Days of contemporary music

The Dresdner Tage der zeitgenössischen Musik (Dresden Festival of Contemporary Music) once again aims to resonate with the joy of experimentation. Renowned ensembles from Germany and abroad will perform at the 32nd edition of the renowned festival from March 28 to April 18 at the Festspielhaus Hellerau and other venues. The organizers have announced, among others, the "intercontemporain" ensemble founded by Pierre Boulez.

Festival sees upheavals in production conditions for art

This year's festival is characterized by "dramatic global upheavals and acutely endangered production conditions for art", explained Moritz Lobeck, Artistic Director of the festival. "Contemporary art and music can take on important functions right now for mediation, for individual and collective artistic experience, for new insights into archives or alternative futures."

Pictures by Gerhard Richter to music by Steve Reich

The opening will be performed by Ensemble Modern with a work by the Kosovo-born composer Anda Kryeziu. Together with New York composer George Lewis, the "Trickster Orchestra" will present border areas between written and spoken scores. A dance and sound performance is also planned. For the finale, the paintings of painter Gerhard Richter will be brought to life to the music of Steve Reich and Rebecca Saunders.

Dresden internationally renowned as a stage for contemporary music

Dresden already set the tone for contemporary music in GDR times. This is mainly thanks to the composer Udo Zimmermann. In 1986, he founded the Dresden Center for Contemporary Music. One year later, the center hosted the "Dresden Days of Contemporary Music" for the first time. They quickly attracted national attention, including in western Germany.