THEODOR W. ADORNO - HEUTE. PHILOSOPHIE. MUSIK. POLITIK

In the organizer's words:

Adorno remains dangerous. His thinking is insistent, linguistically, politically, artistically. His syntax challenges us. It offers intellectual protection in the midst of a time in which linguistic regression became a well-calculated political tool. Adorno must be read again, must be read 'crosswise'. In this way, figures of thought can be gained that make a "no more like this" possible. - In times of "microblogging services" such as X or "short video portals" such as Tik Tok, Adorno's texts seem to have finally come of age. They do not fit into any format and resist the ballistic power of opinionated short messages. But therein lies their topicality! - In the "elevator part" of the evening, we read a wonderful elevator story from Gisela von Wysocki's novel WIESENGRUND, which she experienced as a student with Adorno in Frankfurt.

Why Adorno?

Adorno is versatile. As a musical prodigy, he learned the piano at an early age and composed his first piano piece at the age of 17. At the age of 22, he took music theory and composition lessons with Berg and Schönberg in Vienna. In 1933 he went into exile, first in England, then in America. He began to write as a philosopher and sociologist. He decided to write in 1946 and ended his composition activities.

We also quote from his 1967 speech "Aspects of the New Right-Wing Radicalism" and from the unfinished book on Beethoven, showing the search for truth that Adorno also pursued in his musical investigations.