70th International Festival of Contemporary Music Concludes in Venice

The 70th International Festival of Contemporary Music, titled A Child of Sound, concluded on Saturday, 24 October 2026. According to organisers, the festival saw audiences rise by 4%, with 40% of attendees arriving from abroad. This data highlights the event’s international draw and increased participation.

Caterina Barbieri, the festival’s director, described the concept of the “child of sound” as a symbol of both revolution and healing. She attributed to music a power of communion and spiritual elevation, reflecting her vision for the festival’s thematic direction.

One of the festival’s notable events was Musica Libera. This event was held in the cloister of the Casa di reclusione femminile Giudecca, the women’s detention centre in Venice. Musica Libera was built around the therapeutic value of music, emphasising its potential impact in unique settings.

Musica Libera resulted from a series of workshops. In these workshops, women from the Giudecca Institute worked together with young musicians from Biennale College Musica and their mentors. This collaborative process was central to the event’s development and presentation.

The festival’s programme also included Canons, a work based on the musical technique of canons. In this technique, a melody is successively imitated by different voices, creating gradually overlapping lines and evolving polyphonic textures. This approach highlighted the festival’s engagement with diverse compositional methods.