And there is a second thought: Let us test the waters if there is a need for a "Philosophy of Sound". In and about the artworld it was said, that the distinction between art and philosophy has somehow vanished with the end of art in the 1960s (this was the argument of Arthur C. Danto) And indeed, a strong theoretical discourse is today an integral element of the artistic practice in this discipline. The same observation can be made for film, literature, dance, theater, design or architecture. But the soundworld seems a bit lagged behind in this respect. Of course, there are many and very interesting discussions going on in the different sectors of academia or very specialized musical genres. But so far the theory seems to be a bit remote to the practice and the very diverse approaches do not really ad up to form a "discourse" that wholeheartedly can be called relevant for the sonic activities that form the soundworld.

Of course we are not so ambitious that we think we can solve this problem (if it is one). But we can try to bring together dedicated sonic practitioners from all corners of the soundworld - composers and musicians from all kinds of genres, sound designers, theorists - from musicology to philosophers, scientists and researchers, journalists, organizers, and so on and so forth - who feel committed to contribute to the development of the arts of sound in the 21st century. We can discuss aesthetics across stylistic, geographic and cultural borders, share ideas, opinions and resources of knowledge, debate exemplary works, reflect the impact of the tools and instruments we use etc.

The theme of the upcoming symposium in Vienna is "Symbolic Sound". Feel free to open new discussions on topics in the symposium program and other, bring in photos, use the blog, ...