Forget Mozart! Music and architecture and their reciprocal relationship

Even in ancient times, attempts were made to utilize the principles of harmony and tone, borrowed from music theory, and to apply these to systems of measurement and proportion. In addition to this structural-systematic relationship, it has also more recently become practice to freely associate comparative and interpretative approaches.  But can one really compare the Frankfurt EZB building, built in 2014, to a Mozart symphony? What would a Villa Rotonda sound like? And what would it be like if architecture and music came together to dance a ballet of the arts? In his inaugural lecture, Simon Paulus will be considering this subject from various perspectives, seeking to investigate the various relationships between music and architecture – musical interludes may also be included. The lecture will be followed by a small get-together, to which everyone is cordially invited.

In 2005, Simon Paulus completed his doctoral thesis entitled "Die Architektur der aschkenasischen Synagoge im Mittelalter", he researched and taught at the TU Braunschweig, the msa Münster and the University of Lüneburg, focusing on architectural journeys, architectural drawings, architecture in a Jewish context and various regional topics besides. From 2013-2017 he worked as an academic assistant at the Institute of Architectural History at the University of Stuttgart, where he habilitated in 2017 with "Studien zum Wissenstranfer im Bauwesen des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts in den protestantischen Territorien".  In addition to his academic occupation as an architecture historian, he is also interested in the performance practice of historical string instruments and plays the lute and contrabass, including for the Göttinger Barockorchester and his own ensemble Recercada.