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Hans Wüthrich studied piano and music theory at the Bern Conservatory. In 1962, he graduated with a degree in piano performance, and from 1967 to 1973, he studied German language and literature, philosophy, musicology, and composition with Klaus Huber. He concluded his studies with a Doctorate of Letters from the University of Zurich. In 1974, he founded the Mixt Media Basel Ensemble, which was dedicated to the performance of works combining music and theatre. From 1971 to 1985, he taught linguistics at the Universities of Basel and Zurich. From 1985 to 2002, he was a professor of music theory at the Winterthur Conservatory. He has been a member of the Berlin Academy of the Arts since 2009.
His works explore the relationship between language and music through analyses of contemporary political and social phenomena. In 1974, he composed Das Glashaus, a piece in which, as with Ligeti’s Aventures (1962-1963), he created an imaginary language comprising phonemes which were devoid of meaning. Wüthrich’s work attempted to represent the psycho-phonic identities of individuals according to their place in the social hierarchy, and thereby critiqued contemporary power structures. In 1989-1991, Wüthrich composed Wörter Bilder Dinge for string quartet and voice, in which the text from the Geneva Convention of 1948 on Human Rights was first translated into Egyptian hieroglyphs and then translated back into modern language. The protracted pronunciation of the words comprising the text create an effect of unreality.
Wüthrich also seeks to present paradigms of theatrical music which are distinct from traditional operatic forms. He composed Brigitte F., a portrait of a young junkie from Basel, for the Donaueschinger Musiktage in 1978. In preparation for the composition of this work, he followed the withdrawals and relapses of a young woman for a period of six months, collaborating with her to develop a musical means of expressing her feelings, thoughts, and life-experience. At the time of its premiere, the piece represented an innovative new form of theatrical/musical documentary. Other works marked by social criticism include the cycles Happy Hour (1994-1997) and LEVE (1992), which present harsh critiques of the entertainment industry and consumerism. These works, along with Bier, Gewitter und innere Stimmen (2003), utilise interactive performance settings in order to better illustrate the “landscape of the soul” and modern humanity.
Ricordi, Grammont Portrait, Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, SME – Musinfo.
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