Bolzano Festival Bozen 2026 - Symposium: The Artist of the Future

International symposia have long been part of the tradition of the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition. This year's event addresses a question of growing urgency: what will the classical music world of tomorrow look like, and what role will today's artists play in shaping it?

The music landscape is undergoing profound change. There has never been a generation of so extraordinarily well-trained pianists, and yet established concert formats are losing their appeal. Countries with cultural backgrounds far removed from the Eurocentric model are rediscovering classical music in a new light. Initiatives such as the awareness programmes of the South Korean ARKO foundation, a new festival by the NCPA in Beijing, and the bold concepts of Hamburg's TONALI cultural venue illustrate just how varied the responses to these challenges can be.

"The Artist of the Future" aims to take a critical inventory of current ideas about the role of the contemporary artist, explore new models at the intersection of concert life and the digital world, and reaffirm that genuine artistic passion – beyond all the real or imagined demands of the so-called music industry – remains the only guarantee of lasting substance and value.

Programme:

9:30 – Opening Speech
Prof. Paolo Somigli, PhD (Free University of Bolzano)

9:40 – The Global Neutral Style
Josu de Solaun (pianist)

10:00 – Winning a Competition: What Does it Mean?
Yifan Wu (pianist) & Josu de Solaun

10:30 – Coffee Break

10:50 – The Next Generation of Interpreters
Masashi Nishimaki (Artistic Director, Toppan Hall Tokyo)

11:10 – Beyond Online and Offline: Hayato Sumino (Cateen)
Shannen Liu Kotow (Managing Director, Liu Kotow Music Agency)

11:30 – La prossima generazione degli interpreti vista dall'Italia
Rita Virgili (Jeunesse musicale Italia)

11:50 – Lunch Break

16:00 – Shaping the Identity of the Future Artist Through Media
Serena Bortone (journalist)

16:30 – The Artist as a Scientist: Music and Mathematics
Kit Armstrong (pianist)

17:00 – Coffee Break

17:20 – Classical music is not dying: it has never been alive
Lucas Debargue (pianist)

17:30 – Classical Music is More Vivid Than Ever
Martin Cullingford (Gramophone chief editor)

17:50 – Our Own Future as Artists
Yifan Wu & Nikolas Meeuwsen (pianists)