When talking about performing music, the focus is usually set on an audible realization of sonic ideas within a physical space – a concert hall or performance location. However, this physical space has been extended by means of media in various ways on acoustic but also on visual levels, e.g. with the integration of audio recordings, video footage, and real-time implementation of audio-visual processing. With the developments in digital networks and the growing bandwidth for online-streaming, new possibilities opened up to extend concerts and performances to performers and listeners who are no longer necessarily physically present at the concert venue. And since the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic at the latest, complete musical performances in virtual space have become a new normal. But what do these new forms and formats mean for performing music and the music performed? What does change for composers, performers – and the audience? How does the very same performance change when being perceived in real, hybrid and virtual space? What does “presence” mean in these different settings?

Prof. Dr. Miriam Akkermann wird zum Sommersemester 2024 die Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftungsprofessur für Neue Musik am musikwissenschaftlichen Seminar der Freien Universität Berlin antreten. Anlässlich ihres 50-jährigen Jubiläums lobt die Musikstiftung die Stiftungsprofessur aus und stellt fünf Jahre lang insgesamt 1,25 Millionen Euro bereit. Ziel der Professur ist es, die Neue Musik vom 20. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart stärker im akademischen Diskurs zu verankern, die Auseinandersetzung mit Neuer Musik an der Freien Universität zu fördern und eine forschungsgestützte Lehre zu befördern.