Real Music / Friday Lunchtime Tours

Peter Nelson is Professor of Music and Technology, and is a composer and theorist. Currently interested in the social aspects of rhythm, Peter will focus his tour around Samson Young’s Muted Situations #22: Muted Tchaikovsky’s 5th, 2018 and Orchestrations, 2019. Talking about the difference between silence and ‘muteness’ – through references to the history of experimental music – this tour will consider how our attention can be shifted from the traditional hallmarks of music, rhythm and harmony, towards a broader politics of sound.

Bringing in experts from across the University of Edinburgh and beyond, our lunchtime tours enable a deeper exploration of some of the complex issues raised through our exhibitions. Each week, following a short general introduction by one of the Gallery’s curators, a specialist from a different field will join us to expand upon the themes of specific artworks. Providing different perspectives on Samson Young’s Real Music the upcoming tours navigate through the history of experimental music, the transcultural negotiations of the colonial empire, future applications of the next generation sound synthesis research and the culture of tourist instruments.