Discussion “The Anatomy of Listening”

2015.05.29
ACADEMIA

　　　The IMT College welcomes philosopher and musicologist Peter Szendy for a discussion event on the theme of listening.
　　　With the popularization of recording and playback devices, the act of listening to sound and music has become both common and immediate. As a result, we are mostly passive when in contact with music. However, complex mechanisms are at work when we listen to sound and to music. Once music is composed, it undergoes a complex cultural process (comprehending its interpretation and arrangement, its recording and playback, its listening and interpretation) leading to its reception. Furthermore, as shown by the legislation and rights pertaining to music, or by the problem of copyrighting a sound, the act of listening is conditioned in multiple ways.
　　　Here, we will discuss the aforementioned themes with Peter Szendy who, in his aim to elucidate the mechanisms and cultural processes behind the act of listening, has opened up a new field: the anatomy of listening. In addition, we will select a few records from the Intermediatheque’s valuable SP collection and play them on the illustrious Victrola Credenza, so as to experience concretely Peter Szendy’s comprehension of what listening is.

［Date］Friday May 29, 2015, 18:00-19:30 (Opens at 17:30)
［Venue］ACADEMIA, Intermediatheque 2nd floor
［Discussants］Peter Szendy (Associate professor, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre) × Yoshiaki Nishino (Director, UMUT) × Kei Osawa (Associate researcher, UMUT)
［Language］French (with Japanese translation)
Admission free
The number of seats is limited to 48. We request your comprehension.

［Organizer］ The University Museum, The University of Tokyo (UMUT)
［Cooperation］ Institut français du Japon - Tokyo