Contemporary/Experimental music venues in Europe.
October 14, 2010 6:58 PM   Subscribe

Please recommend some concert venues in western Europe that specialize in contemporary and experimental music.

My wife is a concert pianist who will be performing a full program of music for piano and tape in Spring 2011. This music was mostly composed since the year 2000, with one outlier in 1989. She wants to tour Europe (mostly western Europe) with this program, and I want to go along. We need to know who to contact to book the concerts to make this possible.

The ideal venue is a hip/artsy space that regularly features contemporary/experimental music, has a piano, draws a decent crowd (~50 people?), and pays performers. Other different kinds of venues could work (as long as a piano is available), such as art galleries, university music departments which focus on contemporary/experimental music, bars (?), and other options I haven't thought of yet.

We're hoping to go to Berlin, Prague, Paris, Darmstadt, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Brussels, and maybe London. If other cities have spectacular opportunities for piano and tape concerts, please don't hesitate to include them in your answers!

I have no idea what to expect in terms of payment. She is looking for any venue that could pay enough to get us to our next destination. I'm hoping we can do better than to break even for the trip. At any rate, some information regarding payment, if available, will be appreciated.

So far, google research has turned up a few options in Berlin that might be viable: Ausland, Radialsystem V, and White Rabbit. Does anyone have any insider knowledge on any of those?

Thank you very much for any and all suggestions!
posted by sleevener to Media & Arts (6 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: My apologies, this is coming from my distracted boyfriend who is a composition prof in the States.

There's a school and a few museums in Essen.

Den Hague has another school.

Bourges is a big place for this, IMEB is the abbreviation for Institute International de Musique Electroacoustique.

University of Birmingham.

Queen's University, Belfast
Trinity University in Dublin
Demonford University, York University - both in England.

Hope this helps a little!
posted by ashtabula to opelika at 8:37 PM on October 14, 2010


Best answer: Cafe OTO in Dalston, East London, sounds like it's right up your street.
posted by Ted Maul at 2:17 AM on October 15, 2010 [1 favorite]


Best answer: You could get in touch with IRCAM, in Paris.
posted by knile at 4:53 AM on October 15, 2010


Best answer: You could check out the CBSO Centre in Birmingham, home to the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG).
posted by dogsbody at 7:24 AM on October 15, 2010


Best answer: If you'd dare travel as far north as Glasgow, the CCA sounds ideal for your wife's music. Glasgow's got a pretty thriving experimental music scene, so I'm sure you wouldn't have trouble attracting a crowd.

I've got a weird feeling that there's somewhere else in Glasgow blindingly obvious on the tip of my brain. If I remember, I'll slap myself and get back to you.
posted by dudekiller at 9:38 AM on October 15, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks, everybody!
posted by sleevener at 5:37 PM on October 19, 2010


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