Many of us, if asked to say whether ecology and musical work have anything to do with each other, would probably answer in the affirmative without much hesitation. And in conversations with colleagues, one notices just how urgently current the associated debate is.

What role can the arts and culture play in shaping a sustainable future? This question was discussed by Birgit Huebener (Sustainability Coordination Office and green mdw), Tanja Obex (faculty member, Department of Music Education Research and Practice), and Annie Ternström (voice student).

It’s a mixture of curiosity, enthusiasm, and perhaps anxiety that can often arise when the talk turns to AI technologies’ deployment in our everyday private and professional lives. At home, it might be a robovac that’s supposed to save us work but—How could it be otherwise?—ends up repeatedly needing help. In academic and artistic contexts, on the other hand, it’s about things like questions of authorship, innovation, and inspiration.

A discussion with Dagmar Abfalter, Karl-Gerhard Straßl, Walter Werzowa and Christoph Stuhlpfarrer of the approach to artificial intelligence tools at the mdw.

In mid-April of 2023, fans of Canadian superstar rapper Drake broke out in jubilation over a new release by their idol as the song “Heart on My Sleeve” appeared on Spotify and then on YouTube, after which it went viral on TikTok. It soon became clear, however, that what seemed to be a duet between Drake and his Canadian compatriot The Weeknd was actually an AI-generated deepfake.

Music scholars who engage in performance analysis are interested in examining performance characteristics such as style and expressiveness. They will typically collect multiple recorded performances of the same piece and compare their nuances.

The new artistic research project “Spirits in Complexity” is a cooperative effort together with the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) in Linz, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, the University of the Arts in Reykjavik, and several artistic and scientific experts.

How can we help shape the everyday urban realm as musicians? How might a musical performance be influenced by conditions such as chosen location and the weather? mdw students report on the experiences they had as part of the seminar project Klang.Stadt.Klang. Straßenmusik autoethnographisch erforschen.

What is KlangBildKlang? This large-scale mdw project, whose name translates as “SoundImageSound”, may indeed evoke the odd question. Is the focus on sound, here, or actually more on visual depiction? The answer is neither-nor. It’s much rather about interaction—between not just sounds and images, but also people, mdw departments, performing venues, and organisations.