Dear followers of the Otlet Salons,

we created a Youtube channel so you can find all video’s of past Editions together through this link.

Enjoy!

For their third Edition, Otlet Salons invited US pianist Jeremy Denk for a musical soiree centered around Bach’s Goldberg Variations: one of the most famous and difficult pieces for piano ever written and a challenge for both pianist and audience. A high-ceiling apartment and an eclectic mix of chairs and listeners forms the intimate setting wherein Denk proves his skills as performer by wittily illustrating the skeleton of the piece while playing excerpts ‘that go directly to the soul’.
A three-men panel (physicist, mathematician, artist) interacts with the musician and the diverse, involved audience on the subject of the seeming paradox between the soul and the mathematical foundation of the piece and the tension between art and science in general. The freely flowing discussion leads to the broader notion that science in its core seeks to describe an external reality; art and music are more about dealing with the world from the human perspective.

Read the full report for more information about this edition with quotes from the panel members and highlights of the evening.
More on this and previous editions.

We are pleased to inform you on the Jeremy Denk Edition of the Otlet Salons. This edition will take place in Antwerp on Friday the 5th of February 2016. We are happy to welcome Jeremy Denk as our keynote. He is one of the most expressive musicians of the USA. Jeremy will join us to share his reflections on Bach’s Goldberg variations. We will move from his playing and insights towards a broader reflection on music, arts and mathematics inspired by the ideas reflected on in the iconic (and Pulitzer prize winning) book “Gödel, Escher, Bach” by Douglas Hofstadter.More details on the subject, timing and program of this Edition will follow shortly here. If you want to participate please subscribe via otlet.salons@gmail.com and for future events subscribe to our blog.

Friday the 25th of September was a bright and sunny day.
A guided historical visit of Mons European capital of culture and a guided tour in the Mundaneum Museum made this a very special edition of the Otlet Salons.
Pieter Colpaert was our keynote speaker on the topic “When data want to be reused“. Panel members and more information on our event page.

We are pleased to inform you on the Mundaneum Edition of the Otlet Salons. This edition will take place at the Mundaneum in Mons on Friday the 25th of September. We are happy to welcome Pieter Colpaert as our keynote speaker on “How data want to be reused”. More details on the subject, timing and program of this Edition here. Mons cultural capital 2015 also offered us a guided tour at 16 o clock followed by a guided visit of the renewed Mundaneum Museum! Please check Mons European capital of culture for more activities. If you want to participate please subscribe via otlet.salons@gmail.com and for future events subscribe to our blog!