The VI Festival Contemporáneo, a key event for 20th and 21st-century academic music in the Canary Islands, is set to take place from September 21 to October 11. This edition features 15 concerts across Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and extends to Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and La Palma. The lineup includes seven Canarian, national, and international ensembles, with eight Canarian compositions, seven of which are premieres.
The festival’s program was unveiled by Cristóbal de la Rosa, Director General of Cultural Innovation and Creative Industries, and Samuel Ramos, Artistic Director of the International Music Festival of the Canary Islands.
International acts such as Cuarteto Diotima from France, Trío Abstrakt from Germany, and the ‘Celebrating Kurtág’ program from Germany/Armenia join local talents like Sonido Extremo from Extremadura, Laura Farré Rozada from Catalonia, and Canarian ensembles Lothar Siemens and DifrAcción. The #endiálogo series offers discussions on music’s relationship with other disciplines.
The festival kicks off with Ensemble Lothar Siemens performing on September 22 in Las Palmas and September 23 in Tenerife, featuring premieres by José Brito and Lourdes Suárez. Cuarteto Diotima will perform works by Ligeti, Juan Manuel Marrero, and Luigi Nono on September 25 in Gran Canaria and September 26 in Tenerife.
The second week features Tanja Becker-Bender and Sofya Melikyan with ‘Celebrating Kurtág,’ honoring composer György Kurtág’s 100th birthday, including a premiere by Manuel Bonino. These concerts will include a neuroscience study on audience reactions, accompanied by a #endiálogo talk by Jesús Martín-Fernández.
Trío Abstrakt from Cologne will perform contemporary pieces, including a premiere by Alicia González de la Fe, on September 30 in Tenerife and October 1 in Gran Canaria.
Canarian DifrAcción Ensemble returns with a program focused on sustainable development goals, featuring works by T. Murail and G. Crumb.
