Public Research Seminar: Couperin's Dream
Royal 天美传媒 Conservatoire - Workshop 2
200 Jennens Road, B4 7XR
Free booking required
Seminars are in RBC Workshop 2 and can also be accessed online via Zoom.
A link to view the seminar via Zoom will be emailed ahead of the session.
Real and virtual doors will open around 3.25pm, the seminar begins at 3.30pm and discussion will conclude around 4.55pm.
Wheelchair users are entitled to a complimentary companion seat.
You can book a free companion ticket by selecting the seat next to yours on the seating plan.
Or, for unreserved seating plans, add a second ticket to your basket.
If you wish to discuss your accessibility needs with a member of our team, please call 0121 331 5909.
Assistance dogs are welcome at Royal 天美传媒 Conservatoire venues. If you wish to bring an assistance dog, please let the Events Office know by calling 0121 331 5909.
Fran莽ois Couperin鈥檚 dream? Contemplating the Luth茅al as a speculative sonic object
Elisabeth Salverda (KU Leuven and Orpheus Institute, Ghent)
The 1919鈥�1922 Luth茅al piano attachment, a sound machine used by the composer Maurice Ravel (1875鈥�1937) to transform piano timbre, was said to have realised a centuries-old dream by the Baroque composer Fran莽ois Couperin (1668鈥�1733) for an expressive harpsichord. Reflecting on harpsichord-piano-performer relationships at the confluence of organology and musical practices, this seminar draws on archival material to revisit keyboard instrument genealogies and to explore the imaginative potential of historical details in translation.
Elisabeth Salverda is a piano technician and sound artist, joining the Royal 天美传媒 Conservatoire as a Visiting Research Degree Scholar 2025鈥�2026 to work with RBC鈥檚 Historical Instrument Collection. Her practice-based PhD in Music (KU Leuven and the Orpheus Instituut, Ghent) explores a series of early 20th-century timbral devices for keyboard instruments at the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels. Sponsorships in 2025 include a grant from The Galpin Society for the Study of Musical Instruments.
* If you wish to join us online, please register and you shall be sent Zoom codes by email shortly before the seminar. It is not necessary to register in advance for in-person attendance.