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Peter van Tour

Position: Senior Lecturer School/office: School of Music, Theatre and Art

Email: cGV0ZXIudmFuLXRvdXI7b3J1LnNl

Phone: +46 19 302284

Room: M285

Research subject

Musicology

Research environments

Music and Human Beings

About Peter van Tour

Peter M. van Tour, Associate Professor in Music Theory

Peter holds master's degrees in Music Pedagogy from the Conservatory of Brabant, Tilburg, Music Theory from the Royal College of Music, Stockholm, and Musicology from the University of Utrecht. His academic pursuits encompass a diverse range, including analytical studies, compositional theory, studies in eighteenth-century paleography, and modern music theory pedagogy.

In 2015, Peter earned his PhD from Uppsala University Press with his dissertation entitled "Counterpoint and Partimento: Methods of Teaching Composition in Late Eighteenth-century Naples," a work that has received international plaudits.

Co-founding the Gotland School of Music Composition in Visby, Peter collaborated with esteemed figures such as Sven-David Sandström, Per Mårtensson, and Henrik Strindberg. Following his dissertation, he served as a guest professor at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium (2016-17) and as an associate professor in Music Theory at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo from 2017 to 2020.

Renowned for his expertise in vocal counterpoint and improvisation, Peter has conducted numerous lectures and workshops at prestigious institutions worldwide, including Universität für Darstellende Kunst und Musik (AU), Luzern Hochschule für Musik (CH), Conservatorium van Amsterdam (NL), Conservatorium van Maastricht (NL), Indiana University (USA), and the Juilliard School of Music (USA), among others.

As a researcher in Italian partimento traditions, Peter frequently serves as a guest lecturer at universities and conservatories across Scandinavia and beyond.

In 2024, Peter is scheduled to deliver guest lectures at institutions such as the Mozarteum in Salzburg (Austria), the Congress of the Korean Society for Music Theory in Seoul (South Korea), the 5th Biennial Conference of the Brazilian Society for Music Theory and Analysis in Salvador de Bahia (Brazil), and the International Partimento Conference “Partimento – Realizing its Potential” at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna (Austria).

Active projects

"The Italian Fugue: Investigated through Young Apprentices in Eighteenth-century Naples and Bologna."

Research groups

Musical Expression and Experience (MOVE)

Publications

Articles in journals

van Tour, P. & Baragwanath, N. (2024). Introduction. Music Theory and Analysis (MTA), 11 (1), 1-5. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2024). Solfeggi as Models for Instruction in Counterpoint and Fugue. Music Theory and Analysis (MTA), 11 (1), 116-143. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2020). Concatenating imitative stock patterns in eighteenth-century Naples. The Organ Yearbook : a journal for the players & historians of keyboard instruments, 49, 93-123. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2020). Some reflections about ‘il metodo di Cotumacci´. Studi Pergolesiani /Pergolesi Studies, 11, 163-188. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2018). Improvised and Written Canons in Eighteenth-Century Neapolitan Conservatories. Journal of the Alamire Foundation, 10 (1), 133-146. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2018). Learning Counterpoint through Partimenti and Disposizioni. The Organ Yearbook, 47, 79-98. [BibTeX]

Books

Durante, F. van Tour, P. (ed.) (2024). Regole e Partimenti: Volume 1: Regole & Partimenti Numerati. Visby: Wessmans Musikförlag AB. [BibTeX]
Durante, F. van Tour, P. (ed.) (2024). Regole e Partimenti: Volume 2: Partimenti Diminuiti & Fugues. Visby: Wessmans Musikförlag AB. [BibTeX]
Cotumacci, C. van Tour, P. (ed.) (2024). Regole, e Principj di sonare lezzioni di partimenti: Volume 1: The 50 Lessons. Visby: Wessmans Musikförlag AB. [BibTeX]
Cotumacci, C. van Tour, P. (ed.) (2024). Regole, e Principj di sonare lezzioni di partimenti: Volume 2: The 75 Partimenti. Visby: Wessmans Musikförlag AB. [BibTeX]
Mattei, S. van Tour, P. (ed.) (2021). Scales and Versets in all Major and Minor Keys: Three Partimento Realizations from the Ricasoli Collection. Visby: Wessmans Musikförlag AB. [BibTeX]
Martini, G. B. van Tour, P. (ed.) (2020). Libro per Accompagnare: (1737-38). Visby: Wessmans Musikförlag AB. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2017). The 189 Partimenti of Nicola Sala: Complete Edition with Critical Commentary. Volume 1. Nos. 1-100. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis (Studia musicologica Upsaliensia 27:1). [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2017). The 189 Partimenti of Nicola Sala: Complete Edition with Critical Commentary. Volume 2. Nos. 101-189. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis (Studia musicologica Upsaliensia 27:2). [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2017). The 189 Partimenti of Nicola Sala: Complete Edition with Critical Commentary. Volume 3. Critical commentary. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis (Studia musicologica Upsaliensia 27:3). [BibTeX]

Chapters in books

van Tour, P. (2023). Nicola Zingarelli as Teacher of Opera Composition. In: Paolo Sullo and Giovanna Carugno, Nicola Zingarelli: the Master, the Composer and his Time (pp. 335-358). Naples: Editoriale Scientifica. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2023). The Teaching of Counterpoint and Partimento in the School of Francesco Feo. In: Marcello Mazzetti, Basso Continuo in Italy: Sources, Pedagogy and Performance (pp. 211-228). Turnhout: Brepols. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2020). Integrating Aural and Keyboard Skills in Today’s Classroom: Modern Perspectives on Eighteenth-Century Partimento Practices. In: Philipp Teriete and Derek Remeš, Das Universalinstrument: »Angewandtes Klavierspiel« aus historischer und zeitgenössischer Perspektive: [The Universal Instrument: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on “Applied Piano”] (pp. 217-240). Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag AG. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2019). ‘Taking a walk at the Molo’: Partimento and the Improvised Fugue. In: Fulvia Morabito, Musical Improvisation in the Baroque Era. Turnhout: Brepols. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2017). Partimento Teaching according to Durante, Investigated through the Earliest Manuscript Sources. In: Massimiliano Guido, Studies in Historical Improvisation: From "Cantare Super Librum" to "Partimento" (pp. 131-148). London: Routledge. [BibTeX]

Conference papers

van Tour, P. (2024). Figured, Unfigured, and Underfigured Bass: New Insights into Eighteenth-Century Neapolitan Pedagogy. Paper presented at 5th Biennial Conference of the Brazilian Society for Music Theory and Analysis. Associação Brasileira de Teoria e Análise Musical TeMA, Salvador de Bahia (Brazil), 17th October, 2024. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2024). Neapolitan Practical Counterpoint Illustrated through Luca Sorgo’s 1754 Counterpoint Notebooks. Paper presented at International Scientific and Artistic Conference Sorgo 290, Dubrovnik (Croatia), 7-10 November, 2024. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2024). Partimento and Vocal Improvisation in the Modern theory Classroom. Paper presented at Congress of the Korean Society for Music Theory 2024, Seoul, South Korea, June 21, 2024. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2024). Partimento Reinvigorated: Unpacking its Impact in ‘The Digital Age. Paper presented at International Partimento Conference “Partimento – Realizing its Potential”, Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Vienna (Austria), 11-15 November 2024. [BibTeX]
van Tour, P. (2024). Partimento Reinvigorated: Unpacking its Impact in ‘The Digital Age’. Paper presented at International Partimento Conference “Partimento – Realizing its Potential”, Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Vienna (Austria), 11-15 November 2024. [BibTeX]

Doctoral theses, monographs

van Tour, P. (2015). Counterpoint and Partimento: Methods of Teaching Composition in Late Eighteenth-Century Naples. (Doctoral dissertation). Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. [BibTeX]