Halle Music Days

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The Hallische Musiktage is an international festival specializing in contemporary music in Halle (Saale) , which takes place every November . It was founded in 1955, making it the second oldest in Germany after the Donaueschinger Musiktage . The composer Thomas Buchholz has been the artistic director since 1995 .

history

The first Halle Music Festival took place in November 1955. Its origins go back to 1952, when the Contemporary Music Days were held in East Berlin . The Hallische Musiktage was founded by the Halle working group of the Association of German Composers and Musicologists . During the GDR , the city ​​council and the district council were responsible for the organizational management. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, responsibility fell to the newly founded State Association of Saxony-Anhalt German Composers (LVDK). The main sponsor is the Kulturfonds foundation .

Between 1957 and 1962 the festival was interrupted and only held again in 1963. In 1975 they failed again. From 1976 until the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Hallische Musiktage was officially transformed into a so-called district biennale, which means that it was only held every other year. Possible reasons are the increased costs and organizational tasks, as well as the genre that did not appeal to the general public. The Hallische Musiktage has only been held annually since 1990. In 2007 the festival was canceled due to organizational reconstruction work. The Hallische Musiktage association, a subsidiary of the LVDK, has been the sponsor of the event since 2008.

The number of visitors has been well over 3000 since the beginning of the 21st century.

Surname

The public has doubts about the name of the music days. Specifically, it is the word Hallischen or Halleschen . The festival was named Hallische Musiktage when it was founded. In 1956 the festival was renamed the Hallesche Musiktage. However, since its reintroduction in 1963, Hallische Musiktage has been the official name. The organizer and the city refer to their original name and justify it with the fact that Hallischen clearly establishes the solidarity between the city of Halle (Saale) and the Musiktage.

Hans Stieber Prize

Main article: Hans Stieber Prize

Since 1977 the Hans Stieber Prize has been awarded to young composers as part of the festival . The prize is named after the composer Hans Stieber , who was born in Naumburg / Saale . In 1946 he founded the Hallesche Musikhochschule, which no longer exists today. Part of his estate is administered by the library of the Handel House .

Artistic director of the Hallische Musiktage

Venues

program

The design of the program has changed over the course of the festival's 50-year history. In 1955, for example, two symphonies and a chamber music concert were performed. Even folk music then part of the program. In the second year the program became more extensive, it also included works of early music . A total of two operas , a ballet and five other concerts were presented to the public in 1956 . In the sixties the choral music (with the Halle madrigalists ) held an important position. The Hallische Musiktage served, in the spirit of the GDR, to present the Saxon composers. In addition, Russian and other foreign musicians also performed.

Today an average of ten concerts are held during the festival. The promotion of young composers and musicians, especially from Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt , continues to be an important concern of the directors. Nevertheless, the festival stands out for its recognized international guests, according to Yun I-sang , the Hover Chamber Choir and Benjamin Britten . Since Buchholz took over the management, the topic of tradition and modernity and addressing the broader audience have played a special role in the design of the program. In 2008, the Hallische Musiktage consisted of eight concerts with the participation of 32 composers as well as the Staatskapelle Halle , the Mitteldeutsche Kammerphilharmonie , Wolfgang Stockmeier , Ortwin Benninghoff , the Hallische Musiktage festival orchestra , the Trio Neuklang , Irina Sydorenko , the Evangelical Singing Community Oberhausen , the Trio Cantraiano and Christfried Brödel .

Famous artist

Numerous well-known German and international artists made guest appearances in Halle, such as the orchestra of the Halle Opera House, Ensemble Konfrontation , Thomas Rothert , the Universal Ensemble Berlin , Waltraut Wächter , the Kiever Chamber Academy , the MDR Symphony Orchestra , Howard Arman , the Georgian Chamber Orchestra , the Meißner Kantorei , the Orion Ensemble , the Hover Chamber Choir, the Ensemble Sortisatio , Leipzig Percussion Ensemble , Rheinische Bach-Collegium , Forum Zeitgenössischer Musik Leipzig , The Hilliard Ensemble , Elizabeth Bice , the Kairos Quartet , National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia and Salzburg Harp Duo .

World premieres

During the 54 years of existence of the festival, a total of 205 works by the following composers were premiered:

literature

  • Thomas Buchholz (ed.): A small chronicle. LVDK Saxony-Anhalt, Halle / Saale 2005

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The city of Halle (Saale) on the Halle Music Days
  2. Thomas Buchholz (ed.): A small chronicle. LVDK Saxony-Anhalt, Halle / Saale 2005, pages 4–7
  3. Thomas Buchholz (ed.): A small chronicle. LVDK Saxony-Anhalt, Halle / Saale 2005, page 3
  4. ^ Regional Association of Saxony-Anhalt German Composers: Hallische or Hallesche?
  5. ^ Regional Association of Saxony-Anhalt German Composers: The Prize

Web links