These troubled times are also very difficult for artists, so we felt that organizing a “Solidarity” festival would be an important gesture. We are showing our solidarity with a profession that has suffered from months of silence. The silence was caused by public health measures that were certainly necessary, but it also clearly demonstrates how vulnerable artists are both in terms of their legal status as well as their place within society more generally. Tens of thousands of events in the cultural sector have been cancelled, causing hundreds of thousands of artists who work at these events to lose their livelihoods, but this also demonstrated the extreme precarity of this vulnerable sector. Some people felt this period offered a unique chance to reimagine live performance as a format with mass appeal – art forms whose very survival depended on finding success online on fickle social networks. However, we must not forget that live performance is not only invaluable for our society as an art form; above all, its role is to create spaces for new encounters and shared experience. The magic of live concerts weaves a delicate thread bringing together audiences and artists in unique and matchless moments. The unique boreal voices of Maarya Nuut and Maja Ratkje; the surprising vocal poetry of Anne-James Chaton; the heart-breaking sounds of the NORD duo; the fascinating litany of “Jesus Blood Never Failed me yet” by Gavin Bryars; the captivating new piece written by Luka Ligeti for the voice of Clara Inglese; and surprising guitar textures from Stephen O’Malley will be some of the work on offer during this autumn of creativity.

For this unique edition, the Ars Musica festival is moving away from its usual format following a theme and has instead constructed a varied programme together with the artists to reflect the full range of musical creation. After these uncertain times, the most important thing is sharing; so, from now on, let’s share!