Final Concert of the PODIUM Esslingen Festival with Yuri Umemoto

Akademie Schloss Solitude and PODIUM Esslingen are pleased to present the composer Yuri Umemoto and his work as part of their collaboration in the final concert Lichtspielscene at the PODIUM Esslingen Festival on May 9, 2026. Yuri Umemoto is currently a joint fellow of both institutions.

In an unusual constellation, the concert brings together Schönberg, memes, and Euphoria: together with ensemble reflektor and Xizi Wang, the program combines Schönberg’s film music of the 1920s with new meme suites by Yuri Umemoto and Georgia Koumará. The result is a multi-layered sonic landscape reflecting the simultaneity of technological developments, social upheavals, and anti-democratic tendencies.

Yuri Umemoto lives and works in Tokyo. His works are performed internationally and emerge through a process of notation, recording, and editing. He frequently incorporates recorded voices and singing, combining a deliberately naive use of language with influences from commercial anime and consumer culture. These elements are interwoven with meditative instrumental sound worlds. His work ranges from stage performances to audio productions and moves between classical and contemporary music as well as club, experimental, ambient, and pop music.

Among his upcoming projects is the opera crypt_, commissioned by the Munich Biennale and co-produced with the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, Oslo Sinfonietta, Black Box Teater Oslo, and the Klang Festival Copenhagen. The world premiere is scheduled for the Munich Biennale in 2026.