Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me as Minister of Culture and Church Affairs to say a few words at the opening of the Young Nordic Music Festival 2003.

Works written by young Nordic composers will be performed by music students, young professionals and ensembles that are playing a vital role in Norway.

The goal of Young Nordic Music is to promote co-operation between young Nordic musicians and composers. The festival presents works by composers under the age of 30, and has been arranged every year since 1946.

The festival has become a key meeting place for talented young composers and performers from all over Scandinavia. Most established Nordic composers have taken part in this festival at some point, and many of them have emphasised its importance. I can imagine how exciting and rewarding it must be to hear one’s own compositions being performed here. The festival also provides a valuable opportunity for people with similar interests to meet each other in a social setting. The Young Nordic Music Festival makes a vital contribution to the development of contemporary Nordic music.

All the Nordic countries participate in this co-operative effort, which is supported through public allocations and private funds. The festival is arranged by each Nordic country in turn, and this year it is Norway and Oslo that has the privilege of hosting it.

Several of the most prominent new music ensembles in Norway will be participating in the festival. This year a special effort is being made to add further interest to the festival by launching a co-operation between various art forms which demonstrates that the festival reflects the latest trends in the music community and in the cultural sector as a whole. Although many musical forms were created in specific historical or cultural contexts, the borders between these categories have become less distinct with time. Performers draw inspiration from a wide range of genres, and cross the boundaries between them more and more often. And we, the audience, also tend to define our musical interests more broadly.

One special event in this year’s festival will be this evening’s opening concert, called “Gesamtkunstwerk”. The aim of this event is to create a meeting place for various Nordic art circles, and to present art that operates in the borderland between music and other art forms. Composers, performers, artists, scenographers and others have been invited to challenge the traditional concert structure. It will certainly be a unique experience to see and hear this production.

The composers who have been chosen to contribute works to this festival will be present during the week, thus enriching the festival with an educational aspect in addition to a purely musical one. The festival’s lecturer and mentor, Brian Ferneyhough, is one of the most highly regarded composers and teachers in the field of new music today. I am sure that he will be a source of valuable inspiration for future work.

The Young Nordic Music Festival has been an important event for young Nordic composers for half a century. I sincerely hope that it will continue to develop in the same positive and constructive direction in the years to come.

I would like to wish the organisers, the participants and the audience an enjoyable festival. I hereby declare the Young Nordic Music Festival 2003 opened.