THE 17TH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL "MOSCOW FORUM"

Ghost of the Future

October 11–15, 2021

Independent festival “Moscow Forum” belongs to the most important Russian festivals for contemporary music. Encountered in 1994 this festival was designed to integrate contemporary Russian music into an overall European cultural context. In the festival’s programs Russian and foreign musicians perform works, which demonstrate the newest tendencies in the art of composition, juxtaposing music by composers from various countries and various schools.

“Moscow Forum” positions itself as a “platform for new music and aesthetical disputes”. The themes of the concerts-disputes are unified by one inclusive idea — the examination of the interactions of the phenomena of contemporary society and the tendencies of contemporary music. Each time the programs of the festival are integrated by new relevant themes, usually timed to complex issues of our days: “Contemporary music: Freedom or Engagement?”, “Music of the Time of Twilight of Empires” (Austrian-Russian Festival), “Getrennt durch Stachelmusik” (German-Russian Festival) and others. The music played in the concert halls is directly interspersed with polemics uttered by composers, artists and well-known philosophers-theoreticians of contemporary art.

The XVII edition of the festival will be held under the motto “Ghost of the Future”. It will take place on October 11-15. Ten concerts will be given in the Rachmaninov Hall in framework of the festival. Three aspects will determinate the themes of concerts and discussions:
• “Eco/Logos of the Sound” (Art of composition between the noise of megapolis and electronic sound);
• “Techno/Logos” (New technologies and arts);
• “Socio/Logos” (Society under suspicion of art. Art under suspicion of society).

The basic orchestra of the festival is “Studio for New Music” Moscow ensemble. Also, other Russian chamber ensembles and soloists will take part in our concerts. Over the years our guests were such prominent orchestras as Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain, Schoenberg Ensemble, Ensemble recherche, die Reihe, Volharding and others.

We expect to develop new formats of artistic exchange which draw on technology development as well as on the questions that may arise out of this development. Therefore, we hope that the technology-based approach to contemporary art would attract new audiences, specifically the youth of postdigital and postinternet generations.

The Moscow Forum contributes to the further development of Russian musical culture and its integration into the overall European cultural context.