Media Release
Salzburg/Basel, 13 August 2008
Roche Continents: creativity and innovation in Arts and Science
The Salzburg Festival and Roche invite 100 students from across Europe to Austria to attend the second edition of their joint programme
A hundred students of science, music and arts from more than seventy European universities have teamed up in Salzburg this week to uncover the common ground of creativity in the arts and science, and attend “Kontinente” a new festival within the Salzburg festival focusing on the works of a contemporary composer. The Roche Continents project, which was established in 2007 (with the Scelsi concertos) is a collaboration between the Salzburg Festival and Roche, aiming at encouraging young people to explore contemporary music and get familiar with the unfamiliar.
Franz B. Humer, Chairman of the Board, said: “This joint programme by the Salzburg Festival and Roche unites students from different academic disciplines who come together to discuss new ideas and thoughts. It’s not just for this programme that we want to foster a climate of creativity, openness and listening to people; at Roche, we believe that this is the key to success for our company.” Helga Rabl-Stalder, the President of the Salzburg Festival, said: “The Festival welcomes Roche’s commitment and support of contemporary music. This programme brings together the future elite of life sciences and arts”.
This year’s composer, Salvatore Sciarrino, was born in 1947 in Palermo where as a young man he had private music lessons and gave his first performances. He never attended a conservatory and for the most part he taught himself the art of composition. In 1969 he escaped from the cultural constraints of his homeland in Sicily. Sciarrino’s music focuses on the aspect of perception. Metaphysical buildings of thought, subjective expression, great ideas about mankind – everything that has inspired and burdened music since the 19th century is secondary in it, and when it is heard, then in a totally non-pathetic, almost casual manner.
This year’s programme for students is again filled with a variety of activities around arts and science: not only will they listen to a series of lectures and attend workshops, they will also go to two concerts by Sciarrino, Luci mie traditrici, La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura and a puppet theatre, La terribile e spaventosa storia.
Roche has been an active patron of contemporary art and cultural projects since it was founded in 1896 - a heritage reflecting the influence of the founder’s family. “Roche Continents” has been created for students and post-docs aged 20 to 29 from across Europe. Roche sees close affinities between innovation in the arts and itself as a research-based company and is convinced that contemporary culture enriches its employees’ daily lives and contributes to making Roche an innovative company.
Alexander Vlaar, MD, who is working on his PhD in Medicine at the University of Amsterdam, said: “ This was an exciting week. I have enjoyed meeting other students from all over Europe and exchanging ideas, insights and creativity. It’s really seeing science from a totally different perspective”. Alexandra Chadt who is working on her PhD in Molecular Biology at the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam, added: “I’m impressed by the unconstrained teamwork- working with new colleagues who are doing a life-science degree and hearing from them how they experience and interpret creativity in their fields of knowledge was both astonishing and enriching”.
About Roche Continents
Roche has a long tradition of supporting cultural projects. “Roche Continents” is a project that has grown from the partnership between Roche and the Salzburg Festival, where Roche is sponsoring “Kontinente”, a new series of concerts featuring the works of modern composers. “Roche Continents” has been created for students and post-docs aged 20 to 29 from across Europe. Through “Roche Continents”, students can experience performances of contemporary music and try to uncover the common ground of creativity in the arts and science. In Salzburg, participants will meet up to 99 other students from across Europe and explore topics from the worlds of art and science. Together, they will attend performances of works by an outstanding modern composer at the Salzburg Festival.
About the Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival was founded 88 years ago by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Max Reinhardt and Richard Strauss, and is a magnet today more than ever. The Salzburg Festival offers a broader artistic program than any other festival: Salzburg features opera, drama and concerts. And in the selection of works and interpretations, it also offers the broadest spectrum from Mozart, the genius loci, to modern works, from classical interpretations to avant-garde experimentation, from Hofmannsthal’s Jedermann to Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. And only the best and most famous artists from all over the world are invited to Salzburg.
About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As the world’s biggest biotech company and an innovator of products and services for the early detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people’s health and quality of life. Roche is the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics and drugs for cancer and transplantation, and is a market leader in virology. It is also active in other major therapeutic areas such as autoimmune diseases, inflammatory and metabolic disorders and diseases of the central nervous system. In 2007 sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division totalled 36.8 billion Swiss francs, and the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 9.3 billion francs. Roche has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai, and invested over 8 billion Swiss francs in R&D in 2007. Worldwide, the Group employs about 80,000 people. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.roche.com.
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