Avaton Music Festival

New forms of art music/ Postmodernism Deconstruction

From modernism and composers such as Schoenberg and Stravinsky, to avant-garde and postmodernist - aleatoric music of John Cage in 1950’s, minimalists in early 60’s with Steve Reich, and Philip Glass, to pioneers of electronic music like Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez, towards post minimalism and New Classicism, in the late 20th and the beginning of the 21st Century we’ve reached the new terms of art such as Deconstructionists, Conceptual art, Installation art, Multimedia and Electronic art.

The artists of today, through constant technological developments, have new tools for the “new music”, using the knowledge and the historic background of classical music, to develop new sounds and merge art and science.
What does the ‘postmodernism of today’ represents and are we at the beginning of a new movement of ‘art science’? Where does one begin and the other ends, how much do they compliment each other or are they just coexisting in our eclectic time when everything is possible? And if so, where are the limits of calling an art piece - an art? What are the future directions in music and, in spite of all the technology at our reach, are the traditional music and “pure” art announcing their come-back?

Our guest composers will present those questions thought their own music work, with Jasna Velickovic, lecture on “Extended technique: playing the instruments without touching them” and Vassos Nicolaou, lecture on “New tendencies in music with live electronics”.

Festival will, as well, feature the newest inventions and developments in electronic music and
music experiments that will be presented for the first time in Cyprus.

After each lecture, discussion will be held encouraging attendants, regardless of their existing or non-existing musical background, to express their own views on the presented material.

Free workshops would be offered to composers and performers on each day of the festival after which two concerts will be held, ranging from the music of Luciano Berio (1925 – 2003), Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992), Isang Yun (1917-1995), Sofia Gubaidulina (1931- ), György Kurtag (1946-) , Krzysztof Penderecki (1933- ), to the music of Artemis Aifotiti (1986- ), Tychonas Michailides (1981- ), Bruno Mantovani (1974- ), Afroditi Kathimeridou (1956- ), Jasna Velickovic (1974- ), Vassos Nicolaou (1971- ) presented by the twelve musicians from Cyprus, Poland, France, Romania, Australia and Former Yugoslavia.

Composers and performers who would like to take part in the workshop with Jasna Velickovic and/or Vassos Nicolaou can contact Anita Tomasevich at [email protected]

Festival program

Saturday 12th of December

18:00h - Lecture by Jasna Velickovic with demonstration of her music and compositional techniques “Extended technique: playing the instruments without touching them”

19:00h - Workshop with Jasna Velickovic for composers and performers

20:00h - Break (drinks and snacks will be served)

20:30h - Concert

Sunday 13th of December

18:00 h - Lecture by Vassos Nicolaou with demonstration of his music and compositional techniques “New tendencies in music with live electronics”

19:00h - Workshop with Vassos Nicolaou for composers and performers

20:00h - Break (drinks and snacks will be served)

20:30h – Concert

Cocktail party