20/09/2018
by Leonard Sprueth
Comments Off on IASPM-US Conference / Call for Papers
For next years conference, the The International Association for the Study of Popular Music – United States will invite to New Orleans, Louisiana, March 7-10, 2019. The Assosiaction calls for proposals for individual papers and panels on any aspect of … Continue reading
08/08/2018
by Leonard Sprueth
Comments Off on XIV. Symposium zur Filmmusikforschung – Mapping Spaces, Sounding Places: Geographies of Sound in audiovisual Media
In collaboration with the Università di Pavia – Dipartimento di Musicologia e Beni Culturali, the Kieler Gesellschaft für Filmmusikforschung invites for a symposium of how sound design, film music and music editing in general exert a primary function in conveying … Continue reading
06/06/2018 by Leonard Sprueth | Comments Off on Interactive Music Mapping Vienna – Research Project
Exploring a City. 1945 up to the Present Day
Lead by Susana Zapke, keynote-speaker at our conference in November, this research project tackles the role of music in urban context as an instrument of social identification and the question of how music is symbolically used in municipal politics. The city of Vienna hereby functions as an example to point out the ways music can be responsible for creating specific city spheres and ideological subjects.
In this manner, cultural and social practices are looked upon to identify the modus operandi of the city as well as its social dispositions. Vienna’s site-specificity will thereby be attributed to the acoustic-tonal construct inherited.
This particular research-emphasis was developed through the entanglement of scientific and artistic approaches and practices of diverse projects at the MUK Vienna since 2012.
23/03/2018
by Leonard Sprueth
Comments Off on Music Cities Convention, Melbourne, 19 – 20 April 2018
The programm of the 2018 edition of the Music Cities Convention by Sound Diplomacy, which will take place from 19 – 20 April 2018 in Melbourne, Australia, is now online. More:
12/02/2018 by Leonard Sprueth | Comments Off on Weekend Societies – New Book by Graham St. John
In Weekend Societies we are introduced to the emergent field of EDM (Electronic Dance Music) festivals and even-culture studies. Growing ubiquitous in contemporary social life, and providing participants with independent sources of belonging, these festivals and their event-cultures are diverse in organization, intent and outcome, EDM festivals are expressions of “freedoms” revolutionary and recreational.
Graham St. John points out an industry trend in the world dance music culture from raves and clubs towards festivals, featuring contributions from scholars of EDM festivals showcasing a diversity of methodological approaches, theoretical perspectives and representational styles.
Weekend Societies – Electronic Dance Music Festivals and Event-Cultures
Graham St. John – Bloomsbury Academic – 01.12.2017
15/01/2018 by Leonard Sprueth | Comments Off on One year of Elbphilharmonie
Following construction delays and a set of scandals, a year ago, the new concert hall called Elbphilharmonie has been inaugurated in Hamburg, Germany. Conceptualised as the landmark of the Music City Hamburg, its spectacular architecture attracts thousands of tourists and music lovers. The diverse musical programme covers all musical genres, ranging from classical concerts to Einstürzende Neubauten, Poetry Slams and contemporary electronics. 850.000 spectators joining the first years´s programme let the city quickly forget about the troubles of planning and constructing…
Here a short flash back of the opening ceremony:
03/01/2018 by Leonard Sprueth | Comments Off on A Musicology for Landscape – New Book by David Nicholas Buck
As the title suggests, David Buck’s recent publication concentrates on weaving sound into the sensory appreciation of landscape. Through conceptual and direct reference on musical notation, his work investigates landscape architecture’s inherent temporality and calls for refocusing this under-researched aspect provided by the model of notating time. 
Being a landscape architect and educator, Buck’s work offers an innovative and contemporary approach to a wide range of landscape projects and as the founder of the “landscape architecture programme” at the University of East London, his design work in the UK and Japan has been widely published. During his PhD he focused on the investigation of alternatives for perspectival representations of space in landscape architecture through developing new notations from a synthesis with music, thus “A Musicology for Landscape” is evidently the latest in a succession of thriving works.
The book hereby addresses a difficulty within the architectural discourse, which is concerned with a lack of adequacy of the existing design tools to correctly explore the landscape’s inherited temporality. By seeking new forms of notation through the inclusion of musical notation, the book introduces three influential composers – Morton Feldman, György Ligeti and Michael Finnissy – presenting a critical evaluation of their work within music, as well as a means in which it might be used in design research. David Buck then juxtaposes musical scores with design representations by Kevin Appleyard, Bernard Tschumi and William Kent, until final examination through newly developed landscape architectural notations. Ultimately, bringing together musical composition and landscape architecture through notation, evokes a focused and sensitive exploration of temporality and sound in both fields.
David Buck – between landscape architecture and land art
A Musicology for Landscape – 2017 – Routledge
28/11/2017
by Leonard Sprueth
Comments Off on The Urban Research Plaza’s 16th Urban Culture Forum – Call for Papers
Happy to announce! Next years Urban Culture Forum puts special emphasis on the various aspects of Creative and Responsive Citizenship and the artistic approaches of promoting such. The Urban Research Plaza will hold its 16th edition on March 7th – 8th, … Continue reading