ISCM World New Music Days Festival 2010

From 30 April to 9 May, Sydney hosted the ISCM World New Music Days Festival — the first time in the 88-year history of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) that the prestigious event will be held in the Southern Hemisphere.

In putting together the program for this festival, more than 700 works from 52 countries were assessed, and over 80 works were selected. These reflect a broad spectrum of innovative musical practice, covering everything from works for traditional chamber groups and choirs to cutting-edge multimedia and sound installations. Music has been sourced from Australasia and Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, North, South and Central America, and South Africa. ISCM World New Music Days 2010 will be the largest festival of contemporary music ever held in Australia.

Notable in the 2010 ISCM World New Music Days is the inclusion of a special category of radiophonic works – 13 works that have been specifically written for radio broadcast. Composers in this category are from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Turkey and Portugal. ABC Classic FM will be presenting these and other works recorded during the festival throughout Australia. The works will also be streamed on the internet.

Since the ISCM’s founding in 1922, many works premiered during the festivals have become standard repertoire – for example Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto and Ravel’s Piano Concerto for Left Hand. Australian works have regularly featured in the festival since 1938 in London, when Peggy Glanville-Hicks’ Choral Suite was performed on a program which included Britten’s Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge, and Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos, Percussion and Celesta.

http://www.worldnewmusicdays.com.au/

The ISCM website:
http://www.iscm.org/