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Science Talk with Jo Wilhelm Siebert

Without a musical score as the basis for what is being played, we would not speak of musical interpretation in the strict sense. Nor would we speak of interpretation without a certain degree of artistic and confident disregard for the rules set forth in such a score.

There is thus a contentious relationship between the binding nature of the score and the leeway for freedom that this very score simultaneously offers—and which makes it open to interpretation in the first place. The challenge lies in creating freedom through constraint: dancing in chains, balancing on tightropes over the abyss.

Numerous examples from music history illustrate the boundless nature of interpretive freedom, and recordings shed light on the unique perspective on what is possible that is characteristic of musicians when they perform. It is precisely this perspective that opens up the scope of the works, within which quite different readings of the same score find their legitimate and compelling place.

  • Dr. Jo Wilhelm Siebert works at the State Institute for Music Research and focuses, among other things, on the music history, theory, and aesthetics of the 20th and 21st centuries.

IN GERMAN

Additional information
Dates
September 2026
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