Keio University Mita Philosophical Society Lecture Series
Event Date
Event Venue
“Spirit” as Sound: Rethinking “Modernity” Through Music, Part 6: The World of the Theater
2023/05/02
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Date and Time | Wednesday, May 24, 2023, 3:00 PM–5:30 PM (Doors open at 2:45 PM) |
Location | North Building Hall, Keio University Mita Campus |
How to Participate |
• Free admission. Registration required (please register at the URL below).
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Speakers | Ikuyo Nakamichi (Pianist) × Yoshinori Saito (Professor Emeritus, Keio University) |
Organizer |
Mita Philosophical Society
Study Groups and Lectures | Keio University Mita Philosophical Society Website
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Co-organizer | Keio University Art Center (KUAC) Research Group, mandala musica |
Inquiries |
Lecture Overview:
“Life does not always go as planned.
That is why it is compared to a drama.
How did Beethoven and Schumann face these uncontrollable feelings?
Beethoven, whose inner world becomes visible in the drama he himself carved out.
Schumann, who searched for himself by introducing various characters as if through a kaleidoscope.
Within that drama, we may also be able to find ourselves.
And surely, this unpredictable life will come to seem precious.
—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. Inheriting and further developing Kant’s rigorous thinking on how “experience” through “consciousness” is possible and what kind of situation it entails, Hegel came to perceive our reality as a series of processes in which “spirit” “phenomenalizes.” Ludwig van Beethoven, born in the same year as Hegel, developed the Western music of the same period as a form of ‘thought through sound,’ thereby opening up entirely new dimensions for both the forms of thought and the possibilities of musical expression.
With these two figures as the main axes of reference, this series will feature various related philosophers, thinkers, and composers under a different theme each time. A philosopher and a performer will attempt to approach, from their respective viewpoints, the cultural background—centered on philosophy and thought—surrounding the musical works, as well as the inner substance of the individual pieces themselves. The ultimate goal of this endeavor is to reconsider what kind of era “modernity” 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,” “The Fluctuation of Life and Death,” and “The Fountain of Knowledge.” This sixth installment, titled “The World of the Theater,” will address the following works.
● Works to be discussed
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 19
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 20
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 18
Schumann: Papillons, Op. 2
Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9
(Full performances of the pieces will not be given.)