiser), Kamp, M. (organiser), Noorduin, M. (organiser) & Bonnet, N. (organiser) (29-6-2019). RMA-KVNM International Research Postgraduate Symposium in Musicology, Amsterdam. Postgraduate research is a vital part of the musicological discipline, and holds the potential to change engagements with music in new and important (…) (organising a conference, workshop, ...).
    • Titus, B. (participant), Seibt, F. O. (organiser) & Helmers, R. M. (organiser) (1-12-2018). Elvis lives in Amsterdam, Amsterdam. Moderating Panel Six: Real Musicians? (participating in a conference, workshop, ...).
    • Helmers, R. (organiser) & Seibt, F. O. (organiser) (29-11-2018). Madonna to Marsyas, Amsterdam. NICA Masterclass | Thursday 29 November, 9:30-11:30 | Universiteitsbibliotheek Amsterdam, Singel 425, VondelzaalWith Lydia Goehr (Columbia (…) (organising a conference, workshop, ...).
    • Helmers, R. (organiser) & Seibt, F. O. (organiser) (29-11-2018 - 1-12-2018). Elvis lives in Amsterdam, Amsterdam. From Marvel’s Kiss comics of the late 1970s to Cate Blanchett and Heath Ledger acting out different facets of Bob Dylan’s public persona in Todd (…) (organising a conference, workshop, ...).
    • Helmers, R. (organiser) & Alexander, T. (organiser) (16-12-2016). Russia and the Musical World, London. Co-organizer (organising a conference, workshop, ...).

    2012

    • Helmers, R. M. (2012). Not Russian Enough: The Negotiation of Nationalionalism in Nineteenth-Century Russian Opera.

    2018

    This list of publications is extracted from the UvA-Current Research Information System. Questions? Ask the library or the Pure staff of your faculty / institute. Log in to Pure to edit your publications. Log in to Personal Page Publication Selection tool to manage the visibility of your publications on this list.
  • Ancillary activities
    • No ancillary activities