Botanist Ines Aster and musicologist Franz Gratl look at the fortepiano by Conrad Graf (Vienna, ca. 1835), one of the most frequently played instruments in the Ferdinandeum.
Who thinks of issues such as species protection, climate change and resource exploitation when they think of a piano?
Yet this object offers numerous points of reference: The veneer and the upper keys are made from tropical woods, the lower keys from ivory and the soundboard from spruce. Seemingly different areas such as music and environmental protection can be connected and allow us to reflect on the impact of cultural artefacts on nature.
In the “Change of Perspective” series of events, two people from different disciplines talk about an object. The different points of view show how an object can be interpreted in many different ways and bring forth remarkable stories and surprising connections – a multidimensional and interdisciplinary experience of selected objects.
