The Music Biennale Zagreb (MBZ) opens its 33rd edition at the Croatian National Theatre with a new ballet. With this call for scores, MBZ and the Croatian Composers’ Society (HDS) are looking for music for the new ballet piece for chamber ensemble (and electronics - optional) inspired by the theme of the festival: Broken Relationships. Following this call for scores, a call for a choreographer will also be launched. The winners of the two calls will realise the project in coordination with the MBZ artistic team and Massimiliano Volpini, the director of the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre.
The 33rd edition of the MBZ is inspired by the Upper Town Museum of Broken Relationships. The Museum of Broken Relationships is a physical and virtual space that collects, preserves and exhibits personal objects and stories of symbolic emotional value. The museum is an ever-growing collection of objects, reminders of past relationships, accompanied by personal but anonymous stories of their donors. In contrast to destructive self-help guides for coping with grief and loss, the museum offers the opportunity to creatively overcome an emotional breakdown - by participating in the museum’s universal collection.
Starting from an emotional understanding of this term, the festival extends it to cultural, social and political issues. Consequently, the theme of ‘broken relationships’ can also be understood as a broken link between different cultural actors, a broken connection with neglected architectural and cultural heritage in the city, a broken relationship between artists abroad and their home countries, but of course also beyond. Applicants can take inspiration from the above ideas in their proposal for a new work for the MBZ or question the idea of disruption, dissolution or reconnection in a completely free way.
All adult composers, regardless of age or nationality can apply, and applications can be made individually or in a team with a choreographer.
Competition conditions:
- The winner undertakes to write a new original work in a duration of 20 minutes.
- Instrumentation: chamber orchestra - the exact line-up TBA.
- The use of electronics is possible upon prior consultation with the MBZ artistic team.
- MBZ/HDS will reward the selected work with a sum of 6000€.
- MBZ/HDS will also cover travel costs of up to 300€ and accommodation during the final rehearsals and the premiere (3 to 5 nights, depending on the needs of the production).
- During the stay in Zagreb, the artist is expected to work on the composition with the assigned choreographer, the HNK ballet ensemble, the orchestra, the MBZ artistic direction and the rest of the MBZ/HDS team.
