MaerzMusik 2015: ‘Festival for Time Issues’

Extract

The torch of artistic direction has passed from Matthias Osterwold to Berno Odo Polzer. Under the former, MaerzMusik was unique among the large European international festivals for its focus on interdisciplinary concerts, sound installations, crossover projects and use of digital media. Concerts often took place in alternative venues ranging from Berlin's most (in)famous nightclub, Berghain, to the Hamburger Bahnhof, a train station transformed into a museum of modern art. The home of the festival, Haus der Berliner Festspiele, was almost exclusively employed for sound installations and music theatre performances. One always had to be sure to buy tickets in advance for fear of facing a sold-out concert; the capacity of the alternative venues was often limited.