Utopia

Notes

Based on the experience of the past and projected onto the future, the idea of a utopian society affirms a present that can be written anew at any time and by any kind of people of different cultures, languages and attitudes. In this story, four characters (the woodwind quartet) are trying to establish a dialogue based on a common language and within a diverse society. Their counterpart is another individual (the singer) who is after the idea of an ideal world; her search doesn’t seem to attract the attention of the group, nor are her attempts at synthesising the diversity of the four characters. How far can a quest for a unifying and transcendental goal establish a common ground for conjoint creativity?

Utopia was commissioned by Ensemble Tetraphonia of Basle, Switzerland, in 1989. The initial version was premiered by Ensemble Tetraphonia and Heidrun Schulz at the Zähringer Theater in Berne, Switzerland, on 10th March 1990. The 2020 revision was commissioned by the Musica Nova Festival Reutlingen, Germany, for the 50th Anniversary of the Festival and includes electronics.