Louis Delpech becomes new Professor of Musicology
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On January 1, Paris-born Louis Delpech took up his teaching position at the HfMT. He has now been ceremoniously presented with his certificate of appointment by President Jan Philipp Sprick.
Louis Delpech was born in Paris in 1985, where he studied musicology, philosophy and music. After studying abroad at Yale University, he passed the French state examination (Agrégation) in music. He completed his doctorate at the Université de Poitiers in 2015 with a thesis on transnational music history and Franco-German music migration in the 17th and 18th centuries. The dissertation was published in 2020 and awarded the Prix du Livre France Musique-Claude Samuel.
Venia Legendi for the subject of musicology
After completing his doctorate, Louis Delpech was initially a research assistant at the University of Heidelberg, then assistant and senior assistant at the University of Zurich. He habilitated there in 2021 with a thesis on music and memory around 1900 and was awarded the Venia Legendi in musicology. In 2022, he was awarded the Conrad Ferdinand Meyer Prize and accepted an appointment at the Hamburg University of Music and Drama.
HfMT as a relaxed and exciting place to work together
Even in the stressful context of the appointment process, Louis Delpech had already noticed at the HfMT that diversity, inclusion and intellectual exchange were highly valued, as he had always found the atmosphere for discussion to be particularly open and unbiased. "Even in the first few weeks of work, I experienced the HfMT as a place of relaxed and exciting collaboration, where artistic, educational and academic perspectives complement and inspire each other," says Louis Delpech. "Of course, this also entails certain demands: you have to be able to withstand the improvisation and sometimes also the confrontation that such a diverse way of working entails, so that harmony can be achieved."
Questioning musicology sustainably and critically
As a scientist, research and teaching are the two inseparable sides of his profession. That is why he is always looking forward to the task of passing on the rich treasure of musicology in a sustainable and critical way to all students who familiarize themselves with the methodological diversity and the latest developments in the subject. In this way, students can draw lifelong inspiration for their own projects, new visions and social participation.
Completely new challenges
Today, musicology - like the humanities in general - faces completely new challenges and is often suspected of social irrelevance. Similar issues also affect the classical music business - musical skills, regular concert attendance and knowledge of the 'classical' repertoire are no longer necessarily seen as an integral part of education: "The musical canon is increasingly and rightly confronted with social demands such as representativeness, inclusivity and equality. As musicologists, we are therefore doubly challenged to constantly reinvent our ability to connect, which can be very productive for the subject," summarizes Louis Delpech.