15th contemporary music festival brings European talent to Estonia
The AFEKT International Contemporary Music Festival brings European composers to Estonian audiences for the 15th year running, along with "Multimedia Composition: Fine Arts and New Technologies," a dynamic and engaging two-day conference that will cross-reference works and composers from this year’s festival.
After a successful 15-year run, the Estonian Composers’ Festival has branched out in 2016 with a new name and an additional program in Tallinn. Previously held only in Tartu, the event was renamed and will now be known as the AFEKT International Contemporary Music Festival; the new name is a reflection of the increasingly international character of the festival and the growing interest in music including, but no longer limited to Estonian compositions.
At this year's festival, a number of European composers coming in from all over Europe, including Poland, Finland, Germany, Sweden and, of course, Estonia itself, will be featured across 16 different events to be held at various venues in Tallinn and Tartu.
A highlight of this year’s program will be Dark Dreams on Friday, Oct. 21 at the Estonia Concert Hall. A selection of compositions will feature in this concert including Piano Concerto (2014) by Simon Steen-Andersen (1976), Altbau (2007/2008) by Enno Poppe (1969) and the title piece, Dark Dreams (2013) by renowned Austrian composer Georg Friedrich Haas (1953). Additionally, local audiences will enjoy the piece Black Mirror (premiere; 2016) by Estonian composer Toivo Tulev, which was commissioned specifically for the Afekt Festival.
A two-day, English-language conference will run alongside the festival, taking place on Oct. 19-20, to discuss the interdisciplinary nature of modern composition. "Multimedia Composition: Fine Arts and New Technologies" will feature keynote speakers Georg Friedrich Haas (Columbia University, New York) and Simon Steen-Andersen (Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus) and focus on the works of composers featured at the festival.
The AFEKT International Contemporary Music Festival, whose artistic director is Monika Mattiesen, will be held from Wednesday, Oct. 19 through Wednesday, Oct. 26 at various venues in both Tartu and Tallinn.
You can find the full, English-language program for Tallinn here and for Tartu here. Click here to read more about the two-day conference and here to learn more about Friday's concert Dark Dreams.
Ars Baltica is a cultural initiative that gathers and provides information about the latest in the art and culture sector in the Baltic Sea region. It highlights the importance of network-building and the implementation of multilateral cultural projects. Ars Baltica was founded in the early 1990s on the initiative of the Ministries of Culture of the Baltic Sea Region. Since then it has supported international cultural cooperation, advocated the significance of art and culture on the political level, and promoted cultural life around the Baltic Sea and beyond.
Editor: Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: Ars Baltica