The Planets: Mars
In 2024, ABOAGORA kicked off a new thematic series, The Planets. The first Planet to take the center stage was Mars, the Bringer of War.
The first movement of the Planets suite is Mars, the Bringer of War, and ABOAGORA 28–30.8.2024 took on the theme of war from a broad cultural and scientific perspective. The presentations, panels and workshops explored human rights, the trauma of war, post-war recovery, war memorials and ethical issues in the study of war, armed conflicts and nature, and dystopias and alternative futures. On the final day of the event, we were also reminded of peace: all wars eventually come to an end. The program also engaged with the planet Mars, exploring astronomical features, musical frequencies, and literary imaginations.
In 2024, ABOAGORA kicks off a new thematic series, The Planets. The theme is based on the orchestral suite of the same name by the composer Gustav Holst (1874–1934), composed between 1914 and 1917. Each of the composition’s seven movements famously represents a planet in our solar system, bringing forth various ideas, myths and dreams connected to the celestial bodies and the astrological characters associated with them. The suite was musically very innovative for its time, and more than a century later this work of art still continues to capture modern audiences. It has inspired an endless stream of adaptations and influenced numerous musical and other works of art.
Each year, a different movement of the suite – and thus a different planet – serves as the theme for ABOAGORA, functioning as an inspiration and setting the stage for exploring challenging current questions with the help of scientific and artistic creativity. The parts of the suite and the annual themes for the upcoming seven ABOAGORA events are: Mars, the Bringer of War (2024); Venus, the Bringer of Peace (2025); Mercury, the Winged Messenger (2026); Ju- piter, the Bringer of Jollity (2027); Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age (2028); Uranus, the Magician (2029); and Neptune, the Mystic (2030).
The opening year of the thematic series, 2024, is also an important year for Holst, as it marks the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth and the 90th anniversary of his death.
Mars
The first movement of the Planets suite is Mars, the Bringer of War. The movement is familiar to many through popular culture, having famously inspired, for example, composer John Williams in his Star Wars movie soundtrack. The piece eerily captures the relentless destruction and onward march of the madness of war, culminating in gut-wrenching, hopeless dissonances. Although the premiere of the work was in 1918, and connections are easily drawn to the First World War, Holst had in fact composed the movement already before the war broke out in 1914. Unfortunately, not much seems to have changed on our Planet Earth in 110 years. The need to understand and process war and its repercussions is urgent in 2024.
Agora lectures from Aboagora 2024 will become available on ABOAGORA’s YouTube channel:
Susanna Hast & Noora Kotilainen
Susanna Hast, author, researcher, singer; & Noora Kotilainen, senior research fellow, University of Helsinki
Martial sounds and silences
Koen De Feyter
Professor of Public International Law, University of Antwerp
The God of War, Palestine, and Emancipatory Human Rights
Thella Johnson
Journalist, author, musician
When Peace Comes – Thella Johnson on her novel Peace and how to live after war