Ultima 2019: Traditions under Pressure
The biggest annual Nordic festival of new music will take place between 12 – 21 September 2019. As usual it will take place in many of the Norwegian capital’s diverse performance spaces, from large auditoriums to churches, theatres, art spaces and more.
The theme connecting many of the events in this year’s Ultima is Traditions under Pressure. This reflects the role of modern music in constantly questioning and pushing at the limits of what is familiar to our ears. The way it draws on a long history of conventional and experimental music and continues to bend and stretch them into new forms. And the way challenging music reflects challenging times: that in life as in the arts, conventions and traditions are undergoing radical transformations and distortions in the face of radical and populist politics, climate crisis, war, migration and disaster capitalism.
Ultima 2019 will include its usual dizzying range of styles, sounds, formats and performers: from folk forms clashing with avant garde composition, to high end technologies including productions featuring 3D modelling and virtual reality devices. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more information on specific events.