Festival History
Inaugural edition · 2016
The Modern Composers International Music Festival, previously known as Festival of Modern Composers, took place for the first time in Malta between the 6th and 9th of October 2016 at the Robert Samut Hall in Floriana, Malta, with Maltese composer and conductor Joseph Vella as Composer-In-Residence and the European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) as organisers. The festival featured competitions between young performers, judged by jury members, and day time concerts.
This inaugural edition featured four concerts, allowing audiences and participants to benefit from free entrance to all events including also the competitions. The juror was formed by some of the most distinguished musicians and chaired by Mr Vella himself.
2018 Edition
The 2nd edition of Modern Composers International Music Festival happened two years later, in 2018, as part of the prestigious InClassica International Music Festival, previously known as Malta International Music Festival, involving competitions between young musicians, a large number of masterclasses held by some of the most esteemed classical music professors and pedagogues and concerts by some of the greatest soloists and conductors. Organisers of the festival were the European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) and the MPO. As part of the Modern Composers International Music Festival, audiences had the opportunity to hear the works of some of the most esteemed contemporary composers such as Giya Kancheli, Georgs Pelecis, Maltese composer Joseph Vella and Krzysztof Penderecki.
In addition, another contemporary composer who was one of the protagonists was Alexey Shor, with his works performed on different occasions during the festival.
2019 Edition
In 2019, the EUFSC announced the 3rd edition of Modern Composers International Music Festival, known in that year as Contemporary Classics Composers’ Festival, in collaboration with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra (ASSO) and the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports. The festival took place in the Armenian capital of Yerevan from the 1st to the 9th of November and involved 8 concerts played at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall. To attend the festival legends of contemporary music such as Tigran Mansurian, Giya Kancheli, Qigang Chen, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alexey Shor, Georgs Pelecis, Karl Jenkins and Alexander Tchaikovsky. Moreover, world-famous musicians such as Mario Brunello, Gidon Kremer, Boris Berezovsky, Daria Tchaikovskaya, Yuri Bashmet and many others.
