69th INTERNATIONAL ROSTRUM OF COMPOSERS
The Hague, Netherlands
May 16 – 19 2023
Paris / The Hague, May 15, 2023 – A flagship project of the International Music Council* (IMC), the International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) will be held this year in The Hague, Netherlands, thanks to the invitation of our longstanding partner NPO Klassiek along with the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague.
Since its inception in 1954, the IRC has become the most important platform for the promotion of contemporary music via radio broadcast while offering a unique forum for professional exchange among radio music producers and presenters. Its central purpose, strongly supported by the European Broadcasting Union, is to provide contemporary musical creations the largest possible number of broadcasts worldwide.
In its long history, the IRC has revealed the emergence of many of the world’s most gifted composers whilst they are still in the early stage of their career. Renowned composers such as Luciano Berio or Agata Zubel had their first international successes when they were presented at the Rostrum.
During the event in The Hague, delegates of 23 national radio networks from four continents will present some 40 works composed within the five years preceding the Rostrum and this 69th session will remain in history as, for the first time ever, the majority of the presented composers are female or non-binary.
After having listened to these works, the assembly of delegates will select and recommend the most distinctive works in two categories: ‘general’ and ‘young composers under 30’. These and other works will be presented in concerts and broadcast during the year following the event by the participating and other interested radio stations. In this way, these works will reach literally billions of listeners.
In addition to the unique outreach generated by broadcasts, selected and recommended composers will be offered additional opportunities to further develop their career.
In the General category, thanks to a new partnership between IMC and Norrlandsoperan (Umeå, Sweden), the selected composer will benefit from an IRC co-commission for the Norrlandoperan Symphony Orchestra. In the Under-30 category, the selected composer will receive the IRC Prize in the form of a bursary offered by IMC and supported by RTP–Radio Television Portugal/Antena 2.
Moreover, a new partnership with the prestigious Vienna-based publishing firm Universal Edition will allow the two selected composers free of charge access for one year to the UE SCODO publishing service.
Besides the listening sessions, delegates will once again be offered opportunities for exchange and professional development including the traditional interview with composers which will bring together two Dutch laureates of previous Rostrum editions, Martijn Padding and Jan-Peter de Graaff.
Thanks to the collaboration with the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, delegates will also have the opportunity to listen to a special Rostrum concert by students of the Conservatoire.
The Rostrum sessions will be co-chaired by Evert van Berkel, Producer at Swedish Radio Ltd, and IRC Secretary Davide Grosso.
This year’s selection of the Rostrum will be announced at a press conference to be held on May 19th at 1 PM at Amare (Spuiplein 150).
For media enquiries: Davide Grosso, International Music Council
d.grosso [at] imc-cim.org
*Note for Editors:
IMC is the world’s largest network of music organisations and institutions, founded by UNESCO and dedicated to the advancement of essential music rights for all people.
We stand for a world where everyone can enjoy access to music, where they can learn, experience, create, perform, and express themselves through music, and in which artists of every kind are recognized and fairly remunerated. IMC brings together people, ideas and actions under the umbrella of the Five Music Rights.
IMC’s network is present in 150 countries on all continents, with national music councils and international, regional and national music organisations as well as specialised organisations in the field of arts and culture. Through its members, IMC has direct access to over 1000 organisations and 600 million persons eager to develop and share knowledge and experience on diverse aspects of musical life.