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Urban Soundscapes
 'Urban
Soundscapes' are by definition profiles and formats
of urban nature, of cultural shapes, silhouettes
and outlines of a city's appearance and of its perception
and atmospheric reflexes.
Photography has internationally been the major
artistic means and expression for human, natural,
and cultural shapes and was generously used in recent
years to portray the mood and the atmosphere, the
sensibilities and self-importance, the playfulness
and seriousness of metropolitan cities world-wide.
For the last two years the South East Asian branches
of the Goethe Institutes in Jakarta, Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hanoi and Manila had invited
German and regional photographers to work on the
theme of 'Urban Nature'. The results were exhibited
in the region under the inclusive title of Mapping
Invisible Cities.
The current regional Goethe-project in this general
vein is entitled 'CityScapes', to be realised in
various cultural formats and creative expressions
by artists in different capitals of South East Asia
during 2009 and 2010.
Therefore Goethe-Institut Malaysia and the Malaysian
Composers Collective have chosen the idea of Urban
Soundscapes behind these 'CityScapes' - an idea
reminiscent of the futuristic treatment of cities
that was prominent in the '30s and '40s - of acoustic
choreographies of sounds, of visual rhythms and
melodies that grew into organic compositions of
the pulsing life in larger cities.
We are proud to present this unique festival of
contemporary music to Malaysia, the region and the
global listener. May we all recognise some part
of our own experiences in these metropolitan symphonies.
- Dr. Volker Wolf, Director of Goethe-Institut
Malaysia
Updated on 20 Jan 2010
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