Ultima 2026 in the press

Audun Vinger, music critic in Dagens Næringsliv:

— Ultima presents a great deal of sensory music that many people can intuitively engage with without too much prior knowledge. (…) This year’s programme can cure both consensus and the autumn blues.

Read Dagens Næringsliv’s review

Eystein Sandvik, music critic in NRK:

— Thirty-five years after its beginnings, the Ultima Festival remains the most important platform for innovative and boundary-pushing music in Norway. The four concerts I attended this year reveal a festival that surprises and challenges.

Read NRK’s review

Aksel Dalmo Tollåli, classical critic in Aftenposten:

— There is much to explore in the contrasts between nature and humanity, not least in our increasingly technological everyday lives. This year’s Ultima brings this seemingly black-and-white picture vividly to life in all its colour.

Read Aftenposten’s review

Michèle Tosi, journalist in ResMusica:

— The 2026 edition of Ultima (…) confirms the festival's mission: to shift boundaries rather than define them, and to make listening a physical, spatial, and resolutely contemporary experience.

Read ResMusica’s review

Amanda Cook, editor in I CARE IF YOU LISTEN:

— The opening weekend of the Oslo-based festival highlighted the ever-evolving potential of sound as a creative tool of expression, commentary, and reflection. With the resources to support everything from solo sets and individual compositions to large music-theater works, the festival offered consistently high production value across its eclectic programming.

Read the review

On the festival as a whole →

On individual productions →