MAfestival Brugge
The MA Festival Brugge, short for the festival Musica Antiqua Bruges in Bruges, Belgium, is a festival of early music and historically informed performances, started in 1960. The program includes concerts, master classes, conferences, visits in the region, exhibitions, instrument market, and international competitions that concentrates in a three-year cycle on organ, harpsichord, pianoforte and other period instruments, vocals, and baroque ensembles. The specialised festival is part of the Festival of Flanders.
Mission of the festival
From the beginning, the organisers aimed to not simply present concerts. They wanted to show the highlights from the city's past and provide a meeting place for specialists, performers, instrument makers, educators, students, and music lovers. Music making has been complemented by exhibitions and fairs, interpretation courses and master classes, forums, lectures, and guided visits to historic instruments in Flanders. Concert performances are focused on lesser-known music until about 1800.
The international competitions Musica Antiqua started in 1964 with a three-year-cycle of organ, followed the next year by harpsichord, basso continuo and since 1983 also fortepiano. In 1972, the competition was expanded by a third triennial cycle for recorder, other instruments, singers (since 1984) and ensembles.
Jurors have included Gustav Leonhardt, Thurston Dart, Barbara Schlick, Barthold Kuijken, Wieland Kuijken, Wolfgang Brunner, Florian Heyerick, Ton Koopman, Frans Brüggen, Anner Bylsma, Xavier Darasse, Michel Chapuis and Scott Ross.
Organ competition
Winners have included James David Christie (USA, 1st prize 1979), Masaaki Suzuki (Japan, 3rd prize 1982), Andrea Marcon (Italy, 5th prize 1985) and Christian Schmitt (Germany, 3rd prize 2000).
Harpsichord competition
Winners have included Christiane Jaccottet (Switzerland, 1st prize), Anne Gallet (Switzerland, 3rd prize 1968), Colin Tilney (UK, 4th prize 1968), Scott Ross (USA, 1st prize 1971), John Whitelaw (Canada, 2nd prize 1971), Alexander Sung (Hong Kong, 5th prize, 1971), Martin Pearlman (USA, 3rd prize 1974), Ketil Haugsand (Norway, 5th prize 1980), Christophe Rousset (France, 1st prize 1983), Pierre Hantaï (France, 2nd prize 1983), Ottavio Dantone (Italy, 3rd prize 1986), Nicholas Parle (Australia, 1st prize 1989), Blandine Rannou (France, 2nd prize 1992), Roberto Menichetti (Italy, 3rd prize 1995), Béatrice Martin (France, 1st prize 1998), Isabelle Sauveur (France, 3rd prize 2001), Benjamin Alard (France, 1st prize 2004), Julien Wolfs (Belgium, 2nd prize 2007), Francesco Corti (Italy, 2nd prize 2007), Kazuya Gunji (Japan, 2nd prize 2010), Maxim Emelyanychev (Russia, 2nd prize 2010), Stanislav Gres (Russia, 3rd prize 2010), Mark Edwards (Canada, 1st prize 2012), Jean Rondeau (France, 1st prize 2012) and Andrea Buccarella (Italy, 1st prize 2018).
Recorder competition
Winners in various instrumental, vocal and ensemble categories have included Huelgas Ensemble (Belgium, 2nd prize 1972), Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet (Netherlands, 2nd prize 1981), Aldo Abreu (Venezuela, 2nd prize recorder 1984), Robert Barto (USA, 2nd prize lute 1984), Matthias Maute (Germany, 1st prize recorder 1990), Kai Wessel (Germany, 3rd prize voice 1990), Elisabeth Scholl (Germany, 2nd prize voice 1993), Hélène Schmitt (France, 3rd prize violin 1993), Mimè Yamahiro (Japan, 7th prize cello 1996), Knut Schoch (Germany, 4th prize voice 1999), Makoto Sakurada (Japan, 2nd prize voice 2002) and Yosemeh Adjei (Germany, 3rd prize voice 2002) .
Literature
- Programmabrochures 1964 to 2012
- Robrecht Dewitte: 40 Jaar Musica Antiqua, 1964-2003, Bruges, 2003
External links
- MAfestival website (Dutch)
- Bruges harpsichord week 1974 Howard Schott