12 February 2010
ISCM World New Music Days - program announced
From 30 April to 9 May, Sydney will be hosting the ISCM World New Music Days Festival - the first time in the 88-year history of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) that the prestigious event will be held in the Southern Hemisphere. Full program details of the festival have now been announced and are available on the ISCM World New Music Days website.
In putting together the program for this festival, more than 700 works from 52 countries were assessed, and over 80 works were selected. These reflect a broad spectrum of innovative musical practice, covering everything from works for traditional chamber groups and choirs to cutting-edge multimedia and sound installations. Music has been sourced from Australasia and Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, North, South and Central America, and South Africa. ISCM World New Music Days 2010 will be the largest festival of contemporary music ever held in Australia.
There will be performances by some of Australia's top music
ensembles, from the Goldner String Quartet, The Song Company and
Topology through to emerging artists, including the Sydney
Conservatorium of Music Big Band, Sydney Symphony Fellows and the
Sydney Children's Choir. The Sydney-based Ensemble Offspring will
present three performances, including a concert of music by young
composers from Australia, Greece, Sweden, South Africa and
Russia.
Australian composers featured at the festival include Elena
Kats-Chernin, Katia Beaugeais, Carl Vine, Bruce Crossman, Liza
Lim, Tim Davies, Ross Edwards, Jonathan Bekes, Angela Martens,
Vincent Surjadinata, Peter Sculthorpe, Joe Manton, Pete Drummond,
Isaac Hayward, Ian Munro, Andrián Pertout, Martin Wesley-Smith,
Robert Davidson, Kate Moore, Chris Tonkin, John Peterson, Peter
McNamara, Lachlan Skipworth, Stuart Greenbaum, Alex Pozniak,
Damien Ricketson, Andrew Ford, Ros Bandt and Daniel Blinkhorn.
Some program details are still to be confirmed.
International performers will include the Spectra Ensemble from
Belgium and the NZTrio. Composer Annea Lockwood (US/NZ) will be
in residence at the Campbelltown Arts Centre to install some of
her piano works and to showcase a recent video work, Bow
Falls.
Notable in the 2010 ISCM World New Music Days is the inclusion of
a special category of radiophonic works - 13 works that have been
specifically written for radio broadcast. Composers in this
category are from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Hong
Kong, Turkey and Portugal. ABC Classic FM will be presenting
these and other works recorded during the festival throughout
Australia. The works will also be streamed on the internet.
Since the ISCM's founding in 1922, many works premiered during the festivals have become standard repertoire - for example Alban Berg's Violin Concerto and Ravel's Piano Concerto for Left Hand. Australian works have regularly featured in the festival since 1938 in London, when Peggy Glanville-Hicks' Choral Suite was performed on a program which included Britten's Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge, and Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos, Percussion and Celesta.
Further links
ISCM World New Music Days (http://www.worldnewmusicdays.com.au/)
International Society for Contemporary Music (http://www.iscm.org/)
© Australian Music Centre (2010) — Permission must be obtained from the AMC if you wish to reproduce this article either online or in print.
The Australian Music Centre connects people around the world to Australian composers and sound artists. By facilitating the performance, awareness and appreciation of music by these creative artists, it aims to increase their profile and the sustainability of their art form. Established in 1974, the AMC is now the leading provider of information, resources, materials and products relating to Australian new music.
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