For more than the quarter of a century, the annual Klangspuren Schwaz Festival has been dedicated to bringing adventurous new music to Tirol. Apart from performances of leading ensembles, it offers instrumental workshops for students of all ages.
Since its foundation in 1994, the Tirol Festival for New Music has become one of the most refreshing, innovative and comprehensive festivals of its kind. The proven concept to combine international high-level contemporary music with local customs is the foundation of its programming. In the year 2021, the Tirol Festival for New Music will revolve around the theme of “Transitions”. The painful pandemic year has shown that the planet is out of balance, endangering human health. The emergence of the novel, highly contagious virus is a function of our assault on the natural world. The pandemic has shown that change is needed and that we must work together—and this year’s festival aims at achieving this task through its musical programming, combining classical with rock music, Arabian tunes with contemporary compositions and everyday sounds with electro acoustical works.
The Klangspuren Festival brings top national and international musicians and prestigious contemporary artists and ensembles to Schwaz, along with two Artists in Residence: German-Romanian composer Adriana Hölszky and German saxophone player Frank Gratkowski as Improviser in Residence. They both will be present during the entire master course of the annual International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA) to rehearse their works with the students.
In addition to performances of leading ensembles, the festival will offer music and composer workshops, concerts, and more. There will also be instrument exploration sessions named “Klangspuren Lautstark” (‘Klangspuren Loud’) and “Klangspuren Lautstärker” (‘Klangspuren Louder’) for children and young adults, in which participants learn about the extraordinary variety of sounds (applications required).
