Christian Utz (Austria - exploring Singapore)
hristian Utz, composer and musicologist, was born in Munich. Since 2004 he has been professor for music theory and music analysis at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts Graz; in 2007/2008 he has been invited as guest professor for composition and musicology to the National Chiao-Tung University (Xinzhu/Taiwan) and the University of Tokyo/Japan. From 1990 to 2000 Utz studied composition, piano, music theory and musicology in Vienna and Karlsruhe. In 2000, he received a PhD degree at the Institute for Musicology at Vienna University with a thesis on New Music and Interculturality. From John Cage to Tan Dun (published in 2002 by Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart / Germany).
Utz received major artistic impulses from Erich Urbanner, Dieter Kaufmann, Wolfgang Rihm, Mauricio Kagel, Luca Francesconi, Brian Ferneyhough, Salvatore Sciarrino and Helmut Lachenmann. He has been invited to the most important European seminars of new music (Session du composition Royaumont/F 1998, Stage d'informatique musicale IRCAM/Paris 1999, 14th international composition seminar in Boswil/CH 2001, composition seminar Ictus Ensemble Bruxelles 2002), and has received numerous grants and awards.
Already in early phases of his artistic development, Utz tried to free compositional concepts from conventional boundaries by exploring concepts spanning the fields of music and theatre, composition and improvisation, instrumental and electronic music. Since 1998 intercultural collaborations and concepts have become the centre of Utz’ compositional activities that are documented on his CDs Site (Composers’ Art Label 2002) and transformed (Spektral Records 2008).
In 1998 he founded AsianCultureLink to enhance intercultural exchange between European and Asian artists. His fields of scholarly research include theory and analysis of 18th-21st century music, new and traditional music in non-Western cultures, intercultural history of composition.