La Révolution digitale dans la musique : Une philosophie de la musique

Book published by Allia (2017)

Philosophy of music, like philosophy of art in general, is not a firmly established academic discipline. It appears sporadically when there are drastic changes in musical practice, and it becomes ... [more ▼]

Philosophy of music, like philosophy of art in general, is not a firmly established academic discipline. It appears sporadically when there are drastic changes in musical practice, and it becomes necessary to redefine the term music. This was the case when the symphony established itself as a formative musical genre just over two hundred years ago, and it happened when tonality was abandoned just over one hundred years ago. The event that directs philosophical interest in music today is the digital revolution. It calls into question the idea of New Music and its genuine claim to art. [less ▲]

Gehaltsästhetik : Eine Kunstphilosophie

Book published by W. Fink (2016)

One of the founding myths of postmodernism is that art has abandoned modernism's claim to novelty. In fact, however, this claim was not abandoned, but only reformulated. Whereas advanced art in the 20th ... [more ▼]

One of the founding myths of postmodernism is that art has abandoned modernism's claim to novelty. In fact, however, this claim was not abandoned, but only reformulated. Whereas advanced art in the 20th century largely followed a material aesthetic, as manifested in cubism or serial music, for example, today we can observe a turn towards a gehalt-aesthetic. Artists such as Ai Weiwei or Damien Hirst no longer seek newness in the aesthetic material, but in the new aesthetic content articulated by a work. This gehalt-aesthetic turn in the arts is the quintessence of Harry Lehmann's philosophy of art. Based on a theory of intrinsic aesthetic values, which include beauty, sublimity, event, and ambivalence, he retells European art history as a history of aesthetic experience. Numerous examples from the visual arts, poetry, and music, as well as from advertising, fashion, and design, make this paradigm shift in the arts vivid and evident. [less ▲]

Die digitale Revolution der Musik : Eine Musikphilosophie

Book published by Schott Music (2013)

Philosophy of music, like philosophy of art in general, is not a firmly established academic discipline. It appears sporadically when there are drastic changes in musical practice, and it becomes ... [more ▼]

Philosophy of music, like philosophy of art in general, is not a firmly established academic discipline. It appears sporadically when there are drastic changes in musical practice, and it becomes necessary to redefine the term music. This was the case when the symphony established itself as a formative musical genre just over two hundred years ago, and it happened when tonality was abandoned just over one hundred years ago. The event that directs philosophical interest in music today is the digital revolution. It calls into question the idea of New Music and its genuine claim to art. [less ▲]

Musik, Ästhetik, Digitalisierung : Eine Kontroverse

Book published by Wolke (2010)

In this book, world views collide. The digital revolution seems like an attack on the established music business. This is not only directed at the orchestra, but also at the study, practice, mediation ... [more ▼]

In this book, world views collide. The digital revolution seems like an attack on the established music business. This is not only directed at the orchestra, but also at the study, practice, mediation, performance, and dissemination of new and old "serious" music in general. The positions represented here suggest a generational conflict between those who have grown up with the self-evident use of the computer and promise themselves a gain in freedom through quantification and acceleration, and those who see themselves committed to an emphatic concept of work and art and thus to the process of immanence of artistic production. Belief in progress in art is not a new thing. A good hundred years ago, Filippo T. Marinetti formulated his first Futurist manifesto of a new machine art. However, it was to take a hundred years before the technical possibilities also gave rise to a qualitative quantum leap. Opinions are divided on the point of "quality". Composition, musical practice and musical perception are at a crossroads. The rapid development of the digital world including its networking will not remain without consequences for musical creation. For too long, there has been silence about musical-aesthetic differences in New Music. In the present fundamental controversy, overdue and urgent questions about the future of New Music are now being posed and sometimes polemically fought out. The controversy, which is conducted after Harry Lehmann's introductory text between Johannes Kreidler and Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, ultimately remains open-ended and will certainly give rise to follow-up discussions. With the concluding contributions, personal texts from the extended environment of the debate have been agreed upon. [less ▲]