Dear visitors, musicians, guests,
Welcome to the 9th Koper Biennale, an international festival of contemporary music.
The ninth edition of the Biennale Koper represents both a personal and artistic milestone for us and for the Primorska region. A festival that has made human relationships and friendships its greatest strength, it has been able to convey the beauty of contemporary music to an audience that, just a few years ago, approached our concerts with curiosity but also with much hesitation. In these 12 years in Koper, I have seen children sitting in the front row listening to my most daring performances of Ferneyhough and Stockhausen with eyes full of wonder, surprised parents, and elderly people who couldn’t fall asleep due to the unusual sounds produced on stage. Those children are now our audience, and in some cases, they have put that experience to good use and become successful composers and performers. For us, this is an absolute achievement: spreading culture and passing it on to future generations, like the fire Prometheus stole from the gods and brought to humans, a fire that we have not let extinguish since. That same fire is the common thread that connects the concerts of the 2024 Biennale, analyzed, explored, and experienced in all its positive and negative forms. I wish everyone a festival as enlightening and warming as the fire during the Kresna noč, so dear to you Slovenians.
Michele Marelli
Thank you to everyone who will be with us.
Special thanks go to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the Municipality of Koper, to Public Fund for Cultural Activities, to Institute for Youth, Culture and Tourism Koper, the Union of Cultural Societies of the Municipality of Koper, the Koper Music School, the Koper Regional Museum, Italian Community S. Santorio, Radio Koper.
Welcome to the 9th Koper Biennale, an international festival of contemporary music.
This year's theme and connecting thread of the festival is "Fire". Two years ago, we had the idea to talk about four natural elements through music. The 8th Biennale was held in the sign of water, last year as part of the events "In anticipation of the Biennale", we focused on the earth. This year we decided to light the 9th edition of the festival by thinking about fire. In keeping with the theme of fire, we will first start with three sparks, continue with five fiery concerts and end with an ember that smolders and hides the power of a new fire. Therefore, you have a choice of 9 events where you can listen to the latest in musical creativity. We have chosen natural elements for several reasons: because we can find a lot of symbolism in them, because in them lies the great power of nature. Because it is time to recognize the changes in nature and last but not least because we need to realize the power of connecting opposites forces before succumbing to the dominance of a single force over another. I feel a lot of thoughts and worries inside me, which spark when I look at what is happening in the world. I feel the fire of passion and wishes inside me, which I would like to express and give to all those who suffer, so that they can find hope in the embers that promise catharsis and a new life in the embers of their lives. An individual may be just a weak match, but even a weak spark can start a big fire. Our desire is to ignite a fire of hope that would bring light and warmth to all who need it, and that the flames of the fire of love could destroy hatred. We want to remind you that we are people who believe in the deepest emotions and values that, as Srečko Kosovel wrote:
We are the fire that must burn, radiate into this darkness,
To enlighten her.
However, fire is not matter, but a mission.
(...) our mission (is) – the mission of presence
Tatjana Jercog
To enlighten her.
However, fire is not matter, but a mission.
(...) our mission (is) – the mission of presence
The ninth edition of the Biennale Koper represents both a personal and artistic milestone for us and for the Primorska region. A festival that has made human relationships and friendships its greatest strength, it has been able to convey the beauty of contemporary music to an audience that, just a few years ago, approached our concerts with curiosity but also with much hesitation. In these 12 years in Koper, I have seen children sitting in the front row listening to my most daring performances of Ferneyhough and Stockhausen with eyes full of wonder, surprised parents, and elderly people who couldn’t fall asleep due to the unusual sounds produced on stage. Those children are now our audience, and in some cases, they have put that experience to good use and become successful composers and performers. For us, this is an absolute achievement: spreading culture and passing it on to future generations, like the fire Prometheus stole from the gods and brought to humans, a fire that we have not let extinguish since. That same fire is the common thread that connects the concerts of the 2024 Biennale, analyzed, explored, and experienced in all its positive and negative forms. I wish everyone a festival as enlightening and warming as the fire during the Kresna noč, so dear to you Slovenians.
Michele Marelli
Thank you to everyone who will be with us.
Special thanks go to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the Municipality of Koper, to Public Fund for Cultural Activities, to Institute for Youth, Culture and Tourism Koper, the Union of Cultural Societies of the Municipality of Koper, the Koper Music School, the Koper Regional Museum, Italian Community S. Santorio, Radio Koper.
