“Bringing together the best musicians from around the world.”
In a press release relayed by Diapason magazine, conductor Teodor Currentzis unveiled the creation of a new ensemble, called Utopia.
“It is an idealistic attempt to find an approach to musical creation that allows one to reach the deep essence of a musical text,”
he explains.
The formation must bring together 112 musicians, from 28 different countries, including Russian and Ukrainian musicians, hired according to the musical projects.
The ensemble will embark on its first tour in October, which will visit the Philharmonie du Luxembourg, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Philharmonie in Berlin and which should continue until 2023.
According to
Diapason
, Utopia should offer works from the beginning of the 20th century, namely:
"suite of
The Firebird
by Stravinsky, as well as two compositions by Ravel: Suite n° 2 from
Daphnis and Chloé
and
La Valse
"
.
The music magazine also provides some details about the motivations that prompted Teodor Currentzis to launch this new ensemble:
“This dream is not just mine.
It is an idea that has long been nurtured by many musicians from all over the world: to bring together people who share a common musical ideology in order to create without compromise what our musical imagination can conceive”.
The conductor, who made a name for himself by breaking the conventions of classical music, was strongly criticized at the start of the war in Ukraine because of the financing of his ensemble founded in 2004 in Siberia and baptized MusicAeterna by the Russian bank VTB, targeted by Western sanctions.
According to Radio France, Teodor Currentzis would also have
"regularly defended Vladimir Putin's Russia"
during various interviews.
In May, the Philharmonie de Paris had canceled the concert of the MusicAeterna ensemble, however citing logistical concerns more than political ones.
The press release does not give any information as to the future of this ensemble, it specifies however that Utopia will be financed, among other European benefactors, by a private foundation called Kunst und Kultur DM.
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