Young composers and young interpreters: a remarkable surprise

"The quite extended composition Utopia for mezzosoprano and four wind instruments by John Palmer, was an extraordinarily positive surprise. The composer uses new playing techniques for wind instruments, from instrumental and vocal noises to harmonics and multiphonics, with impressive musical imagination, elegance of sound and wit, too. The voice is treated without a text, as a pure instrument; on the other hand the players of the wind instruments are also producing vocal sounds. The whole thing isn't simply a demonstration of instrumental effects, but on the contrary has the effect of a captivating, amusing, and somehow even liberating music.”

Bieler Tagblatt, 14th March 1990, Daniel Andres (translation by GBZ Management, London)