Sorbonne

The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which was the historical house of the former University of Paris. Nowadays, it houses part or all of several higher education and research institutions such as Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Paris-Sorbonne University, Paris Descartes University, the École Nationale des Chartes and the École pratique des hautes études.

The name is commonly used to refer to the historic University of Paris or one of its successor institutions, but this is a recent usage. "Sorbonne" has been used with different meanings over the centuries. For information on the historic University of Paris and the present universities which are its successor institutions, or the older Collège de Sorbonne, please refer to the relevant articles.

Collège de Sorbonne

The name is derived from the Collège de Sorbonne, founded in 1257 by Robert de Sorbon as one of the first significant colleges of the medieval University of Paris. The university predates the college by about a century, and minor colleges had been founded already in the late 12th century. During the 16th century, the Sorbonne became a focal point of the intellectual struggle between Catholics and Protestants. The University served as a major stronghold of Catholic conservative attitudes and, as such, conducted a bitter struggle against King Francis I's policy of relative tolerance towards the French Protestants, except for a brief period in 1533 when the University was placed under Protestant control.

The arts

The arts represent an outlet of expression, that is usually influenced by culture and which in turn helps to change culture. As such, the arts are a physical manifestation of the internal creative impulse. Major constituents of the arts include literature – including poetry, novels and short stories, and epics; performing arts – among them music, dance, and theatre; culinary arts such as baking, chocolatiering, and winemaking; media arts like photography and cinematography, and visual arts – including drawing, painting, ceramics, and sculpting. Some art forms combine a visual element with performance (e.g. film) and the written word (e.g. comics).

From prehistoric cave paintings to modern day films, art serves as a vessel for storytelling and conveying mankind's relationship with its environment.

Definitions

In its most basic abstract definition, art is a documented expression of a sentient being through or on an accessible medium so that anyone can view, hear or experience it. The act itself of producing an expression can also be referred to as a certain art, or as art in general.

Vittorio Parisi

Vittorio Parisi (born in Milan, April 6, 1957) is an Italian conductor and teacher.

Biography

Parisi was born in Milan and studied at the Milan Conservatory—piano with Carla Giudici and Piero Rattalino, composition with Azio Corghi and Irlando Danieli, and conducting with Mario Gusella and Gianluigi Gelmetti. He was also Gianluigi Gelmetti's assistant for several years and attended a masterclass in the Netherlands with the Russian conductor Kirill Kondrashin. Following his debut at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari in 1979, went on to an international career conducting both operas and orchestral concerts in major concert halls and opera houses.

He has conducted many premieres by contemporary composers, most importantly his collaborations Luciano Berio and John Cage. He has also conducted the first performances in modern times of works such as the American version of L'ape musicale by Lorenzo Da Ponte, the first staged performances of Gian Francesco Malipiero's Il sogno di un tramonto d'autunno, the first revival of Kurt Weill's Marie Galante, and the first live performance of the radio opera Don Perlimplin by Bruno Maderna.

Paris

Paris (UK: /ˈpærɪs/ PARR-iss; US: ⁱ/ˈpɛərɪs/ PAIR-iss; French: [paʁi]) is the capital and most populous city of France. Situated on the Seine River, in the north of the country, it is in the centre of the Île-de-France region, also known as the région parisienne, "Paris Region". The City of Paris has an area of 105 km² (41 mi²) and a population of 2,241,346 (2014 estimate) within its administrative borders essentially unchanged since 1860.

Since the 19th century, the built-up area of Paris has grown far beyond its administrative borders; together with its suburbs, the whole agglomeration has a population of 10,550,350 (Jan. 2012 census).Paris' metropolitan area spans most of the Paris region and has a population of 12,341,418 (Jan. 2012 census), or one-fifth of the population of France. The administrative region covers 12,012 km² (4,638 mi²), with approximately 12 million inhabitants as of 2014, and has its own regional council and president.

Paris was founded in the 3rd century BC by a Celtic people called the Parisii, who gave the city its name. By the 12th century, Paris was the largest city in the western world, a prosperous trading centre, and the home of the University of Paris, one of the first in Europe. In the 18th century, it was the centre stage for the French Revolution, and became an important centre of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, a position it still retains today.

University of Paris

The University of Paris (French: Université de Paris), metonymically known as the Sorbonne (French: [sɔʁbɔn]), was a French university, founded circa 1150 in Paris, France, recognised 1200 by King Philip II and 1215 by Pope Innocent III, as one of the first universities. Reputed for its academic performance notably in theology and philosophy, it introduced many European academic as well as student traditions, such as student nations. The university is colloquially referred to as the Sorbonne after its collegiate institution, Collège de Sorbonne, founded around 1257 by Robert de Sorbon.

Following the turbulence of the French Revolution, the University of Paris was suspended in 1793 but revived again in 1796.

In 1970, following the May 1968 events, the university was divided into 13 autonomous universities, of which three still maintain the name and major legacy of the former Sorbonne.

Origin and early organization

Like other medieval universities (Bologna, Oxford, Salamanca, Cambridge, Padua), the University of Paris was well established by the time it was formally founded by the Catholic Church in 1200. The earliest historical reference to the university as such is found in Matthew of Paris' reference to the studies of his own teacher (an abbot of St. Albans) and his acceptance into "the fellowship of the elect Masters" at the university of Paris in about 1170. Additionally, it is known that Pope Innocent III had completed his studies at the University of Paris by 1182 at the age of 21. The university developed as a corporation around the Notre Dame Cathedral, similar to other medieval corporations, such as guilds of merchants or artisans. The medieval Latin term, universitas, had the more general meaning of a guild. The university of Paris was known as a universitas magistrorum et scholarium (a guild of masters and scholars), in contrast with the Bolognese universitas scholarium.