How does a production relate to the score, or a performance to the conceptual idea? Is there such a thing as a “work identity” that links the individual realisations of a piece?

Musicians and theorists discuss the concept of the “work” in the performing arts, the visual arts and music, drawing on two performances of a work by Peter Ablinger.

A pile of labelled paper and a tangle of tape — Peter Ablinger, *Philosophischer Haufen 1* (Philosophical Pile 1) (undated), Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Peter Ablinger Archive
Photo: Akademie der Künste, Berlin © Peter Ablinger

Whereas in the visual arts the work can often be identified with an object, in the performing arts the concept of the work raises questions of a different urgency. For example, music and dance seem to be experienced only as performances, even though they are often recorded in the form of notation. A performance requires musicians, dancers or actors, who are always also interpreters of the work being presented.

The event “Music : Work : Material”, organised by the Music Archives of the Akademie der Künste, aims to shed light on these interrelationships. Peter Ablinger’s (1959–2025) verbal score Instrument & Voice (2007–13) will be performed in two different adaptations. In short lectures and a panel discussion, the concept of the “work” will be explored in the context of the visual arts, performing arts and experimental music.

Music : Work : Material.The Concept of Work and Performance Practice in Experimental Music10 Nov 2026, 7 pm

Music : Work : Material.
The Concept of Work and Performance Practice in Experimental Music
10 Nov 2026, 7 pm