Interfinity turns its gaze upwards—to exoplanets and the cosmos. The festival tells a continuous storyline, from the origins of humanity to the distant worlds beyond our solar system. Musically, the journey leads from the Baroque era to the modern age and culminates in a grand highlight: a production about exoplanets in the Messe Halle, developed in collaboration with the NCCR PlanetS research focus and performed by the Sinfonieorchester Basel.
How do aliens actually view humanity? On this evening, the renowned literary scholar and author Prof. Dr. Philipp Theisohn explores this question in his book, examining "extraterrestrial literature"—narratives and fictional works in which humanity thinks beyond itself and imagines life beyond Earth. What do these texts reveal about our own view of the universe—and about the limits of human knowledge? As part of the Interfinity Festival 2026, dedicated to exoplanets and the cosmos, Theisohn presents his ideas in a lecture recital that intertwines science, literature, and music. He will be accompanied by the two internationally acclaimed musicians Denis Linnik (piano) and Dmitry Smirnov (violin), who will perform works in which the fascination with the unknown becomes musically palpable. Scriabin's Fifth Sonata is an ecstatic declaration of transcendence—a departure from Earth into the light. Crumb's “Macrocosm” transforms astrophysical phenomena into soundscapes that hover between constellations and symbols. In Messiaen's “Thème et Variations,” faith and eternity meet, while Sciarrino's “Capricci” gleam like fragile traces of movement in space.
Tickets are CHF 35 for adults and CHF 15 for youths and students under age 26.

Website
interfinity.ch/theisohn

Where
GGG Stadtbibliothek Basel
Im Schmiedenhof 10
4001 Basel

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