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New project presents Europe’s greatest composers of contemporary classical music

The Music in Movement (MiM) project highlights the evolution of contemporary classical music in Europe in a new and engaging way. Through accessible themes, such as film score music and jazz influences, the project aims to reach a broad audience. At the same time the musically educated user will also be able to discover interesting storylines and never before seen or heard footage. The project will deliver the online pilot in June 2017 showcasing four prominent European composers.

Music in Movement will create a new online channel disseminating a selection of the work of four selected noteworthy European composers and depicting their influence on the European musical landscape of the 20th and 21st centuries. The project focuses on four outstanding personalities; Louis Andriessen (1939, the Netherlands), Pierre Boulez (1925-2016, France), Arvo Pärt (1935, Estonia) and Kazimierz Serocki (1922–1981, Poland). They represent various European countries and cultures and ensure that their work reflects – as fully as possible – the range of compositional techniques, styles and aesthetics. The project aims to expand to more European countries in future.

The project sets up a unique opportunity for an international presentation of European common musical heritage, including online activities and physical workshops. MiM aspires to cater for the musically educated user while also meeting the needs of broader audiences who have an interest in culture. MiM investigates how musical landscapes can be linked to the social phenomena that constitute key elements of European identity, such as openness, migration and the free movement of ideas and verify if they can indeed influence social change. As contemporary classical music is often referred to as ‘difficult’ and challenging to appreciate, it needs to be presented in an engaging way.

I see music as a kind of continuity, like a big tree…Of course there are many branches, many different directions. I think music is in constant evolution, and there is nothing absolutely fixed and rigidly determined. - Pierre Boulez

MiM is created by four prominent institutes in the domain of preservation and exploitation of cultural heritage - the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, the National Audiovisual Institute, Poland, the French Audiovisual Institute and the Arvo Pärt Centre, Estonia. They have joined forces with the aim to create a comprehensive guide to the work of Europe’s greatest composers of contemporary classical music.

Music in Movement is co-financed by the Grant for International Collaborative Projects with Heritage Institutes of the Dutch Mondriaan Fund

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