"I think this can make a new idea about Europe, not based upon the idea of different countries but upon different possibilities of making connections."

The programme for HCMF 2009 is as international in scope as ever, featuring performers and composers from Australia, Germany, Portugal, the USA, the Netherlands and many other countries. Such wide-ranging connections and collaborations are not always easy to achieve. But on a European level, the festival’s ambitions have been supported for several years through membership of Réseau Varèse , the cross-European network devoted to contemporary music.

Set up in 1999 with funding from the Culture 2000 programme of the European Commission and from the French ministry of culture and communication, Réseau Varèse brings together 21 partners from 17 European states: festivals such as HCMF, theatre companies, concert venues and artistic institutions. Varying in size, location and artistic focus, all of the organisations nevertheless share a commitment to producing works of contemporary music.

Réseau Varèse presents the opportunity for its members to pool their knowledge, talent and resources, and for a work to reach audiences far beyond its original setting. As of June this year, Réseau Varèse has supported 42 unique projects, resulting in to more than 360 public performances across the continent. Sixteen musical shows (dance, opera and musical theatre) and 26 concert programmes have showcased the work of 53 different composers, including the premieres of 46 new works.

HCMF has been a Réseau Varèse member since 2000, the other UK representative being the Southbank Centre in London. That year the festival played host to Ensemble Modern ’s Tribute to Wolfgang Rihm (whose requiem Et Lux receives its UK premiere at this year’s festival) following previous performances in Oslo and Strasbourg. On the other hand, next year sees an HCMF 2008 world premiere, John Butcher ’s Composition for eight musicians, travel to Vienna’s Wien Modern and Berlin’s MaerzMusik festivals.

Réseau Varèse provides practical support for bringing new productions to fruition. But it also has the wider artistic aim of matching the modern, unified Europe with a genuinely European contemporary repertoire, as Antoine Gindt, director of Paris-based music theatre company T&M and president of Réseau Varèse, explains:

“When we say that we want to make a European repertoire, it’s very important to us that we can share ideas and possibilities,” he says. “For example, a piece by a French composer, performed by a Portuguese orchestra, conducted by a German conductor and with a stage director from Great Britain. I think this can make a new idea about Europe, not based upon the idea of different countries but upon different possibilities of making connections.”

As a cross-border network, Réseau Varèse works to make its members “share the same mood of artistic invention or creativity, to lose what I call the national reflex,” Gindt says. “We are all supported by a city, a country or a geographical territory, but a European repertoire asks you to forget this nationality. It’s very interesting to see how different artistic influences have developed in different areas of Europe. Most of the members keep an element of this, and we have to work to encourage them not to think, ‘I can use a Spanish composer because I am Spanish’ and so on, but, ‘How can I share something that is different?’ In a way, that is more universal, whilst keeping some specificity.”

The network is run in a way that Gindt describes as “ultra-democratic”, with regular General Assemblies to discuss decisions and make plans, and public lectures held during members’ events (such as HCMF 2008) dedicated to exploring issues of cultural cooperation. Members have a free choice whether or not to join in with each new project, which only comes under the Réseau Varèse banner if other members are interested: “We have some internal rules: we decided that one programme should always be shared by at least three members, from two different countries. But the central point is to keep the independence of each member,” Gindt says.

Coordinating 21 members in 17 countries brings its own administrative challenges, the president acknowledges. “But I hope I can say that we’ve found how to make these difficulties less present.” However, a sole and shared focus upon contemporary music means that both large and small organisations can contribute appropriately without either dominating the agenda or being overlooked. “Most of the time, the big institutions are involved with Réseau Varèse for only a few projects, whereas the small institutions are involved with each one,” Gindt says. “If you take the Southbank Centre, 99 percent of its programme is not adapted for the Réseau Varèse, but what is important is the possibility of two or three other projects.”

“That’s why we decided, ten years ago, not to make a network with very similar institutions, but with institutions who want to be involved in contemporary music projects. So we have the big concert halls, but also smaller companies and very specific institutions such as IRCAM. What is important is the project and where it can be performed or produced, not all these institutions.”

Earlier this year, Réseau Varèse received €2.5 million funding from the European Commission's Culture Programme to support the next five years’ activities. As the first decade of both the network’s existence and a new millennium for Europeans draws to a close, does Gindt see his organisation’s successful cooperation as a role model for music audiences of how different nationalities can work together in other ways?

“Yes it should be, as a model of positive attitude regarding European institutions. As the president I can also say modestly whether I feel that European Union is in good health or not. That is to say, if a few of us are convinced by a common project, then everything is going fast, with exciting possibilities. If there is just discussion about what each member makes in his country that he would like to give to his neighbour, it just starts to be a very restrictive activity. It can be a metaphor for everyday life. It is a work in progress.”

Other Réseau Varèse members

Arena Festival , Latvia

Ars Musica , Belgium

Budapest Autumn Festival , Hungary

Casa da Música , Portugal

Gaida , Lithuania

Holland Festival , The Netherlands

IRCAM , France

MaerzMusik , Germany

Megaron Athens Concert Hall , Greece

Musica Nova , Finland

Musica , France

Musicadhoy , Spain

NYYD Festival , Estonia

Rai Trade , Italy

RomaEuropa , Italy

Schauspielfrankfurt , Germany

Southbank Centre , UK

T&M , France

Ultima , Norway

Wien Modern , Austria

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