TALLINN - Tallinn's Nyyd New Music Festival is where modern classical music loosens its bow tie, takes off its jacket and goes a little wild. As wild as you can get while within the confines of an opera house, that is.
Nyyd, translated, means 'now', and it aims to present a program of cutting edge music from emerging composers. It celebrates it's 10th anniversary this year from Oct. 12 to 21.
Creative director Erki-Sven Tuur, a renowned Estonian composer, said he doesn't like the term "modern classical".
"But I also don't have a better term," he admits.
As creative director and co-founder of the event, Tuur travels the world to seek out fresh compositions. He sees the festival as an important vehicle to educate Estonian audiences about new music.
At this festival, however, the composers in focus aren't so new. In fact, some of their work will be instantly recognizable, even to those who've never stepped foot inside an opera house.
Composer Gyorgy Ligeti will be one of the featured artists. Ligeti is best known for his work with director Stanley Kubrick. He penned a grandiose score for "2001: A Space Odyssey", and a simplistic yet haunting theme for "Eyes Wide Shut". Both are remembered as much for their music as for their screenplay.
Ligeti's score "Requiem" will be performed at the opening night of Nyyd on Oct. 12, alongside works by Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino. Also in focus is British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage.
"The two composers in focus couldn't be more different. Turnage is very energetic and quite loud, with a lot of jazz and rock influences, while Salvatori is something opposite, very soft. He uses expanded techniques with instruments. He moves to territory where you are on the edge of audibility, with quiet, weird mystified sounds," Tuur says.
But true to it's name, Nyyd will see the unveiling of brand new work from thirteen different composers, performed by seventeen different groups.
Nyyd began in 1991 as one of the first independently-organized cultural events in the new republic.
"Before, all cultural life was conducted by the Moscow bosses. As soon as the chance opened to organize something by ourselves, Madis Kolk and I organized the New Music Festival.
"We had an idea to introduce to Estonian audiences something fresh, artists who are not totally established in their own homeland."
At it's founding event, Nyyd presented New York native Michael Gordon, who has gone on to become a major name in American contemporary classical through his own Bang On A Can festival.
"Throughout all these years, we have introduced to our audience a very rich pallete of new music-makers. We have never concentrated on only aesthetic approaches, we have been very open to different schools, different approaches.
"We have had people here who were touched by jazz, rock and electronic movements. In this festival, we are always looking for linking bridges. In our world there are so many things happening, but unfortunately these areas are very much isolated from each other. We have tried to build bridges between these isolated areas."
In it's third year, the Nyyd festival gave birth to the Nyyd ensemble, a constantly morphing collective of musicians. It can shrink to a trio and swell to an orchestra, depending on the music.
"Abroad, they present Estonian composers in a remarkable way, and here in Estonia they have introduced many interesting composers to our audiences"
Nyyd New Music Festival
Cutting-edge modern classical
Oct. 12-21,
Tallinn: Various venues
www.concert.ee
