A speech on quality
En samtidsmusikkfestival skal synliggjøre kunstneriske posisjoner, ikke moralisere. Det noen elsker, vil andre hate, også når det kommer til innholdet på Ultimafestivalen.
A contemporary music festival should envision artistic points of view, not moralize. What one loves, another one hates, and this is no less true when it comes to the contents of the Ultima festival.
This is why it is important for the public discourse that Ultima shows the diversity in the works of performers and composers today. Their expressions span from impressive virtuosity and knowledge to dismal aesthetics, new amateurism and being inclined to resignation.
A festival with ambitions to present brand new and unknown music necessarily need to take some chances to present projects with outcomes that are difficult to survey or control. Precisely this risk, this gamble, creates an interesting festival for contemporary art. This is our lot: doomed to being perpetually annoying. But it grows on us, as the alternative is so much worse.
Disagreement is healthy in an artistic context, and debates around the concept of quality is one of our most important contributions as a festival. We greatly appreciate all the positive reviews, but equally important is the many engaged conversations on the contents of the festival. All in all, music is more fun than statistics.
The last six months have been intense, and I would like to thank everyone that has contributed to making this year’s festival possible. A particular thanks to the Ultima staff.
Goodbye, and thank you very much!
Lars Petter Hagen
Director, Ultima 2009