Sun, fish, pigs and children: Borealis 2025

Siko Setyanto performs Ocean Cage

Royal Norwegian Naval Forces Band perform Jason Yarde in Bergen Cathedral

Jiennagoahti (listening hut)

Vilde Tuv performs at Nordnes Sjøbad seawater pool

Bastard Assignments perform Pigspigspigs

Okkyung Lee with BIT20 Ensemble

Borealis Festival, Bergen

By Lawrence Dunn, 25 March 2025

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“Maybe it’s inevitable that any Norwegian festival would end up being about fish”

Tim Rutherford-Johnson, 16th February

As the idiosyncratic, laconic Hungarian composer approaches his 100th birthday, we talk to Pierre-Laurent Aimard about his decades-long relationship with György Kurtág, on his unique playfulness and gift-giving.

Dinosaurs of the Baroque: discovering Les Dinos et l’Arche

Lawrence Dunn, 2nd January

Thomas Leininger’s Baroque-inspired children’s opera at Geneva’s La Cité Bleue is a unique stylistic departure, which asks the essential question: what happened to the dinosaurs left off Noah’s Ark?

A political composer? John Adams revisits Nixon in China

Thomas May, 30th September

Returning to conduct Rome’s Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia this November, John Adams reflects on the situation of music in the US – and why he has so often been labelled a ‘political’ composer.

Opera premieres 2025–26: visions and fairy tales

Bachtrack, 1st September

Contemporary music theatre seems to be in a state of rude health, and we preview several new stage works soon to hit the boards this coming season at venues and opera houses around the world.

Lightness and connection: the music of Jo Kondo

Tim Rutherford-Johnson, 29th July

The enigmatic Japanese composer, recently awarded the 55th Suntory Music Award, talks about his uniquely intuitive compositional style.

Spiritual sympathy: Paul Hillier on Arvo Pärt

Tim Rutherford-Johnson, 5th June

Arvo Pärt’s contributions to contemporary choral repertoire are exceptional, and conductor Paul Hillier and the Hilliard Ensemble have been crucial collaborators for more than three decades.

Lawrence Dunn

Lawrence is commissioning editor at Bachtrack. He is a composer, improviser, pianist and writer. He has taught at Cambridge, Huddersfield and Sheffield universities. He has written music for, among others the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Slagwerk Den Haag, Philip Thomas, Juliet Fraser, Ilya Gringolts, Plus-Minus, Exaudi, Apartment House and Explore Ensemble.