Worlds in metamorhosis
Our world is impacted by sudden global shifts and a growing social uncertainty. Information, and the lack of it, are to be found more than ever before; at the same time, a busy and consumption-based lifestyle does not encourage pausing to be still, even when it would be necessary. Experiencing art is surrendering to a moment which feels timeless; it is sustainable imagination in other ways. With the help of art, one can experience change more deeply and escape for a moment into alternate worlds.
At the centre of this polyphonic and multi-generational festival is domestic contemporary music, which creates a fascinating image of what kinds of musical worlds the music of our country resounds in today. Music has the never-ending ability to reinvent itself; the music of our time is not a narrow singularity, but rather a broad plurality. It can move between fantasy, reality, the present and the past; between the visible and the invisible, reality and utopia. Contemporary music in its plurality deserves to escape from the margins to become the sound of our time. Music, together with the other arts, can go beyond where reality ends.
The sound of our time cannot be boxed in; it rather opens doors than closes them. It is both relevant and timeless, pre-meditated and improvised, serious and playful, perplexing and approachable, grounded in the past and looking towards the future, universal and personal. The common thread is that it expresses how to exist in shifting worlds.
Culture is also built by looking towards the future. On the Pre-event day of the festival and the Family Day, we will get to hear young composers, and new pedagogical commission works will be premiered. What happens on the grass-roots level can have a lasting impact on our relationship with contemporary music, concert programme selections, career choices and public education – broadly speaking, on our society and culture.
For the music of our time to become vibrant, an audience is required. I wish you a warm welcome to the concerts!
MINNA LEINONEN
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR,
TAMPERE BIENNALE 2024
Photos: Ville Hautakangas