The Myth of Modern Violence

Project LENS is a new performance collaborative dedicated to exploring connections between classical music and various topics in the world beyond. Our events pair performances of works from the classical repertoire with TED Talk-style presentations of ideas from other fields.On February 13th, the LENS team, legendary Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, and the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet will collaborate to present "The Myth of Modern Violence." At this special event, we'll delve into Pinker's intriguing idea that violence in human civilizations has declined over time. We'll examine a range of music from 400 years ago to the present, including works by Biber, Schubert, Shostakovich, and Widmann that each evoke violence in different ways. We'll look into composers' historical contexts and the significance of globalization in order to explain away the popular view that classical music has somehow become more violent sounding over the centuries.Tickets are $25 for adults // $15 for students, available exclusively at http://projectlensfeb13.peatix.com/