Biennale Musica 2026 concludes in Venice

The 70th Biennale Musica International Festival of Contemporary Music has concluded in Venice. Under the direction of Caterina Barbieri, the festival was themed ‘The Child of Sound,’ exploring music as a symbol of both revolution and healing.

Attendance for the event increased by 4%, with 40% of the audience arriving from abroad. A notable component of the festival was the ‘Musica Libera’ project, which featured performances by female inmates from the Giudecca prison.

The festival ended with Barbieri’s work, ‘Non puoi contare l’infinito,’ which integrated an orchestra with electronic music and analog synthesizers. Other featured performances included ‘Canons’ by Clarissa Connelly, a vocal-centric piece utilizing choral traditions and repetitive melodic structures to create new harmonies through movement and voice.