Music Biennale Zagreb
| Music Biennale Zagreb | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Contemporary music |
| Dates | April (odd years only) |
| Location(s) | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Founded by | Milko Kelemen |
| Website | |
| www |
|
Music Biennale Zagreb (Croatian: Muzički biennale Zagreb, MBZ) is an international festival of contemporary music in Zagreb, Croatia, organized by the Croatian Composers' Society. The , founded by Milko Kelemen and held every spring of the odd years since 1961, has become one of the most important festivals of contemporary music in Europe.
Throughout its history, the Biennale has given equal weight to classical 20th century repertoire and experimental music, encompassing a variety of musical forms, including symphonic and chamber concerts, opera, ballet, music theatre and multimedia performances. Accompanying lectures, workshops and symposiums are also gaining prominence in recent years. The Biennale has collaborated with some of the biggest international names in contemporary music, including Luciano Berio, John Cage, Peter Maxwell Davies, Mauricio Kagel, Witold Lutosławski, Bruno Maderna and Igor Stravinsky.
The festival gained international prominence in the 1960s and the 1970s due in large part to an ambivalent position of Yugoslavia in the political and ideological divisions of the Cold War, making it a unique gathering place for artists from both East and West. Just as its founder had hoped, it has provided a boost for Croatian composers and musicians by accelerating their integration into world trends in contemporary music, especially through co-productions and partnerships with their foreign colleagues. It has also proved popular with the concert-going public, as its events are seen by almost ten thousand people, which, according to the festival's long-time director Ivo Josipović, controverts the idea of Biennale being about a "group of freaks who pour water into a piano". The festival's popularity is partly due to symbolic ticket prices: in 2011, entrance fee for most events was 20 HRK (c. €3), while the festival pass was available for 150 HRK (€20).
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