Lyttelos – The Listening Body

In this episode, I talk with Finn Upham (RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion) about what happens in the body when we listen to music.

Starting from a research concert in Oslo—where audience members’ breathing, heart rate, and movement were measured—the conversation explores how listening is not just mental or emotional, but deeply physical.

Why do we sometimes hold our breath in music? How can listeners unconsciously breathe with performers? And what does this reveal about music as a shared, human experience?

From Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata to experimental listening practices, this episode invites you to rediscover music through the body.

Finn Upham is a researcher in music cognition and music psychology, with a particular focus on how the body responds to music. He is a postdoctoral researcher at RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion at the University of Oslo, where he studies the relationship between music, breathing, heart rate, and movement, as well as the interaction between performers and audiences.

In his research, he explores how listeners do not only hear music, but also physically participate in it, for example through breathing and bodily resonance. He has a background as a musician, with experience in singing and wind instruments, and combines this with a strong foundation in mathematics and analytical methods.

Through his work, he contributes to a deeper understanding of how music is experienced in the body, and how listening is an active, embodied, and fundamentally human process.

There is a way to listen to music so it touches the very core of yourself. I was so fortunate to discover this almost 30 years ago through the teachings of the Spanish conductor Jordi Mora. With these five newly made conversations with him, I invite you to a very special journey into this fascinating and deeply moving world of music. His unique teachings opens up the inner world of music in a way that creates connections to our life experiences as a human being.

I recently I met up with him in Barcelona to once again delve into the fascinating world of phenomenology of music, as this approach is called. The result are these 5 podcast episodes. I hope you will feel inspired after listening to it!

Annabel Guaita is frequently touring in Norway and abroad with the concert lecture The Art of Listening- the inner journey through music

For feedback, questions or booking post@lyttelos.no

Episode 4 The universe of relationship in music searching for unity. Musical examples: Bach Prelude in C, Beethoven Sonate Pathetique 2nd mvt. Summary In this lecture, we delved into the practical applications of the concepts we discussed previously. We explored the notion of evolution in music as a continuous process, drawing parallels with the works of Bach. Through the lens of Bach's compositions, we analyzed the interplay between continuity, repetition, and the absence of such elements.

In conclusion, the lecture highlighted the timeless appeal of composers like Bach and Beethoven, whose mastery lies in their ability to craft music that transcends mere notes and rhythms, offering profound insights into the human experience and the beauty of artistic expression.

JORDI MORA, conductor

Born in Barcelona, he begins his musical studies at the city's Music Conservatory. He graduates at the Höchschule für Musik in Würzburg as an oboist, and graduates in Musicology and Philosophy at the University of Munich with the thesis "Organisation of the vertical functions in the instrumentation of the symphonic work by Beethoven".

He studies orchestra conducting and phenomenology of music primarily with Sergiu Celibidache, and he has attended masterclasses and conducting courses at the University of Mainz, the Münchner Philarmoniker in Munich, and other courses in Trier, London, Stuttgart, and Paris. He has been principal conductor of the National Orchestra of Greece and of the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès.

He regularly conducts orchestras in Germany, Spain, France, the United States, Russia, Romania, Greece, Argentina and Venezuela as a guest conductor.

At the same time, he is also involved in many pedagogical projects, especially in Argentina (Fundación Cultural), Switzerland, Spain, Italy and Germany. In 2004 he became professor of orchestra conducting at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC )and from 2010 to 2015, guest professor at the Grieg Akademy in Bergen (Norway).

He is currently conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of "Segle XXI" and of the Bruckner Akademie Orchester. With this last orchestra, he is performing the complete symphonic works of this composer.

He was appointed as principal guest conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Lebanon (LPO) and Franz Schubert Philharmonie as well.

Contact www.jordi-mora.com jordimoragriso@gmail.com