Utopia is an international festival orchestra led by conductor Teodor Currentzis that seeks to bring together the best musicians from all around the world. It operates independently of any other collectives and institutions in terms of its structure, finances, and organization. Utopia was founded several years ago. Its point of departure is the idea that the willingness of musicians to devote themselves to serious preparatory and research work is just as important as musical mastery in achieving visionary artistic goals. Therefore, Utopia is not so much an orchestra in the conventional sense of the word, but rather a special creative community, a team of like-minded people with a shared musical ideology. The musicians from dozens of countries from Canada to Japan, from France to Venezuela come together specifically to create each new programme.
The first Utopia concerts were given in October 2022. The orchestra performed Igor Stravinsky’s and Maurice Ravel’s pieces at some of Europe’s most important venues supported the project, namely Philharmonie Luxembourg, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Wiener Konzerthaus, and also in the Berliner Philharmonie.
Every year, Utopia creates 3–4 new programmes, which it presents on some of the largest European stages and festivals. Following its debut, Utopia performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 and Symphony No. 5, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9, Bach’s sacred oratorio St. Matthew Passion, Brahms’s Violin Concerto, and others.
Since its foundation, Utopia has been an annual resident at the Salzburg Festival, one of the world’s leading music festivals. It made its debut with Purcell’s The Indian Queen staged by Peter Sellars and Mozart’s Mass in C minor, followed by Don Giovanni staged by Romeo Castellucci and the St Matthew Passion in 2024. Especially for these productions, Teodor Currentzis assembled the Utopia Choir, having invited 40 musicians from 14 countries who perform in Europe’s leading theatres and ensembles. In summer 2025 Utopia returned to Salzburg for performances of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, and Rameau’s opera Castor et Pollux. This summer, Utopia will present at the Festival a new production of Bizet’s Carmen, created in collaboration with a Belgian dance theatre company Peeping Tom.
In 2025, Utopia conducted by Teodor Currentzis took part in the premiere of Rameau’s opera Castor et Pollux directed by Peter Sellars at the Paris Opera and gave a unique concert at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus — one of the most extraordinary spaces in the world holding 14,000 spectators. In the autumn, Europe’s largest concert venues hosted Utopia with Wagner’s Ring Without Words, while in May 2026, Utopia went on a tour featuring Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and Berg’s Violin Concerto.
In November, the orchestra presents Violin Concerto No. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich and The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky in Europe, South Korea, and Japan. In May 2027, the Utopia programme will feature St Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach.