FORUM OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
The Forum of Contemporary Music Leipzig is a non-profit institution, which functions as a rallying point and platform for activities related to the contemporary music scene in the narrower and broader understanding. The FZML occurs here both as host and organizer as well as an intermediary, which means it promotes discussion on new music as well as contacts between it and other arts.
Since it’s founding in 1990 by prominent personalities of the music world the FZML arranged many different concerts and projects, which ranges from music for soloists, chamber ensembles and chamber orchestra to spatial and electronic music as well as theatrical and musical concepts and inter-media installations.
Furthermore an important part of the substantive and organizational work of the FZML is the promotion of especially young artists who deal with any kind of music. Also the FZML advises various public and private institutions on issues of cultural work.
In terms of sustainable cultural and political commitment one of the most important tasks of the FZML is to provide a substantive work that discursively and critically deals with social and sociological phenomena.
The FZML conveys the musical and artistic work based on several pillars:
Since 2002, there has been a FESTIVAL which deals with a different topic every 1-2 years. The FESTIVAL aims to discuss issues of social and artistic relevance. Wether on public roads and places, in concert halls or cinemas: The audience is always confronted with critical, polarizing, moreover, controversial theses which are arranged in an artistic, argumentative and public manner.
In addition, the FZML organises the programm FREIZEITARBEIT since 2005. It takes contemporary music to unusual locations. The concept is quite simple: it revolves around the question where people spend their time during work or in their leisure time. The FZML uses these unusual locations in cooperation with the local actors, e.g. swimming pools, tramways, employment office, brothel, cemetary etc.
Besides several other concerts and events beyond traditional formats, the FZML has itensified its educational work with children and adolescents since 2007. Furthermore, the FZML gives advice to different public and private institutions in the fields of cultur and general public relations.
The international festival CAGE100, consisting of more than 100 individual events around the world, took place in 2012/2013 and ran for one year. So far CAGE100 is the biggest project since the foundation of the FZML. The biggest contemporary collaborative composition, the 125 PARTY PIECES, had its world premiere in New York while the european premiere took place in Leipzig in the beginning of 2016.
2014, the FZML managed to take the audience back to the year 1914 as well as keeping them in the present with its format LEIPZIGNOIR1914. The live radio play combined highly different artists and instruments, without depriving them of their individual personal space. LEIPZIGNOIR1914 built a bridge between the past and the present.
The Forum of contemporary music has celebrated the 25th anniversary of its foundation with the festival ALTZEIT NEU. For three days, from 9th - 11th february 2016, the history of the FZML was displayed through different media such as music, electronics, poetry or film. Suitable for the anniversary of the FZML were the perfomances of some of the best, most thoughtful and most entertaining artists in the scene.
