Lars-Christian Koch

Prof. Lars-Christian Koch’s work lies at the intersection of ethnomusicology, museum practice, and intercultural scholarship. Trained as a music ethnologist, he has developed a long-term academic engagement with North Indian classical music, the study of musical instruments (organology), Buddhist musical traditions, historical recordings, and music archaeology. His research is grounded in fieldwork, particularly in India and South Korea, where he has documented musical practices and instruments within their social and cultural contexts.

Since 2018, Koch has served as Director for the collections of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art at the Humboldt Forum in Berlin, overseeing one of Europe’s most significant assemblages of global cultural heritage. In October 2025, he was also appointed Director of Saxony’s State Ethnographic Collections, extending his institutional leadership within Germany’s museum landscape. Alongside his curatorial responsibilities, he holds academic positions as Associate Professor of Music Ethnology at the University of Cologne and Honorary Professor at the Berlin University of the Arts and Humboldt University.

A defining aspect of Koch’s museum practice is his development of the “collaborative museum” model. This framework emphasises sustained partnerships with source communities and countries, advocating shared authority in research, curation, and interpretation. Within the Humboldt Forum, this approach has shaped methods of presenting Asian and non-European collections, particularly those related to India, foregrounding dialogue with artists, scholars, and cultural practitioners from the regions represented.

Koch’s engagement with Indian music extends beyond scholarship into active cultural mediation. Through research, exhibitions, archival projects, and institutional collaborations, he has contributed to the documentation and international visibility of North Indian raga traditions and Indian musical heritage more broadly. His work has facilitated exchanges between Indian musicians, scholars, and German cultural institutions, situating Indian classical music within global museum and academic contexts.

In recognition of these contributions, the Government of India conferred upon him the Padma Shri in January 2026. The award acknowledges his role in advancing Indian musicology, preserving and interpreting Indian musical heritage, and strengthening cultural exchange between India and Germany through research and museum practice.