If you wish to get in touch with our administrative staff, please see the admin staff contact page.
Nanette Nielsen
Lecturer, Faculty of Arts
Contact
Expertise Summary
I hold a BA in Music and Philosophy from the University of Copenhagen and an MMus and PhD from Royal Holloway, University of London. I joined Nottingham in September 2009, after four years as Lecturer at the University of East Anglia. My research is interdisciplinary, and my principle research interests are music and philosophy (especially music and ethics), and German music, culture, and critical thought during the first half of the twentieth century. Other interests include opera, film music, popular music, melodrama, and music in Scandinavia.
Teaching Summary
I am passionate about all aspects of teaching, and teach a variety of modules at all levels, including 'Music and Ethics', 'Introduction to the Philosophy and Aesthetics of Music', and 'Music in… read more
Research Summary
My research has so far focused on German music, culture, and critical thought during the first half of the twentieth century. One of my current projects is a book on Paul Bekker (1882-1937), an… read more
Selected Publications
NIELSEN, N. AND COBUSSEN, M., 2012. Music and Ethics Surrey: Ashgate. (In Press.)
NIELSEN, N., 2011. Opera for the people: melodrama in Hugo Herrmann’s Vasantasena (1930). In: HIBBERD, S., ed., Melodramatic Voices: Understanding Music Drama Surrey: Ashgate.
I am passionate about all aspects of teaching, and teach a variety of modules at all levels, including 'Music and Ethics', 'Introduction to the Philosophy and Aesthetics of Music', and 'Music in Germany between the Wars'. My teaching is research-led, and my modules are informed by my interdisciplinary research methodology (the two main disciplinary areas being musicology and philosophy). My approach to teaching is student-centered and interactive: I include small group work, guided class discussion, student presentations, and use the latest digital presentation tools (especially Prezi). I encourage independent critical thinking, respond to individual needs and learning preferences, and foster a learning environment that includes detailed feedback and ample guidance in the improvement of students' work.
Current Research
My research has so far focused on German music, culture, and critical thought during the first half of the twentieth century. One of my current projects is a book on Paul Bekker (1882-1937), an influential critic, theorist, and opera producer in Weimar Germany. An earlier article on Bekker was commissioned and published by Opera Quarterly.
I am co-author, with Marcel Cobussen, of a second book, entitled Music and Ethics (under contract with Ashgate), and a contributor to the volume Melodramatic Voices: Understanding Music Drama, Sarah Hibberd, ed. (Ashgate, 2011). Other current and future projects include an article on Ernst Krenek's Jonny spielt auf, and a book on modernism and morality in twentieth-century operas based on the tales of Hans Christian Andersen.
Supervision
I am interested in supervising postgraduate students in the following areas:
Music and philosophy, especially ethics and aesthetics; twentieth-century German opera and music theatre; Paul Bekker; Scandinavian music and culture.
NIELSEN, N. AND COBUSSEN, M., 2012. Music and Ethics Surrey: Ashgate. (In Press.)
NIELSEN, N., 2011. Opera for the people: melodrama in Hugo Herrmann’s Vasantasena (1930). In: HIBBERD, S., ed., Melodramatic Voices: Understanding Music Drama Surrey: Ashgate.
NIELSEN, N., 2005. Review of Claire Taylor-Jay, 'The Artist-Operas of Pfitzner, Krenek and Hindemith: Politics and the Ideology of the Artist'. At: Music and Letters, 86/4 (In Press.)
HIBBERD, S. and NIELSEN, N., 2003. Music in Melodrama: 'The Ineffable Burden of Expression'? Nineteenth-Century Theatre. 31(1), 30-39