About

We are pleased to announce a two-day conference, “Adorno: Music and Modernity”, which will convene at Harvard University this coming academic year, on Friday, October 25th and Saturday, the 26th, 2013.

The conference will bring together some of the leading scholars from around the world to address major facets of Adorno’s musicology and social theory. A live performance of Adorno’s two early pieces for string quartet is also planned.

The conference has three major thematic divisions: (1) discussions of Adorno’s wider enterprise and music’s place within it; (2) discussions of his views on music that integrate reflection on the more recently published writings from Adorno’s Nachlass (i.e., Towards a Theory of Musical Reproduction; the Beethoven notes; and Currents of Music: Elements of a Radio Theory) (3) reflections on the current and future state of music, the light Adorno might throw on contemporary developments; and how contemporary developments might in turn prompt us to reconsider aspects of Adorno’s legacy.

The conference will take place in the Tsai Auditorium in the Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS) South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

The conference is free and open to the public, but space is limited and registration is encouraged. Please email mlesley@gmail.com