Neues
+++ With great disappointment, we acknowledge the council decision of February 14, 2025, which completely terminates the funding for ACHT BRÜCKEN | Music for Cologne starting in 2026. +++
For 15 years, ACHT BRÜCKEN has brought new impulses to the city, realized innovative projects, and showcased international top ensembles alongside the prominent free music scene in Cologne. This includes the initiation and production of around 150 world premieres. Several works commissioned by ACHT BRÜCKEN have entered the canon of contemporary repertoire.
Without the support of the city, it is currently completely uncertain whether there can still be a festival for contemporary music in Cologne and what its scope will be. The termination of funding comes at a time when art is needed more than ever as an invaluable asset for discourse, yet cultural funding is collapsing everywhere.
Despite everything: This year's festival edition is just around the corner. It will take place under the festival theme "Light!" and with the late Finnish exceptional artist Kaija Saariaho as the featured composer from May 9 to May 18, in full swing – with 31 concerts, 16 world premieres, various urban collaborations, and the traditional Freihafen.
(The team of ACHT BRÜCKEN, February 14, 2025)
EIGHT REASONS FOR ACHT BRÜCKEN
ACHT BRÜCKEN 2025 | May 9th - May 18th
The 15th edition of ACHT BRÜCKEN | Music for Cologne will take place from May 9th to 18th, 2025. Taking the compositions of this years' portrait composer Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023) as a starting point, the festival presents various exciting works and projects circling around the phenomena of brightness and darkness.
Kaija Saariaho ©Christophe Abramowitz
