The festival opens with a celebration; everyone can decide for themselves whether early or late. The curtain will rise with much fanfare and cantatas, compositions and improvisations, with textured music and time texture—and with numerous prestigious musicians.

«Untimely» is our motto this year and thus begins the Musikfestival Bern, if not untimely, at least with a whirlwind of time. What can be displaced in time will be displaced here, and yet everything has its own time within. As the Old Testament preacher Salomon called «Omnia tempus habent» is the motto for the first part of the concert. Thun-born musician Michael Wertmüller composed a contemporary counterpart to the cantata of the same title written by our timeless composer-in-residence, Bernd Alois Zimmermann.

Old and new come together, as is the tradition of our festival. In other ways, time will be counterbalanced by the sounds of hornroh and the Circle Flute—or in Graham Valentine and Martin Schütz’s improvisations and finally in Marcel Zaes’s time textures. But more untimely events will take place this evening. Be prepared to be surprised.