Every spring, I ask myself what MaerzMusik actually means, apart from music in March. And every time I attend, I’m surprised. The festival by the Berliner Festspiele always keeps one promise: it brings a breath of fresh air to the Berlin music and event landscape and even more to my musical library. MaerzMusik sees itself as “a place for the exchange of artistic knowledge”. This year, this exchange will take place around the following questions: If outdated forms of coexistence need to be overhauled, what does that mean for music? And how can we compose differently in a sustainable way? The festival seeks answers to these questions with a program of exhibitions, performances and concerts at various locations in Berlin. This year’s edition (21.-30.03.2025) opens with the German premiere of “Melencolia“, a music theater show by Brigitta Muntendorf and Moritz Lobeck, in cooperation with the “Staatsoper Unter den Linden” at the “Haus der Berliner Festspiele”.
Experimental instrumentation runs through the entire festival. Enno Poppe’s “Streik” makes ten drum sets sound simultaneously, Chaya Czernowin’s “Poetica” is a unique percussive sound journey, and there are compositions for brass instruments by Liza Lim, Wadada Leo Smith and many others. The voice plays a central role, with performances by Joan La Barbara, Pamela Z, Ty Bouque, Laura Bowler and Ute Wassermann. Ensemble Nikel brings Mark Barden’s “limina” to the stage with Ligia Lewis’s dance solo “Sensation 1” and “Minor Characters” by Matthew Shlomowitz and Jennifer Walshe. Another highlight is the European premiere of the latest work by Nguyễn + Transitory with Thai dancers. And for the grand finale, the Berliner Festspiele opens up its stages and, with them, new sonic possibilities. The concert installation is called “I am All Ears“, and that’s exactly what I am.
Text: Inga Krumme / Photos: Anja Koehler, Luis Rodriguez, Monica Garcia
MaerzMusik will take place from 21.–30.03.2025 at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and other locations in Berlin. Tickets and further information are available online.
@berlinerfestspiele
