A*Devantgarde
| A•DEvantgarde | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Electronic music, |
| Location(s) | Munich, Germany |
| Years active | 1991-present |
| Founded by | Sandeep Bhagwati, Moritz Eggert |
| Website | |
| AdevantGarde.de | |
The A•DEvantgarde festival was founded in 1991 by Sandeep Bhagwati and Moritz Eggert. A•DEvantgarde is a music festival held every 2 years in Munich, Germany.
In 2007 the theme of the festival was on totalitarianism where the festival debuted the 60x60 project's Munich Mix featuring works with the theme of oppression and totalitarianism. In 2017, the festival will be directed by Samuel Penderbayne and Alexander Strauch under the motto 'Corragio' (courage), featuring local, national and international artists including Ensemble Nikel (Berlin/Tel Aviv), NAMES (Salzburg) and The Breakout Ensemble (Munich).
"A•DEvantgarde" mixes the French words "avant" and "devant," to mean temporally and spatially progressing; an apt description of its intent. The A•DEvantgarde Festival was formed in the late 1980s by a passionate group of young German composers who wanted to break from the traditional or Darmstadt School of serial composition that was dominated by eminent new music composers of the late 20th century including Pierre Boulez, Bruno Maderna, and more.
Professor Wilhelm Killmayer championed the students' work, encouraging them to work together to present their music rather than to engage competitively for the diminutive space allotted to young composers in the larger musical venues. Professor Killmayer took on composer Sandeep Bhagwati as his teaching assistant, opening up a new level of resources for the young composer. Bhagwati put together a first series of chamber concerts aimed at presenting the work of young composers called the A•DEvantgarde and even wrote a manifesto of the A•DEvantgarde which stated the group's intention to create and promote music that is without constraints or dictates—particularly as regards serial music. The document continues to be regarded as controversial today.
The first festival was held in 1991 and met with great success; in fact, the A•DEvantgarde Festival required immediate expansion in its second year in order to accommodate the great number of attendees. The second festival in 1992 was of a larger scale and was open to composers internationally. Most importantly, it upheld the ideal that young composers should judge and decide upon the work of other young composers, and the core group went to great lengths to ensure that this process was consistently carried out.
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