The opening of NEXT 2025 in the Large Concert Studio of the Slovak Radio will take place in cooperation with the Paris-based INA GRM (Institut National Audiovisuel, Groupe de Recherches Musicales), which was founded by Pierre Schaeffer in 1951 and has since become one of the world’s most important centers of research and creation in the field of electronic music. The gala evening will also continue the rich history of the Experimental Studio in Bratislava, which this year celebrates its 60th anniversary.

For the first time in Slovakia, we will experience the impressive Acousmonium sound system. This unique “speaker orchestra” is designed specifically for the spatial interpretation of electroacoustic music and was created in 1974 by composer François Bayle. The system consists of dozens of speakers of various sizes, power and character, arranged in space so that the sound can be “played” like a musical instrument. Experiencing Acousmonium live is a unique opportunity – its precise, plastic and physical spatial projection is one of the most iconic experiences of European experimental music.

The opening evening of the festival combines archival multichannel compositions from the collection of the Experimental Studio of Bratislava Radio and the historical archive of the GRM with premieres of new commissioned works and live performances by prominent contemporary authors. Peter Kolman’s E 15 will be heard in a new spatial arrangement, premiere concert sets by BJ Nilsen, Michaela Turcerová and Drew McDowall, as well as Félicia Atkinson’s work for piano, electronics and surround sound, complemented by a composition by Bernardo Parmegiani from the GRM archive.

Acousmonium will resonate at the Bratislava Radio as a complex soundscape – an exceptional evening in which the history, present and future of electroacoustic music meet.

Organised by A4 as part of the New Perspectives for Action project within the international collaboration Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union and supported using public funding by the Slovak Arts Council and Bratislava City Foundation. Part of the “Exploring Spatial Sound” project in collaboration with Paradiso, Sonic Acts and INA GRM, with support from The Creative Industries Fund NL.