32nd Music Biennale Zagreb 2023

The Music Biennale Zagreb is an international festival for contemporary music. With over 50 projects and 25 commissions, the 2023 programme presents almost 100 works – from established composers to newcomers. The artists come to Zagreb from all over Europe, especially from Germany, France, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and Ukraine.

The Music Biennale Zagreb is a platform for local artists and the contemporary classical music scene in Croatia. Through co-productions with international partners, the Biennale enables greater visibility of the participating musicians and composers.

There will be two orchestral concerts with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yalda Zamani and the Croatian Radio Symphony Orchestra HRT with conductor Pascal Rophe, as well as a large-scale opera production with the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb by Croatian composer and former president Ivo Josipović. An important part of the programme are concerts with ensembles such as Klangforum Wien, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Zeitkratzer, Proxima Centauri and Colletivo 21. During the festival week there will also be a master class for composers with Olga Neuwirth, Chaya Czernowin, Clemens Gadenstätter and Franck Bedrossian.

The festival places a strong focus on sustainability, not only in the ecological sense, but also in the structure and selection of the programme. Through a children's and youth programme, younger generations in particular are included. Many events take place outside the city centre of Zagreb at less established concert venues in order to revitalise and open up these places and spaces.

Ukrainian artists and refugees are given a stage with their own projects to create awareness and visibility for the current political situation of these people in Croatia. The Ukrainian guest performances will be accompanied by talks and educational materials.

The whole festival, made possible by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, aims to bring about change in the field of social, performing and artistic sustainability, without neglecting its main goal, which is to present contemporary music of the highest quality.

Further information:
mbz.hr

Dates

April 13 – 22, 2023
Various venues, Zagreb