Keio University Mita Philosophy Society Lecture Series

Event Date

2022.4.23（Sat）

Event Venue

Other

'Spirit' as Sound: Rethinking 'Modernity' Through Music, Part 5: The Fountain of Knowledge

March 23, 2022

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Date and Time	Saturday, April 23, 2022, 2:00 PM–4:30 PM (Doors open at 1:45 PM)
Venue	North Hall, Mita Campus, Keio University
How to Participate	・Admission is free, but registration is required. Please register at the URL below. Keio University Mita Philosophy Society Lecture Series: 'Spirit' as Sound (5) The Fountain of Knowledge \| Peatix ・Please wear a mask when you come to the venue. We also ask that you have your temperature checked and sanitize your hands with alcohol. Entry will be denied to anyone with a temperature of 37.5°C or higher. There are no plans for online streaming. ・High school students interested in the Faculty of Letters are welcome to attend (this is also a great opportunity to visit the Mita Campus). New students interested in philosophy, aesthetics (art studies), and literature are also encouraged to participate. ・For more details, please see this poster (PDF) .
Speakers	Ikuyo Nakamichi (Pianist) × Yoshinori Saito (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Keio University)
Organizer	Mita Philosophy Society

Lecture Overview:

"The questions of life and forgiveness found by Beethoven in Shakespeare's "The Tempest."

The intersection of Chopin's life with a grand epic poem from Poland.

The logic of Liszt's world, depicted from Dante's "Divine Comedy."

And Mussorgsky's call to the dead, found in the world of his deceased friend's paintings.

The concepts that composers evoke through their music. The way the sound fills the space can be called a "fountain of knowledge."

Within the vortex of sound, one can hear the definition of life."

—Ikuyo Nakamichi

The "Western modern era" in the history of philosophy and thought can be seen as having its foundations laid by Immanuel Kant and reaching its zenith with G.W.F. Hegel of German Idealism. Hegel inherited and further developed Kant's rigorous thinking on how "experience" through "consciousness" is possible and what it entails, coming to view our reality as a series of processes in which the "spirit" "manifests." Ludwig van Beethoven, born in the same year as Hegel, developed Western music of the same period as "thought through sound," opening up entirely new dimensions for both the forms of thought and the possibilities of musical expression.

Using these two figures as the main points of reference, this series will feature various related philosophers, thinkers, and composers under a different theme each time. A philosopher and a performer will approach the cultural background of philosophy and thought surrounding the musical works, as well as the substance of the individual works themselves, from their respective viewpoints. Through this endeavor, the ultimate goal is to reconsider what kind of era the "modern era" was and what we in the present should inherit from it. The ten-part lecture series will cover themes such as "Passion and Reason," "The Power of Sorrow," "The Philosophy of Music," and "The Fluctuation of Life and Death." This fifth installment, titled "The Fountain of Knowledge," will focus on the following four works.

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, "The Tempest," Op. 31, No. 2

Chopin: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23

Liszt: Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata, S.161/7

Mussorgsky: Suite "Pictures at an Exhibition"

(Full performances of the pieces will not be given.)

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