Harmony with Our Fragile Earth — Rockstrom, Juniper & Thorvaldsdottir
Johan Rockstrom, Tony Juniper, and composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir explore Earth's interconnected systems in this free pre-concert talk at Southbank.
Why we picked this
Rockstrom's planetary boundaries framework is one of the most consequential ideas in environmental science. Placing it in dialogue with Thorvaldsdottir's music, which physically embodies geological and ecological forces, is an unusually considered pairing before a Beethoven concert.
Johan Rockstrom developed the planetary boundaries framework, which identifies the nine Earth-system processes that define a safe operating space for humanity. His research at the Potsdam Institute has shaped how scientists and policymakers think about the limits of what the planet can absorb. Tony Juniper, naturalist, environmentalist, and former executive director of Friends of the Earth, brings a decades-long perspective on translating ecological science into policy and public understanding.
Joining them is Anna Thorvaldsdottir, the Icelandic composer whose work is deeply shaped by the volcanic, glacial landscapes of her home country. Her music has been described as geological: slow, tectonic, attentive to forces that operate across vast timescales. That sensibility makes her an unusual and apt presence in a conversation about planetary systems.
The talk is free and takes place before the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, a piece that has carried the weight of humanity’s relationship to the natural world for over two centuries. Part of the LPO’s Harmony with Nature season.