The Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival is an annual international festival of high artistic standing whose aim is to present modern music and related art forms in Oslo. At the core of the festival’s activities are the contributions from the 18 member organizations, which provide the basis of the festival programme. These organizations are leading music and art institutions in Oslo, who through their membership in the Ultima Festival commit themselves to providing a selffinanced concert production or similar event for the festival each year. Ultima is an important cultural happening in Norway which seeks to present hitherto unknown and unheard of works. Ultima has, during the course of its existence, achieved international acclaim, and is today one of Europe’s foremost festivals for contemporary music.
Since the first independent Ultima Festival in 1991, over 1500 works by 560 composers from over 40 countries have been performed, and 260 works have had their world premiere at the Festival. One of the main objectives of the Ultima Festival is to promote public interest in innovative art in Norway, and the festival seeks thereby to contri bute to the struggle against conformity, challenging the consciousness of the time, like all contemporary art through the ages. The festival is therefore naturally open to new international impulses. Ultima is also an important source of commissions and engagements for composers and performers. Ultima takes place over 10-14 days in September/October each year.
The performances are held in 15-20 separate venues all over Oslo, ranging from the Oslo Concert Hall and the University Aula with its murals by Edvard Munch, to intimate jazz and club venues such as Blå and the Parkteatret theatre. Ultima’s audiences have increased from an initial 10 000 to 18 000 in 2002. This increase refl ects a growing interest in new, innovative music and related art forms, particularly among the younger audience members.
For more info visit: Ultima