Liquid Frontiers

The new headquarters of an Austrian Bank in a premium location on the edge of Vienna’s city centre has a subtle and yet tangible impact on its surroundings. To the front, it steps back consciously in order to create an entrance which acts as a sort of a public square within the late nineteenth century urban grid. “Entrée” - an artistic project which was created for this entrance area and whose title has both musical and architectural connotations - supports and, in a way celebrates, this transition between the interior world of the corporate headquarters and the public realm. The entrance ramp was equipped with an eight-channel sound system which permits the playing of sound installations of the highest audio quality.
The first piece programmed for the series was the composition “Urbirds singing the Sonata” in which Astrid Seme uses recordings of birdsong to reconstruct Kurt Schwitter’s famous Ursonate. The 33-minute-long work was to be heard twice a day at differing times although this has only occurred once to date during the course of the final rehearsal.