What’s Next for the West?

Conference

Superman Meets Beethoven -

11 June 2010
10.00 – 17.00
Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

What’s Next for the West?

Until World War I, Beethoven was the hero of the European ideal of civilisation. His Ninth Symphony was a musical expression of the hope for the elevation and fraternisation of humankind through art and beauty. Two World Wars later, this ideal has become far from self-evident: in spite of music, in spite of the Ninth Symphony, humans still turned out to be capable of atrocities.

What ideal of civilisation can inspire us now? Is Superman our new hero, who stands for science, technology, and human progress? Should we turn other, non-Western values into our ideal? Or has Beethoven’s ideal retained its validity after all?

Brochure

Full videos

Intro Rob Riemen & keynote George Steiner

Beethoven’s Great Expectations

Russell Sherman plays Beethoven

Waiting for Superman

Published in

Journal Nexus

2011

Nexus 57

Beethoven of Superman?

Dutch publication with contributions of the speakers at the Nexus Conference 2010. Who is our true hero, Superman or Beethoven? What is the secret of a world in which all people are united?