About Music Biennale Zagreb
Music Biennale Zagreb is Croatia’s largest festival dedicated to contemporary music and one of Europe’s longest-running international events of its kind. Founded in 1961 by composer Milko Kelemen, the festival was established with a clear vision: to connect Croatian contemporary music with the most progressive artistic developments of the time and to provide local audiences with direct access to the music of their own era. At a time when international cultural exchange was limited and Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain, MBZ became one of the rare meeting points for artists from both sides of the political divide, serving as an important bridge between East and West.
From its very first edition, the festival demonstrated its ambition to position Zagreb as an essential destination on the map of contemporary music. Over more than six decades, MBZ has welcomed some of the most influential composers and artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Igor Stravinsky, John Cage, Olivier Messiaen, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luciano Berio, Witold Lutosławski, Mauricio Kagel and Iannis Xenakis. From the outset, the festival has challenged aesthetic and ideological boundaries, creating space for diverse artistic approaches, experimentation and creative risk-taking.
This openness remains one of MBZ’s defining characteristics. Every two years, Zagreb becomes a meeting place for orchestral and chamber music, opera and music theatre, improvisation, jazz, electronic music, sound installations, multimedia projects and contemporary dance. Today, however, the festival is not merely a platform for presenting new works. Through commissions, international co-productions, research processes and collaborations with artists, MBZ actively contributes to the creation of new works and continuously supports the development of contemporary music in Croatia and internationally.
In recent years, MBZ has increasingly expanded its activities throughout the year. MBZ PLAY brings together children, young people and adults through workshops, participatory programmes and collective creation, introducing contemporary music to new audiences and diverse communities. MBZ PRO is an international platform for networking, knowledge exchange and professional development, bringing together artists, producers, curators and organisations working in the field of contemporary music.
More than sixty years after its founding, Music Biennale Zagreb remains committed to its original vision: to serve as a meeting point for different musical languages, artistic disciplines and international perspectives. At the same time, its role has expanded beyond the biennial festival programme. Today, MBZ operates as a year-round platform that connects artists, supports the creation of new works, develops international collaborations and creates space for dialogue on contemporary music and its role in society.