Metaphysics of Sound Objects by Peter Ablinger

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the phonorealism of the Austrian composer Peter Ablinger as exemplified in his compositions: the Weiss/Weisslich 31e and the cycle of pieces for instrumental ensembles and various sound installations Quadraturen. In Ablinger’s works, the representations of noises recorded as “acoustic photographs” blur the boundaries between the real and the illusory, the objective and the abstract; this kind of music is conducive to reflection on how we perceive what we see and hear. In the concept of phonorealism and in the technical specificity of Ablinger’s transcription of acoustic photographs, the development of artistic approaches of concrete instrumental music by Helmut Lachenmann and of French spectral music can be traced. Parallels are also drawn with the object-oriented ontology by Graham Harman and the concept of a hyperobject in the philosophy of Timothy Morton.

References

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