“To foster a musical culture which bears in mind the social dimension of all forms of musical expression, offering specialised consultancy and training services and products to private individuals and institutions.”

This, according to its strategic plan for 2007-2011, is the mission of Musikeon. But what lies behind this mission statement?

At Musikeon we work with very different kinds of music, and we do so from a variety of angles: research, performance, teaching and entrepreneurial activity. But there is one thing that all these activities have in common: the firm conviction that music is culture. Whether it is classical music or nu-metal, whether we study, teach or practise it, music is part of the society in which we live. Music is our daily companion; it shapes us and helps us to grow, both individually and collectively. Music is persuasive, it works on our will, our attitudes and feelings; it organizes and transforms our soundscape, creating something exceptional and unique out of our daily routine.

We believe in music: all kinds of music, without exception. We believe in its ability to convey emotions, values and ways of seeing the world. And that is why we reject the idea of the superiority of any one way of making music over another: because such an idea would ultimately involve upholding the superiority of one culture over another. The musicians and researchers who make up the Musikeon team believe that any stage in musical activity, from a routine piano lesson to the most ambitious cultural project, can - little by little- build a different world, one in which diversity will come to replace the arrogance of universal and irrefutable truths.

We believe in understanding why differences exist; we believe in the reasons and the nuances behind them, in the value of differences and the need to frame aesthetic judgments in the cultural contexts which alone can give them legitimacy. Cultural contexts which cherish traditions and direct our energies, defining us as human beings.