The MUMUTH – Haus für Musik und Musiktheater, a faculty building for the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (KUG) will be officially opened on March 1st 2009. To celebrate this special event the Institute for Music Drama will present a performance of W.A. Mozart’s opera ‘The Magic Flute’. At the preview tours in theater last week in Graz, Ben van Berkel stated that, ‘The relationship between music and architecture is a classical one. Too classical for our times, may be the thought of many contemporary architects. But that is not our view; UNStudio likes classical with a twist…’

Since 1963 MUMUTH represents a central practice and event building for the KUG. ‘Finally we can offer our students an outstanding architectural building space to further their artistic training. The mission of the Arts University is the on-going development of the arts. Thanks to MUMUTH our audience can be increasingly involved in this exciting process’, says Rector KUG Georg Schulz.

The new Music Theater, designed by Ben van Berkel of the renowned Dutch architecture firm UNStudio following an international competition with 212 entries, has already formed the Austrian contribution to the Venice Biennale of Architecture.

Of the design of MUMUTH Architect Ben van Berkel says: ‘The desire to make a building that is as much about music as a building can be, has been a constant throughout the nearly ten years that it took to build the theater and the themes that are at the basis of the building and its overall organization have also endured throughout this time.’

Construction of the 19 million euro new music theatre began in March 2006 and in August 2008 the Federal Real Estate Society (BIG) entrusted the main part of the building to the KUG. In February 2009 the MUMUTH also hosted part of the 7th International Competition ‘Franz Schubert and Modern Music’.

Upcoming events in MUMUTH include W.A. Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ (3rd, 5th and 7th March) and on April 2nd the new abo@MUMUTH starts with a staging of the ‘St. John Passion BWV 245′, the stage set for which has also been designed by Ben van Berkel/UNStudio (further performances: 4th, 6th and 8th of April).

The following description is from the architects:

‘The building consists of one horizontally directed spiral whose ends are interwoven with its middle part to generate the internal organisation. Differentiating the spiral allows for creating buffer zones between the functions as well as fulfilling the different spatial needs of the various programme parts. The spiral organisation allows for transition zones, offering acoustic buffering as well as forming a secondary routing system which gives the performers a side path, connecting the internal, private functions. Central in the concept of the building is the large room that can be flexibly used as working place, concert room and music theatre. Attached to this central room are a cafetaria, technical spaces and dressing rooms.’