The archipelago's musical programming is enriched by the second week of the VI Contemporary Festival, organized by the Government of the Canary Islands. From September 28 to October 5, the event will offer six concerts, two #endiálogo (dialogue) sessions, and a neuroscientific experiment, exploring musical avant-garde.
The duo Becker-Bender Melikyan, composed of Tanja Becker-Bender (violin) and Sofya Melikyan (piano), will pay tribute to the Hungarian composer György Kurtág with the program ‘Celebrating Kurtág’. The concert, which includes the premiere of ‘Canto del alisio’ by the Canarian composer Manuel Bonino, will take place on Monday, September 28, at the Teatro Guiniguada (Gran Canaria) and on Tuesday, September 29, at Espacio La Granja (Tenerife).
In Tenerife, the Becker-Bender Melikyan duo's concert will be part of a neuroscientific study. Selected audience members will participate in an exploration of brain reactions to music, in collaboration with Dr. Jesús Martín-Fernández, a neurosurgeon and musician, who will also lead the dialogue ‘Music and Neuroscience’.
From Germany, the Trío Abstrakt will present the program ‘PuLsar’, dedicated to contemporary interpretation. The concert, featuring the premiere of ‘Ibidem’ by Canarian composer Alicia González de la Fe, will be held on September 30 at La Granja and on October 1 at Guiniguada.
The Canarian ensemble DifrAcción Ensemble, under the direction of José María Vicente, will return to the festival with a program focused on sustainable development. They will perform works by T. Murail and G. Crumb, as well as premiere ‘Scènes délirantes’ by Paula Pinero and ‘Poema sobre un drago’ by Alberto Díaz González. Performances are scheduled for October 2 at Guiniguada and October 3 at the Real Academia Canaria de Bellas Artes.
Prior to this, on October 1, musicians from DifrAcción Ensemble will offer the dialogue #endiálogo ‘Music and Nature’ at the Museum of Nature and Archaeology of Tenerife, featuring a musical reading of excerpts from André Gide's work ‘Paludes’ and the homonymous musical piece by Tristan Murail.
Pianist and mathematician Laura Farré Rozada will present the program ‘From Chaos to Cosmos’, exploring the relationship between music and mathematics. Performances will take place on October 4 at the Auditorio de Antigua (Fuerteventura), on October 5 at the Convento de Santo Domingo (Lanzarote), and on October 6 at the Espacio Cultural El Secadero (La Palma).
Before the concert in Lanzarote, Laura Farré will lead the dialogue #endiálogo ‘Music and Mathematics’, delving into the connection between the two disciplines.
The Canary Islands Contemporary Festival, established as a benchmark for 20th and 21st-century academic music, will extend until October 11 with a total of fifteen concerts. This initiative by the Government of the Canary Islands, organized by the Canarian Institute for Cultural Development, offers the full program and ticket access at www.contemporaneodecanarias.com.
The festival's closing will be led by Ensemble Sonido Extremo, who will perform five works by current Spanish composers, including the premiere of ‘icebergs melt at night’ by Canarian composer José Luis Perdigón. Performances are scheduled for October 10 and 11 in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, respectively.
As a parallel activity, musicologist José Luis Besada will offer the dialogue ‘Music and Architecture’ on October 8 at the Real Academia Canaria de Bellas Artes in Tenerife, focusing on the work ‘Machaut Architektur’ by J. M. Sánchez Verdú.
