Innovation Award Longlist 2016
This is the longlist for the Classical:NEXT 2016 Innovation Award. These nominees were named by the Nominating Committee, who then selected from it the ten-strong shortlist. The winner was then determined from this shortlist by an online vote open to the entire Classical:NEXT community, i.e. the almost 3,000 delegates who have registered for any of our editions, from 2012 to 2016, and who are linked via the online networking platform C:N NET.
Voting is now closed. The winner of the Classical:NEXT 2016 Innovation Award will be announced on site at the closing ceremony of Classical:NEXT in Rotterdam on 28 May 2016.
Photo: John LauenerArt of Time Ensemble (Canada)
An ensemble of musicians, composers, writers, dancers, actors and other artists founded by pianist Andrew Burashko in 1998.
Photo: C. LeiberAvant Premieres by Opera de Paris (France)
Thirteen special-event performances are available during the 2015-2016 season to theatregoers under the age of 28 at the special price of €10 per seat.
Borusan Music House (Turkey)
A unique arts venue in the middle of Istanbul's cultural district of Beyoglu, owned by one of the most pro-active sponsors of high art in Turkey.
CEPROMUSIC (Centro de Experimentación y Producción de Música Contemporánea) (Mexico)
Its artistic activities have focused on many different topics, all with the principle of promoting the broad contemporary poetic spectrum.
Photo: Yutaka NakamuraDaisuke Muranaka & Orchestra AfiA: "Nature and Music" (Japan)
Website (Daisuke Muranaka)
Website (Orchestra AfiA)
Facebook
AfiA’s concert series with thematic programming attracts new audiences and particularly appeals to those who have not attended concerts before and offers pre-concert events that engage with audiences over the music and nature concept.
Photo: Richard SchroederECM Records (Germany)
Old and fresh. Still after almost 50 years innovative, surprising and reliable. Manfred Eicher is always searching for new sounds, contents and new combinations.
Photo: Hedirun LohrEnsemble Offspring (Australia)
Now in its 20th year, Ensemble Offspring is a continually evolving, shape-shifting group that specialises in performances of music that push the boundaries of the art.
Photo: Tobias SchultEnsemble Resonanz: Urban String (Germany)
Urban String concerts enjoy a unique, club-like atmosphere. Each evening is especially curated by ensemble musicians, who also provide short introductions to the pieces. Some programs feature guests soloists who add to the group musically, while almost every event features a DJ or electronic musician.
Photo: Erased Tapes RecordsErased Tapes (United Kingdom)
Young and fresh. The approach of classical-, electronically- and pop-music combined with a clear and esthetical concept is innovative and unique.
Photo: Elena LavellsExpoclásica (Spain)
ExpoClásica is the regular meeting point of the Spanish classical music industry, and is a proven bridge-builder, forging solid, professional links with institutions and companies abroad while allowing foreign companies a convenient opportunity to have a single overview of the Iberian market, getting to know its most important players.
Festival Internacional Cervantino (Mexico)
During Jorge Volpi's tenure as General Director, the Festival has not only widened and increased its musical program, but has Incorporated major innovations such as development of thematic axis, focus on contemporary music and ancient music and the creation of the Academia Cervantina.
Photo: Hamilton Lund
Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour (Australia)
A three-week season of a fully-produced and -staged opera, designed to be an opera event in Sydney. In every March to April, an opera is staged alongside the Sydney harbour overlooking the Harbour Bridge and its vicinity.
Hiroaki Ooi (Japan)
Ooi sheds light on the history of classical music. His approach is totally free of restrictions and manifests a free-thinking spirit which I consider is bold and revolutionary.
Photo: Matthias HeydeHuman Requiem by Rundfunkchor Berlin (Germany)
Music, up close and personal – with its Human Requiem, a scenic realisation of the Brahms requiem, the three-time Grammy-winning Rundfunkchor Berlin and Jochen Sandig entered a whole new dimension, tearing down the division between stage and audience.
Photo: Nah Seung Yull
Il-Ryun Chung (Germany/South Korea)
Writes music for Western and Asian instruments, recently mostly for Korean instruments. October 2011 the Korean Concerto Grosso "Part of Nature" was premiered in the National Theater of Korea, commissioned by the artistic director of the National Theater Hwang Byung-Ki.
Photo: Peter Godfrey-Smith
Jane Sheldon (United States)
Jane Sheldon is making her own opportunities, commissioning composers, forging alliances with other performers, organising concerts and recordings and reaching new audiences.
Photo: Ana Clara MirandaJohann Sebastian Rio (Brazil)
Founded in 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, this chamber orchestra is structured around a YouTube Channel – 60% of their activities are videoclips. On stage, they privilege theatrical narratives.
Mannes School of Music (United States)
Mannes School of Music is the century-old music conservatory at The New School (NYC) and is dedicated to advancing the creative role of music in all aspects of a rapidly changing society. Mannes seeks to develop citizen artists who engage with the world around them through music, in traditional, new, and emergent forms of practice.
Photo: Kai BienertMatthias Osterwold: Klangspuren/Schwaz (Germany)
Osterwold studied sociology, urban studies and musicology. He was the co-founder of Freunde Guter Musik Berlin e.V. that supports experimental music. Between 2001 to 2014 he was artistic director of MaerzMusik, "festival of actual music". Since 2013 he works as director of Klangspuren Schwaz in Tirol, Austria.
Monika Pasiecznik (Poland)
Monika Pasiecznik is the leading curator and critic of the young generation in Poland. All of her texts are available for free at her blog archives, a unique project within Poland.
Photo: Floto+WarnerNational Sawdust (United States)
A new multimedia performing arts organisation and venue in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Despite its opening night being as recent as October 1, 2015, National Sawdust has already entrenched itself in the conversation and incubation of new music.
Nova et Vetera (Colombia)
Nova et Vetera is an independent agency and producer working in Colombia and expanding into the rest of Latin America. This small organisation takes on different roles depending on the characteristics of the project at hand.
Photo: Salih KilicOperadagen Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
This audience-friendly festival presents boundary-crossing performances, often with an actual theme such as refugees and equality. The line-up encompasses a wide range of performing arts, from sound walks, folky comedies and live games to state of the art music theatre by top directors such as Christoph Marthaler.
Photo: Maarit KytoharjuOur Festival (Finland)
Our Festival is an open-minded and socially aware festival that brings together a unique group of international musicians, designers and artists every summer at Lake Tuusula. It seeks new perspectives on musical encounters and concert practices, and alongside music, raises burning social issues through its themes.
Photo: Perttu PölönenPerttu Pölönen and his Musiclock (Finland)
Perttu Pölönen's Musiclock is a great example of an invention and an inventor that today's classical music needs. Pölönen had a brilliant idea which he developed bravely and with no preconceptions.
Photo: Andrej GrilicPodium Festival Esslingen (Germany)
By focusing on specific contextualisations of each performance in the festival, with a clear focus to speak to young audiences, the PODIUM Festival serves as a laboratory for new performance formats and communication strategies for classical music.
Photo: Fang XiaoRediscover Guoyue (China)
Rediscover Guoyue innovates the way that Chinese music is perceived and presented. In its 90 minutes performance, ten classic pieces are woven together to form a theatre and each tells the story behind the music, acted, told and played all by the musicians themselves.
Photo: Sian Richards
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Canada)
They have taken full control of their recording archive and are creatively marketing it to new audiences. Alongside their concerts, their artistic arsenal covers a wide range of points of engagement, from pre- and post-concert talks to master classes.
Photo: Swanhild KruckelmannTonali Competition (Germany)
Tonali is an initiative which involves young excellent classic talents in educational projects in schools. It is a competition in performing classical music and in gaining new audiences.
Photo: Kelle Ramsey
Van Beethoven – The Virtual Reality Orchestra by Los Angeles Philharmonic (United States)
Innovative outreach program. The orchestra found a very inventive way to take the concert hall to the streets, using cutting-edge technology.