MaerzMusik

Introduced in 2022, our multimedia stories&nbsp;provide details and contextual information about each current festival.

Stories

MaerzMusik 2025

German and English, 88 pages Please note: The pdf is not barrier-free.<a href="https://berlinerfestspiele.1kcloud.com/ep167d9b37800d48/" target="_blank" title="Full screen view in new window">Full screen view in new window</a> <a href="${link:{uuid:{2fc2c1f3-9dfb-4e9e-8b0b-e1a3c6e0c71d},repository:{dam},path:{/bfs-de/indizierte-pdfs/EN/MaerzMusik/mm25_magazin.pdf}}}">Download magazine</a>&nbsp;(pdf, 2.1 MB)

Magazine

The reader for the 2020 edition of the festival with original contributions by artists, in-​depth essays on the programme, photographs and other materials gives you an insight into the topics and programs that we would have liked to present to you live! US Letter format, 116 pages plus cover In EnglishPrice: € 3 Available in the <a href="https://tickets.kbb.eu/kbb.webshop/webticket/shop?item=446&amp;language=en">webshop</a><a href="${link:{uuid:{4fb07832-f10a-4744-8a74-01279ad14475},repository:{dam},path:{/bfs-de/indizierte-pdfs/DE/MaerzMusik/2020/mm20_broschuere.pdf}}}">Table of contents and excerpt</a>

Reader 2020

With essays by Bini Adamczak, Giorgio Agamben, Anke Charton, Dag Herbjørnsrud, Diedrich Diederichsen and others, original contributions by artists of the festival and documents. US Letter format, 116 pages plus cover In English No longer available.&nbsp;

Reader 2019

With original contributions by artists, additional photographs, documents and texts 208 pages plus cover, two-​coloured print black/red In English Price: € 3 Available in the <a href="https://tickets.kbb.eu/kbb.webshop/webticket/shop?item=335&amp;language=en">webshop</a><a href="${link:{uuid:{4fb07832-f10a-4744-8a74-01279ad14475},repository:{dam},path:{/bfs-de/indizierte-pdfs/DE/MaerzMusik/2020/mm20_broschuere.pdf}}}">Table of contents and excerpt</a>&nbsp;

Reader 2018

With original contributions by composers, graphics, photographs, documents and essays on the festival Price: € 3 Available in the <a href="https://tickets.kbb.eu/kbb.webshop/webticket/shop?item=336&amp;language=en">webshop</a><a href="${link:{uuid:{4fb07832-f10a-4744-8a74-01279ad14475},repository:{dam},path:{/bfs-de/indizierte-pdfs/DE/MaerzMusik/2020/mm20_broschuere.pdf}}}">Table of contents and excerpt</a>&nbsp;

Reader 2017

Readers

With timetable and detailed information about all films112 pages<a href="${link:{uuid:{f68bd3ee-b9a3-4554-9203-2d083157a417},repository:{dam},path:{/bfs-de/indizierte-pdfs/DE/MaerzMusik/2019/mm19_magazin_tele_visions.pdf}}}">Download magazine Tele-Visions</a>&nbsp;

Magazine Tele-Visions 2019

Time Wars

Conference<a href="${link:{uuid:{43de54da-8a72-4d95-b235-48eb5b1d69c1},repository:{dam},path:{/bfs-de/indizierte-pdfs/DE/MaerzMusik/2018/mm18_thinking_together_conference.pdf}}}">Download reader</a>&nbsp;

Thinking Together 2018

Workshops &amp; Discourse<a href="${link:{uuid:{9f7ef298-2669-4212-8958-02623c2941c8},repository:{dam},path:{/bfs-de/indizierte-pdfs/DE/MaerzMusik/2018/mm18_thinking_together_workshops.pdf}}}">Download reader</a>

120 pages<a href="${link:{uuid:{8dd08333-b1b2-4855-b166-cf68baddc455},repository:{dam},path:{/bfs-de/indizierte-pdfs/DE/MaerzMusik/2012/mm12_magazin.pdf}}}">Download magazine</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;

Magazine 2012

Further Publications

Publikationen

Publications

MaerzMusik linksbündig_neu

appHeaderButtons0

appHeaderMenuFestivals0

links0

links1

links2

appHeaderMenuGroups0

appHeaderMenuGroups1

links3

links4

appHeaderMenuGroups2

appHeaderMenuGroups3

appHeaderMenuLinks0

appHeaderMenuLinks1

Berliner Festspiele linksbündig_neu

appFooterBfsLogo

Gropius Bau linksbündig_neu

appFooterFestivals0

Jazzfest Berlin linksbündig_neu

appFooterFestivals1

Musikfest Berlin linksbündig_neu

appFooterFestivals2

Performing Arts Season_neu

appFooterFestivals3

Reflexe und Reflexionen

appFooterFestivals4

Theatertreffen linksbündig_neu

appFooterFestivals5

Treffen junge Szene linksbündig_neu

appFooterFestivals6

appFooterLinks0

appFooterLinks1

appFooterLinks2

appFooterLinks3

appFooterLinks4

appFooterLinks5

appFooterLinks6

appFooterSocials0

appFooterSocials1

appFooterSocials2

appFooterSocials3

BKM-Logo englisch

appFooterSponsors0

MaerzMusik versteht sich als Ort für künstlerische Erfahrungen, für Begegnungen und für gemeinsames Nachdenken. Entwickelt aus der Perspektive des Hörens und getragen von der Musik der Gegenwart, öffnet das Festival mit Konzerten, Performances, Installationen, Musiktheater, Filmpräsentationen und Diskursformaten einen Raum, in dem Leben, Kunst und Theorie konvergieren können.

Fallback-Bild MaerzMusik

maerzmusik-config

smartInfo

The 2025 MaerzMusik will take place from 21 to 30 March 2025. The programme will be published in January.

Save the Date

visibility

Key Visual MaerzMusik 2025

MaerzMusik sw

Concerts, Performances, Installations, Discourse Formats

mm24_galerie_chen_esquinca

mm24_galerie_atraves

mm24_galerie_b_l_duo

mm24_galerie_depth

mm24_galerie_polyaspora

mm24_galerie_pulp_science

mm24_galerie_acousmonium_eröffnung

mm24_galerie_ekomane_bond

mm24_galerie_horn

mm24_galerie_ensemble_adapter

mm24_galerie_erick_hawkins_dance

mm24_galerie_musik_im_bauch

media

MaerzMusik 2024: Impressionen

Jazzfest Berlin 2023: Impressions

pictures

Impressions

MaerzMusik 2024

mm25_melencolia_1

mm25_minor_characters

mm25_limina-sensation

mm25_drifting_to_the_rhythms_at_the_southeast_of_nowhere

mm25_yarn-wire_ii

mm25_the_art_of_camouflage

mm25_querklang

mm25_POETICA

mm25_voice_is_the_original_instrument

mm25_poppe_c_fabian_schellhorn

MaerzMusik 2025: Impressionen

MaerzMusik 2025

MaerzMusik will take place from 21 to 30 March 2025 under the artistic direction of Kamila Metwaly. The 24th festival edition will open with the multimedia music theatre production <a href="${link:{uuid:{f8e2f59f-baea-44c9-9162-3afee63c40ab},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/melencolia}}}">“MELENCOLIA – A Show Against the Indifference of the Universe”</a> by Brigitta Muntendorf and Moritz Lobeck at Haus der Berliner Festspiele. The work, commissioned by the Bregenz Festival and Ensemble Modern, will celebrate its German premiere at MaerzMusik in cooperation with the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Immersed in 3D soundscapes, performers from Ensemble Modern and the Apollo Choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden take listeners into a deep exploration of enigmatic, melancholic worlds where reality and virtuality are combined on stage.Over the following nine festival days, further multidisciplinary projects and concerts will be presented that transcend traditional dualisms, presenting new interrelational perspectives that underscore the profound interconnectedness of social, technological and ecological systems. Here, music and sound move beyond binary frameworks, reshaping our understanding of relational experience and opening pathways to a more unified perception of existence and listening.Central to this artistic exploration is Enno Poppe’s new composition “Streik“ for ten drum sets, which poses the question: What happens when a solo instrument is multiplied many times? Another perspective on percussion as well as a reflection on the power of breath is offered by the work “POETICA” by Chaya Czernowin, composed for Steven Schick and Les Percussions de Strasbourg. “Minor Characters” by Jennifer Walshe and Matthew Shlomowitz will be presented by Ensemble Nikel in their festival debut, alongside “Limina / Sensation 1” by Mark Barden and Ligia Lewis. And we are looking forward to the new work “Drifting to the Rhythms at the Southeast of Nowhere” by the Berlin-based duo Nguyễn + Transitory, which will be developed this winter in Thailand in collaboration with dance artists from Chiang Mai.MaerzMusik 2025 will also present works by Jad Atoui, Wojtek Blecharz, Raven Chacon, Susie Ibarra, Mazen Kerbaj, Panayiotis Kokoras, Kuba Krzewiński, Joan La Barbara, Catherine Lamb, George Lewis, Liza Lim, Wadada Leo Smith, Ute Wassermann, Pamela Z and others, alongside ensembles that include Percussion Orchestra Cologne, Synaesthesis, Yarn/Wire and The Monochrome Project. Together, composers, artists and musicians will push the boundaries of sound, inviting audiences to explore new, transformative possibilities in contemporary music.Tickets for “MELENCOLIA” are available now. Advance ticket sales for further programme highlights start on 9&nbsp;January. The complete festival programme will be published in February.

01115

teasers

ctaButton

gb25_yoko_ono_glass_hammer_keyvisual

teasers0

Since the 1950s Yoko Ono has been ahead of her time, leaving her mark on visual arts, music and activism. To honour her groundbreaking work, Gropius Bau presents a comprehensive solo exhibition.

YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND

Key Visual Neu

teasers1

Marking twenty years since artist, writer and performer Vaginal Davis made Berlin her home, Gropius Bau presents the first comprehensive solo exhibition of her work in Germany. In her expansive oeuvre, punk meets glamour, queer activism meets Black counter-culture and resistance meets desire.

Vaginal Davis: Fabelhaftes Produkt

Fallback-Bild Theatertreffen

teasers2

The jury of critics announced the 10 most remarkable productions that have been nominated for an invitation to the 62nd Theatertreffen. All in all, the jury members viewed a total of 738 productions from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Theatertreffen

Fallback-Bild Musikfest Berlin

teasers3

Eight selected concert highlights of Musikfest Berlin 2025 have already been published and are on sale. These include guest performances by the world’s best symphony orchestras and choirs from the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Italy, which are rarely heard in Berlin.

Musikfest Berlin

More Berliner Festspiele

ctas

Over the following nine festival days, further multidisciplinary projects and concerts will be presented that transcend traditional dualisms, presenting new interrelational perspectives. Ensemble Nikel makes its festival debut at Radialsystem with two performative concerts: <a href="${link:{uuid:{d9293055-6d55-491e-acd8-0a479ed7b16d},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/minor-characters}}}">“Minor Characters”</a> by Jennifer Walshe and Matthew Shlomowitz is a “song cycle for the 21st century” that examines how the internet communicates reality to us, while Mark Barden’s composition <a href="${link:{uuid:{681adb03-4854-4754-8ff8-c3338d208006},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/limina-sensation-1}}}">“limina”</a> can be experienced in combination with the German premiere of the dance solo <a href="${link:{uuid:{681adb03-4854-4754-8ff8-c3338d208006},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/limina-sensation-1}}}">“Sensation 1”</a> by American choreographer Ligia Lewis. <a href="${link:{uuid:{f439d55e-00f3-46f2-b568-457ef24ff5bd},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/drifting-to-the-rhythms-at-the-southeast-of-nowhere}}}">“Drifting to the Rhythms at the Southeast of Nowhere”</a> by Nguyễn + Transitory is being developed this winter in Thailand in collaboration with dance artists from Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Trang. The new work by the Berlin-based duo references a range of Southeast Asian folk-dance forms – combining them with experimental electronic music. Also at Radialsystem, the percussion and piano quartet from New York <a href="${link:{uuid:{dd5489de-9639-4329-8810-8dd52fd056ab},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/yarn-wire}}}">Yarn/Wire</a> makes its Berlin debut with four commissioned works by the composers Sarah Davachi, Jad Atoui, Clara Iannotta and Catherine Lamb.Two performances at the Sophiensæle put animal worlds on stage while blurring genre boundaries. In Ute Wassermann’s <a href="${link:{uuid:{d8547050-f74a-435f-a49e-3ccb6b765bf8},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/the-art-of-camouflage-the-urban-tale-of-a-hippo}}}">“The Art of Camouflage”</a> the performers interact with resonances from aquaria filled with bilious green luminescent water and produce mutations of human and amphibian voices. This is followed by the music theatre production <a href="${link:{uuid:{d8547050-f74a-435f-a49e-3ccb6b765bf8},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/the-art-of-camouflage-the-urban-tale-of-a-hippo}}}">“The Urban Tale of a Hippo”</a> by composer Panayiotis Kokoras, choreographer Andrius Katinas, and stage and lighting designer Nanni Vapaavuori, that explores posthuman states through instrumental and electronic sounds performed by the Lithuanian ensemble Synaesthesis.At the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, the composer and vocalist <a href="${link:{uuid:{7c122669-83dd-4ae8-95fa-aa9a96d3d616},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/voice-is-the-original-instrument}}}">Joan La Barbara</a>, already acclaimed as an icon of contemporary music, will present a programme of her own works that explore the human voice as a multi-faceted instrument in her own unique way. Two current compositions that are performed by large ensembles at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele delve deeper into the riches of the percussion arsenal: Chaya Czernowin composed her work <a href="${link:{uuid:{abbe52d8-0f92-4465-87e9-0466bde1908e},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/poetica}}}">“POETICA”</a> for Steven Schick and Les Percussions de Strasbourg. Here the Israeli US-American composer illuminates both the nature of percussive sounds and the art of breathing. What happens when a solo instrument is multiplied several times? This is the experiment Enno Poppe conducts in his new composition <a href="${link:{uuid:{6c05cc9d-f15a-4555-b4a0-fb42143eb230},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/streik}}}">“Streik”</a> (Strike) for ten drum sets, an exploration of the sonic and narrative spectrum of this special instrument played by musicians of the Percussion Orchestra Cologne.The full festival programme will be announced in February 2025.

MaerzMusik will take place from 21 to 30 March 2025. Tickets have now been released for nine highlights selected from the programme.The 24th edition of the festival opens with the experimental music theatre show <a href="${link:{uuid:{f8e2f59f-baea-44c9-9162-3afee63c40ab},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/melencolia}}}">“MELENCOLIA”</a> by Brigitta Muntendorf and Moritz Lobeck at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in cooperation with the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. In a series of immersive soundscapes, the musicians of the Ensemble Modern and the Apollo Choir take the listeners with them to explore the creative and transformative power of melancholy worlds.

First Highlights of the Programme on Sale Now

mm25_video_trailer

mm25_trailer_videobild

Trailer MaerzMusik 2025, Design: 3pc

versions

ctas0

mm25_pamela_z

Find out more about some of MaerzMusik’s artists: talks, interviews and a portrait will be published regularly in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library.

In the Media Library

mm25_ensemble_mosaik

Now in its third year, the Library of MaerzMusik will be open throughout the festival as a place for gatherings and collective reflection, facilitating encounters between artists, audiences and a range of content. Offering interactive formats, talks and artistic interventions, it aims to create a space for the exchange of knowledge and shared experiences that is open to the public free of charge.

Library of MaerzMusik

88 pages, German an English“Towards Sonic Manifolds” is the title of the magazine that accompanies this year’s MaerzMusik while it also reads like a motto for the entire festival. The magazine brings together essays, artists’ conversations and different positions on the themes and protagonists of the programme. Delve deeper into the background and sonic spectrum of MaerzMusik.Please note: The pdf is not barrier-free.<a href="https://berlinerfestspiele.1kcloud.com/ep167d9b37800d48/" target="_blank" title="Full screen view in new window">Full screen view in new window</a><a href="${link:{uuid:{2fc2c1f3-9dfb-4e9e-8b0b-e1a3c6e0c71d},repository:{dam},path:{/bfs-de/indizierte-pdfs/EN/MaerzMusik/mm25_magazin.pdf}}}">Download magazine</a>&nbsp;(pdf, 2.1 MB)

Festival Magazine 2025

MaerzMusik sees itself as a place to exchange artistic knowledge(s) through new encounters and collective experiences. The festival is rooted in the multimodality of listening, contemporary music, and sound, employing concerts, performances, installations, music theatre, film screenings, and discursive formats to open up a space where life, art, and theory can co-exist.

About MaerzMusik

mm24_acousmonium_préseces électronique_c_didier_allard 7

For its 50th birthday, the GRM’s Acousmonium is visiting MaerzMusik. Find out more about the loudspeaker orchestra designed by François Bayle in our multimedia story, check out interviews with artists such as KMRU, Eiko Ishibashi and Jim O'Rourke, and listen to a selection of pieces by composers like Beatriz Ferreyra, Iannis Xenakis and Eve Aboulkheir.

The Loudspeaker Orchestra: Acousmonium

mm24_mediathek_teaserbild

Missed a concert? After the festival, you can log on to the Berliner Festspiele media library to experience some of this year's events as audio or video. You can also check out interviews with artists such as Jessica Ekomane and Ensemble Musikfabrik, who provide insight into their work – from public interventions with carillons to the elaborate reconstruction of instruments by composer Lucia Dlugoszewski.

MaerzMusik in the Media Library

mm24_text_contemplations_into_the_radical_others_3zu2

“Contemplations into the Radical Others” is an attempt to tell the story of composer and instrument inventor Lucia Dlugoszewski (1925–2000). In the last two years, MaerzMusik and collaborators engaged in extensive research on her work. Find out more about the research project here.

Contemplations into the Radical Others: The Life of Lucia Dlugoszewski

Mehr zur MaerzMusik 2024

filters

Upcoming Events

The festival commences with an immersive auditory experience, reviving a pivotal moment in the history of new and experimental music through INA grm – Groupe de Recherches Musicales’ Acousmonium. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of François Bayle’s invention, we will showcase compositions for the loudspeaker orchestra by composers such as Beatriz Ferreyra, Eve Aboulkheir, François Bayle and others. EnsembleKollektiv Berlin explores the realm of conscientious listening with works by Helmut Lachenmann as well as Michelle Lou and Ashkan Behzadi. The intergenerational narrative unfolds with Simon Steen-Andersen’s interpretation of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Musik im Bauch” performed by Les Percussions de Strasbourg. In this edition, we will continue our focus from last year on composer and artist Lucia Dlugoszewski: we have curated scores, including some unfinished ones, with Marco Blaauw and Christine Chapman that have been reconstructed by Ensemble Musikfabrik, rebuilt Dlugoszewski’s percussive instruments, and restaged works conducted for dance, performed by Berlin-based dancers in collaboration with Katherine Duke and the Erick Hawkins Company. Spread throughout the city, the series “Topographies of Hearing” features installations and interventions by Christina Kubisch, Jessica Ekomane, Audrey Chen and others. In navigating the uncharted territories of our collective futures, this year’s edition embraces the ongoing processes that are underway rather than fixating on conclusive ideas.We look forward to experiencing MaerzMusik 2024 with you!

MaerzMusik 2024 is positioning itself as an open-ended experience centred on conscientious listening, while also highlighting the constantly evolving tapestry of musical interplay among different generations and movements. With the ensembles, artists, musicians and composers invited, the festival examines the multi-layered potential of music through a programme that dovetails with the performing arts, sound, artistic interventions and more.

MaerzMusik 2024

mm24_video_trailer

mm24_trailer_thumbnail_16zu9

Trailer MaerzMusik 2024, Design: 3pc

Over ten days composers will explore soundscapes and narratives in works crafted for unique constellations of instruments, ensembles and performers. The festival opens with the German premiere of <a href="${link:{uuid:{f8e2f59f-baea-44c9-9162-3afee63c40ab},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/melencolia}}}">“MELENCOLIA”</a> by Brigitta Muntendorf and Moritz Lobeck in cooperation with Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Ensemble Modern. <a href="${link:{uuid:{6c05cc9d-f15a-4555-b4a0-fb42143eb230},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/streik}}}">“Streik”</a> for ten drum sets by Enno Poppe and <a href="${link:{uuid:{abbe52d8-0f92-4465-87e9-0466bde1908e},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/poetica}}}">“POETICA”</a> by Chaya Czernowin featuring solo percussionist Steven Schick delve deeper into the riches of the percussion arsenal. Diverse compositions for brass instruments by <a href="${link:{uuid:{892af5f5-19e3-4780-b9b6-47657cca8275},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/silent-green-3}}}">Liza Lim</a>, <a href="${link:{uuid:{06659eb0-0a73-4d10-be12-aec39da9e44f},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/silent-green-4}}}">Raven Chacon</a>, <a href="${link:{uuid:{7d2794f1-3f58-4225-b43c-57ff4e6f66b8},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/silent-green-2}}}">Wadada Leo Smith</a> and many others were commissioned as part of the projects Global Breath and The Monochrome Project, both initiated by Marco Blaauw. They stretch classical paradigms, inviting audiences into evolving performative realities.Various projects with multidisciplinary approaches unfold through dismantled hierarchies in music and beyond. Ensemble Nikel presents Mark Barden’s composition <a href="${link:{uuid:{681adb03-4854-4754-8ff8-c3338d208006},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/limina-sensation-1}}}">“limina”</a> in combination with the German premiere of the dance solo <a href="${link:{uuid:{681adb03-4854-4754-8ff8-c3338d208006},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/limina-sensation-1}}}">“Sensation 1”</a> by choreographer Ligia Lewis. <a href="${link:{uuid:{d9293055-6d55-491e-acd8-0a479ed7b16d},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/minor-characters}}}">“Minor Characters”</a> by Matthew Shlomowitz and Jennifer Walshe is a “song cycle for the 21st century” that examines how the internet communicates reality to us, while <a href="${link:{uuid:{f439d55e-00f3-46f2-b568-457ef24ff5bd},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/drifting-to-the-rhythms-at-the-southeast-of-nowhere}}}">Nguyễn + Transitory’s collaboration with Thai dancers</a> embodies vulnerability through an interactive, touch-sensitive instrument.<a href="${link:{uuid:{d8547050-f74a-435f-a49e-3ccb6b765bf8},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/the-art-of-camouflage-the-urban-tale-of-a-hippo}}}">Works by Ute Wassermann and others</a> challenge thresholds of perception, the <a href="${link:{uuid:{13ce3ecd-9ea8-4a5e-974f-54593f82f6b5},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/salon-of-touch}}}">“Salon of Touch”</a>, conceived by Bastian Zimmermann, discovers immersive sound and tactile experiences, and the works presented by <a href="${link:{uuid:{dd5489de-9639-4329-8810-8dd52fd056ab},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/yarn-wire}}}">Yarn/Wire</a> on their Berlin debut focus on micro-listening. A cross-generational perspective on the voice is present in performances by <a href="${link:{uuid:{9ec82998-bf65-4034-a959-9bd38bc3c60b},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-mediathek/maerzmusik/2025/voice-is-the-original-instrument}}}">Joan La Barbara</a>, <a href="${link:{uuid:{d1113296-11d8-4853-8fb5-37e9e60c4122},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/other-rooms}}}">Pamela Z</a>, <a href="${link:{uuid:{00d6b7e2-2417-4c44-adfd-a60afc42dab4},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/silent-green-1}}}">Ty Bouque</a> and <a href="${link:{uuid:{892af5f5-19e3-4780-b9b6-47657cca8275},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/silent-green-3}}}">Laura Bowler</a>. Each encounter explores the unique textures and expressive potential of the voice, pushing the limits of its artistic use. <a href="${link:{uuid:{abb72d84-6499-4951-b299-1537af83371c},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/finale-maerzmusik-2025}}}">The festival finale</a>, co-curated by Wojtek Blecharz, explores listening as a relational practice and redefines normative ways of presenting music.We look forward to welcoming you to the festival!&nbsp;Kamila Metwaly Artistic Director MaerzMusikMatthias Pees Director Berliner Festspiele

MaerzMusik cherishes a legacy of boundary-crossing creativity, thriving between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the classical and the postmodern, fixed genres and genre-bending. This year, the festival also responds to socio-political, cultural and ecological urgencies, demanding new ways of co-existing. In a moment where continuation in old forms is in question, how do we compose otherwise, in a way that is viable for the future?

Crossing Boundaries, Composing Futures

MaerzMusik cherishes a legacy of boundary-crossing creativity, thriving between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the classical and the postmodern, fixed genres and genre-bending. This year, the festival also responds to socio-political, cultural and ecological urgencies, demanding new ways of co-existing. In a moment where continuation in old forms is in question, how do we compose otherwise, in a way that is viable for the future? Over ten days composers will explore soundscapes and narratives in works crafted for unique constellations of instruments, ensembles and performers. The festival opens with the German premiere of <a href="${link:{uuid:{f8e2f59f-baea-44c9-9162-3afee63c40ab},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/melencolia}}}">“MELENCOLIA”</a> by Brigitta Muntendorf and Moritz Lobeck in cooperation with Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Ensemble Modern. <a href="${link:{uuid:{6c05cc9d-f15a-4555-b4a0-fb42143eb230},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/streik}}}">“Streik”</a> for ten drum sets by Enno Poppe and <a href="${link:{uuid:{abbe52d8-0f92-4465-87e9-0466bde1908e},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/poetica}}}">“POETICA”</a> by Chaya Czernowin featuring solo percussionist Steven Schick delve deeper into the riches of the percussion arsenal. Diverse compositions for brass instruments by Liza Lim, Raven Chacon, Wadada Leo Smith and many others were commissioned as part of the projects <a href="${link:{uuid:{00d6b7e2-2417-4c44-adfd-a60afc42dab4},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/silent-green-1}}}">Global Breath</a> and <a href="${link:{uuid:{7d2794f1-3f58-4225-b43c-57ff4e6f66b8},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/silent-green-2}}}">The Monochrome Project</a>, both initiated by Marco Blaauw. They stretch classical paradigms, inviting audiences into evolving performative realities.Various projects with multidisciplinary approaches unfold through dismantled hierarchies in music and beyond. Ensemble Nikel presents Mark Barden’s composition <a href="${link:{uuid:{681adb03-4854-4754-8ff8-c3338d208006},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/limina-sensation-1}}}">“limina”</a> in combination with the German premiere of the dance solo <a href="${link:{uuid:{681adb03-4854-4754-8ff8-c3338d208006},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/limina-sensation-1}}}">“Sensation 1”</a> by choreographer Ligia Lewis. <a href="${link:{uuid:{d9293055-6d55-491e-acd8-0a479ed7b16d},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/minor-characters}}}">“Minor Characters”</a> by Matthew Shlomowitz and Jennifer Walshe is a “song cycle for the 21st century” that examines how the internet communicates reality to us, while <a href="${link:{uuid:{f439d55e-00f3-46f2-b568-457ef24ff5bd},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/drifting-to-the-rhythms-at-the-southeast-of-nowhere}}}">Nguyễn + Transitory’s collaboration with Thai dancers</a> embodies vulnerability through an interactive, touch-sensitive instrument.<a href="${link:{uuid:{d8547050-f74a-435f-a49e-3ccb6b765bf8},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/the-art-of-camouflage-the-urban-tale-of-a-hippo}}}">Works by Ute Wassermann and others</a> challenge thresholds of perception, the <a href="${link:{uuid:{13ce3ecd-9ea8-4a5e-974f-54593f82f6b5},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/salon-of-touch}}}">“Salon of Touch”</a>, conceived by Bastian Zimmermann, discovers immersive sound and tactile experiences, and the works presented by <a href="${link:{uuid:{dd5489de-9639-4329-8810-8dd52fd056ab},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/yarn-wire}}}">Yarn/Wire</a> on their Berlin debut focus on micro-listening. A cross-generational perspective on the voice is present in performances by <a href="${link:{uuid:{9ec82998-bf65-4034-a959-9bd38bc3c60b},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-mediathek/maerzmusik/2025/voice-is-the-original-instrument}}}">Joan La Barbara</a>, <a href="${link:{uuid:{d1113296-11d8-4853-8fb5-37e9e60c4122},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/other-rooms}}}">Pamela Z</a>, Ty Bouque and Laura Bowler. Each encounter explores the unique textures and expressive potential of the voice, pushing the limits of its artistic use. <a href="${link:{uuid:{abb72d84-6499-4951-b299-1537af83371c},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik/programm/2025/kalender/finale-maerzmusik-2025}}}">The festival finale</a>, co-curated by Wojtek Blecharz, explores listening as a relational practice and redefines normative ways of presenting music.We look forward to welcoming you to the festival!&nbsp;Kamila Metwaly Artistic Director MaerzMusikMatthias Pees Director Berliner Festspiele

A Show Against the Indifference of the Universe

MaerzMusik 2025 opens with “MELENCOLIA”, an experimental music theatre show by Brigitta Muntendorf and Moritz Lobeck. In immersive soundscapes, musicians from Ensemble Modern and the Apollo Choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden invite the audience to explore the creative and transformative power of melancholic worlds. Tickets are available now.

MELENCOLIA

Choose several events from the programme and save up to 25 % off the individual ticket prices. This offer applies to tickets at both full and reduced prices. The allocation is limited. The offer does not include the music theatre show “MELENCOLIA”.

Up to 25 % Off When You Attend Several Events

main

MaerzMusik sees itself as a venue for experiencing art: for new encounters and collective reflection. Devised from the perspective of listening and sustained by contemporary music, the festival uses concerts, performances, installations, music theatre, film presentations and discursive formats to open up a space where life, art and theory can converge.

No events of MaerzMusik today

ctas1

ctas2

times

Today’s Events

Exhibition & Library

todayButton

program

Festivals & Programme Series

Das Festival

The Festival

The Berliner Festspiele organise a range of festivals and art exhibitions, concerts, dance and theatre performances, readings, lectures, debates and much more throughout the year. These events are presented at a range of locations across Berlin but are concentrated primarily at their own two venues: the Gropius Bau and the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

Berliner Festspiele

No events of Berliner Festspiele today

Exhibitions & Projects

appHeaderMenuFestivals1

appHeaderMenuFestivals2

appHeaderMenuFestivals3

appHeaderMenuFestivals4

appHeaderMenuFestivals5

appHeaderMenuFestivals6

appHeaderMenuHouses0

appHeaderMenuTeasers0

The international and interdisciplinary festival produced by the Berliner Festspiele

Performing Exiles

21.3.30.3.2025

Publications

Magazine

MaerzMusik 2025

Stories

Readers

Reader 2020

Reader 2019

Reader 2018

Reader 2017

Further Publications

Magazine Tele-Visions 2019

Thinking Together 2018

Thinking Together 2018

Magazine 2012

Use of Cookies