05.03.2014, Berlin | What makes a melody an earworm? This is the topic of the next musical soiree on March 24, 2014, featuring Prof. Dr. Eckart Altenmüller, Jardena Flückiger, and David Santos. It is the second event in the concert series entitled Music Creates Knowledge: The Neurosciences and Music in Dialogue. Initiated by Ulrich Köstlin and the Schering Stiftung, the series presents music from different centuries, followed by a discussion with renowned neuroscientists.

After the successful inaugural event in September 2013 on the question of “Does music trigger emotions?,“ featuring Prof. Dr. Stefan Koelsch (Free University of Berlin) and the musicians Leonore von Falkenhausen and Markus Gotthard, this time the focus is on “The Earworm, or The Melody of Horror.” The speaker will be Prof. Dr. Eckart Altenmüller, director of the Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine at the Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media. The musicians Jardena Flückiger (vocals) and David Santos (piano) will present “standards” from Mozart to the musical stage, but also new music that might pose a challenge to our memory structures.
The neurosciences teach us that our knowledge is determined not only by scientific findings, but also by the arts. Music is considered one of mankind’s oldest and most fundamental socio-cognitive domains; it plays a significant role in the development of language, it influences our ability to learn, and it affects our emotions, our autonomic nervous system and even our endocrine and immune systems.

Participation is by registration only. Space is limited and will be available on a first-reserve basis.

The Neurosciences and Music in Dialogue – A concert series sponsored by the Schering Stiftung and hosted by Ulrich und Nathan Köstlin

The Earworm, or The Melody of Horror

March 24, 2014

For more information, please contact the Schering Stiftung at +49 (0)30 20 62 29 65.

Photo © Schering Stiftung