Festival

Since its founding in 1961, Music Biennale Zagreb has continually kept abreast of global developments and has been in contact with the great figures of the music scene, explored different approaches to contemporary music and shaped its trends. Its founding was a testament to the national recognition of the great value of contemporary music of Croatian composers and the need to place it within an international context. At the time, it stood alongside the then relatively new but revolutionary festivals such as Warsaw Autumn, where the world discovered Krzysztof Penderecki, or the Zagreb Animafest, the founding of which was a direct result of the internationally recognized excellence of the Zagreb School of Animated Films.

Throughout the 1960s and almost until the 1990s, the festival provided a unique opportunity for world-renowned composers and performers of contemporary music to gather in one location and to present their works to as broad an audience as possible. Even then, the MBZ happily went beyond the confines of a traditional festival. It went into the streets, for example with a diverse program of the Urbofest in 1971, and the guest artists did not hesitate to wander through the city and mingle with all layers of society (just think of John Cage’s walk in Dolac with the musicologist Nikša Gligo in 1985). But now, when we are accustomed to having quick access to information from the comfort of our own home, when music is available in analogue and digital formats on different platforms, and contact with artists more achievable than ever, is the MBZ as a festival still valuable and necessary?

Firstly, the festival is not made up solely of the final product, the program and the performances presented to the audience and critics. That is to say, rich and layered programs, classical concerts, music-stage pieces and alternative (and) electronic music works are preceded by intense curatorial work which often directly affects the accessibility and interpretation of contemporary musical heritage. As part of the MBZ initiative, some of the previously lost or forgotten pieces have been meticulously studied, digitalized and their restaging encouraged, which in fact fills historical gaps and re-evaluates the discussion about contemporary music from past historical periods. At the same time, the MBZ encourages the creation and publication of new works in order to provide a solid foundation for some future generations.

The MBZ uses its festival setting to educate diverse groups – children, adults, amateurs and professionals alike – by encouraging communication between them that might otherwise never take place outside of this setting. It is precisely in the context of the above mentioned, in addition to the regular, expected program, that the MBZ as a friendly ghost of contemporary music offers pre-programs, numerous workshops, masterclasses for composers, MBZ stories, video clips, the MBZ Kidz web platform; it sneaks into kindergartens, schools, universities, even galleries, factories, pushes through the crowds in the streets and squares or encourages people to mill around the tunnels, underground passages and other nooks and crannies of the city with it.

For the MBZ, the festival concept is thus much more than a series of performances within a defined timeframe. It is the place where new views of art and the world emerge, an incubator of musical poetics, attempts and excesses. It is a laboratory that affirms the “borderline” by respecting its borderliness and upholding the tradition by questioning its established concepts. Lastly, it is a platform that brings people together to discuss the meaning of music in the context of society in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, or their personal impressions, associations and inspirations that might incite them to create or act in a socially conscious way. More importantly, it is a celebration, a microcosm of an extraordinary atmosphere that encourages togetherness in sound and music – togetherness that will also change the world outside the setting of a music festival. In the crisis that is clearly slowly engulfing the world and disrupting the opportunities for artistic expression as such, it is most certainly valuable and necessary.

MBZ MANIFESTO

This proclamation is conceived as a presentation of the principles on which the Music Biennale Zagreb strives to be based as a festival, but also as an internationally recognized cultural event that directly impacts the community at large. It is precisely because of the responsibility that comes with the far-reaching and complex production of the MBZ that it was necessary to chart a clear path that the MBZ will follow in this and all subsequent editions. This proclamation is therefore not about the thematic core of a single biennial program, but about the thesis that art should continually respond to the various aspects of culture and society, especially ecology as the current crisis point. At the same time, it is important to emphasize that in this process, we will begin with ourselves – the festival team as creators of the content and the content itself – by critically observing the past practices and editions of the Music Biennale Zagreb, their strengths and weaknesses, in order to pave the way for future generations and an inclusive ecosystem of the cultural sector that treats its resources in a responsible manner.

Resource – resurrection

When we look at the notion of borders, whether in the prosaic context of socio-political and geographical categories or in the more extraordinary context of art, artistic creation and reception, the primary focus is on the availability of certain resources. The liberal democracy of capitalist society has resulted in the fact that the concept of resources is primarily associated with the context of the exploitation of raw materials and human potential in a continuous, desensitized process of production and discarding. Such an understanding of resources necessarily implies a negative definition: a specific project or concept is not easily achievable without resources. However, once we free the disputed term from the mentioned context, more positive connotations appear. The resource thus becomes a potential; a living matter or energy independent of its predetermined function, i.e. receptive as it is to creative handling.

Ironically, by reverting to the etymological determination of resources, we come to the most progressive and comprehensive interpretation of this term as a rise and re-emergence – a kind of renaissance or resurrection. Each subsequent emergence is enriched with a piece of new knowledge, just as cultural and social constructs, and artistic movements, historically imply revaluation and progress. However, for the human mind to recognize and embrace such revised views, it is necessary to restructure the entire human sensorium – and art has done so for centuries in the most persuasive way. At the same time, art is not, as might be assumed, enslaved by some utilitarian function, but in its own way opens a space for imagining new forms of existence and social organization.

MBZ in new forms of activity

Now that the world is more burdened than ever by the climate crisis, which is also accompanied by considerable socio-political instability, social intolerance and strong binary opposition, art must use all its “resources” to rise above the aforesaid divisions and, in this regard, sharpen the sensibility of individuals, but also of society as a whole. The Music Biennale Zagreb fully adheres to the principles of such art and will endeavor to keep it constantly not just at the program but also at the production and organizational level. In this effort, it will follow two directions: the direction of optimizing co-operation in terms of sustainability, to the point of reducing the festival’s own carbon footprint, and upholding the principles of tolerance, inclusiveness and participation, especially in the relationship between the artist and the audience.

Today, the composer must stand face-to-face with other people around him. – Branimir Sakač

Namely, just as the serial composing technique opens a gray area in the black and white, dichotomous space of sound and noise, or as musique concrète recycles, i.e. borrows already existing elements from any material, the Music Biennale Zagreb will also endeavor to reuse all its artistic and non-artistic resources, while providing a space for inclusion between the different poles of crisis, such as institutional and independent, high and popular, or scientific and artistic.

Contemporary music must once again draw me into its circle, as a listener, as a faithful companion. I expect it to tell me something crucial, something important, about me, my world, my essence and my freedom, however not cognitively, but artistically. I expect it to draw me, encourage me, lift me up. – Branimir Sakač

By offering plural perspectives on the mentioned topics – ecologically designed artistic exchanges and residencies, collaborative approaches, meetings of artists and scientists in the pursuit of the reaffirmation of STEM as STEAM, performances or installations that will recycle materials from past performances and serve the community outside the festival setting and so on – the MBZ will systematically promote the questioning of how the manipulation of meta- and para-levels of artistic creation affects the performer’s interpretation and the essence of a work of art. In this context, instead of being a sine qua non, the resource will be a stake and a commitment in rethinking the world as a space of freedom and progress.

Because I, and every one of us, every listener, cannot experience art without the full freedom of their human being. – Branimir Sakač

Finally, the ateleologic nature of noise and the omnipresence of sound, i.e. its involvement in the most diverse dimensions of life, which has been especially recognized by contemporary composers – from the background noise of the world, the noise of bodily functions, industry and society to the manipulation of noise and sound in contemporary music – implies that contemporary music in its artistic existence surely and consistently intertwines with natural and social processes. It must therefore systematically transcend the boundaries of the institution, the festival, the performance and, in general, the beginning and the end of the composition in which it is woven. The Music Biennale Zagreb, as the fundamental and longest-standing point of contemporary music in Croatia, will respect in this sense the multiplicity of intertwined categories of music and sound, opening them to an ongoing dialogue with their own history and the world in general, throughout the duration of the festival’s official program and beyond the limits of its biennial structure.

Music, old or new, is meaningless on its own. With it, the composer discovers hitherto unknown areas of the spirit and reinterprets the meaning of the entire human existence. Therefore, it is not an ornament, but an important social value, which results from its anthropological activity, from its ability to address the pluralism of a human person, in order to enrich individuality – the greatest value of every human being. – Milko Kelemen

The principles on which this proclamation is based can be summed up in the following points under three categories:

THE ECOSYSTEM OF THE CULTURAL SECTOR

We will develop production and organizational practices that reduce the festival’s carbon footprint (more sustainable travel methods, less printed materials, local production and certified raw materials, guest artists from abroad repeatedly included in the festival program and similar).
We will continue to collaborate locally and internationally in programming and co-production with the objective of multiple performances of newly created pieces, taking into account their future growth and the lifecycle after the festival.
We recognize and support our role in the preservation and distribution of Croatian composing outside the framework of the festival and for the duration of the festival.
In order to slow down the cycle of cultural production, very often for just a single performance, we will be guided by the principles of long-term collaboration with artists, ensuring thus more time for creativity and experimentation.
We will endeavor to provide artists with more time and infrastructural resources for artistic research that does not necessarily lead to end results or specific artistic projects, but allows us to consider art itself or the development of technology within it.
By reviving the seldom used venues in Zagreb or repurposing them for the festival program, we will try to show their potential for future use on the local cultural scene.

CULTIVATING OPENNESS

We want MBZ to serve as a platform for different voices and initiatives that promote equality and inclusion.
We want the MBZ to be a forum for intergenerational and cross-cultural exchanges and a meeting place between the audience, artists, experts and other players on the contemporary music and art scene in general.
We will work to establish a more active connection between the institutional and the independent scene as the two represent the paradigms of our culture and the interaction between them enriches the dynamics of the cultural and creative space.
We will continue to be a festival devoted to the growth and development of the local scene and the local community, always mindful of the international dimension – connecting with current international players and developments and positioning local artists on the international stage.
We will make some of the festival content available digitally in order to democratize access to the art we support.

A DIALOGUE THAT INSPIRES AND RAISES AWARENESS

We believe that art, even the least “articulated” – music – can speak of subjects that go beyond its implicit framework.
We will promote the view of art as a catalyst of change and inspiration that raises awareness of and questions the natural and social environment of man.
We will continue to encourage the interdisciplinarity of the program content and the sharing of knowledge and expertise across sectors.
We recognize and will stress the importance of the development of technology and its implementation in the artistic processes, the production processes and even the performance of the festival’s own programs.
We will keep the local community at the forefront by implementing projects created with and for its members.
We will continue to promote educational and related discourse programs for various generations, having in mind their varied positions and interests.
We acknowledge and will promote the heritage and the history of the MBZ, including all experiences, knowledge and memorable moments associated with it, together with the generations of loyal audience as a valuable tool, i.e. a resource for reinterpretation and reflection in each upcoming edition of the MBZ.
We will work to ensure that the MBZ program continues to bring the adventure of contemporary music to younger generations of visitors and listeners, inspiring in them curiosity and openness to new and unexpected, experimental, critical, and bold listening, watching, thinking and acting.

Anamarija Žugić Borić

MBZ team