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Dr. R.M. (Rutger) Helmers

Faculty of Humanities
Capaciteitsgroep Muziekwetenschap
Area of expertise: music history, nineteenth century, Russian Empire, Ukraine, national identity, opera
Photographer: Sander Niewenhuys

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

    Rutger Helmers is an Assistant Professor of Musicology, specialized in nineteenth-century music history, with a focus on national identity, opera, and the Russian Empire. He teaches a variety of courses in historical musicology at the University of Amsterdam and his current research focuses on the representation of Ukraine in the musical life of the Russian Empire. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2012 at Utrecht University under the supervision of Emile Wennekes and Marina Frolova-Walker (University of Cambridge), and, in addition to his position at the University of Amsterdam, has taught at the Musicology programme at Utrecht University and at Literary and Cultural Studies at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen. He has been an editor for the interdisciplinary journal De Moderne Tijd (Modern Times: The Low Countries, 1780–1940) between 2015 and 2022, served as member the board of the KVNM (Royal Society for Music History of The Netherlands) from 2016 to 2019, and was a HURI Research Fellow at the Ukrainian Research Institute of Harvard University in 2022. His work has led to various publications, including the monograph Not Russian Enough? Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism in Nineteenth-Century Russian Opera (University of Rochester Press, 2014) and contributions to Nineteenth-Century Music Review, Čajkovskij-Studien, The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism, The Oxford Handbook to the Operatic Canon, and Music & Letters.

  • Publications

    2024

    2023

    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. (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: Internationale Tagung, Tübingen, 7. bis 9. Juni 2018 (pp. 331-349). (Čajkovskij-Studien ; Vol. 18). Schott. [details]

    2018

    2017

    2014

    • Helmers, R., & Westbroek, P. (2014). Conflict en compassie: 200 jaar Richard Wagner. 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). 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). 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.

    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. [Thesis, internally prepared, Universiteit Utrecht].

    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