Month of Contemporary Music 2025

Month of Contemporary Music #9
Four Weeks of New Music, Sound Art, Music Theatre, Echtzeitmusik, Improvisation and Discourse
13 September – 12 October 2025

From September 13 to October 12, 2025, the Month of Contemporary Music once again invites audiences to experience the current currents of Berlin’s multifaceted contemporary music scene. Concerts, performances, and sound installations at numerous venues across the city offer both experienced concertgoers and curious newcomers a focused insight into the capital’s contemporary musical output.

The Month of Contemporary Music is a collaborative project: it is the artists, ensembles, and organizers who shape the festival program through their own events. The collectively developed program leaves no doubt about the vitality and diversity of a scene that is internationally influential. In light of the severe budget cuts that are increasingly depriving the city’s cultural life of air to breathe, the festival sends a clear message: Berlin’s independent scene is indispensable.

The opening of the Month of Contemporary Music will feature a concert by the AGGREGATE Festival on 13 September at 8pm at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The evening is dedicated to current developments in the New Organ Movement, featuring new and existing works for organ by gamut inc (Marion Wörle and Maciej Śledziecki), Danish sound artist Mads Kjeldgaard, and Scottish composer, organist and performer Claire M Singer.

This year’s edition also places a strong emphasis on mediation and shared reflection on sound and music. Artist talks hosted by our field notes editor Lisa Nolte at selected concerts will serve as an opportunity for dialogue, questions and collective thinking. The KISSAS – Listening Sessions, organised in collaboration with Berlin listening bar Unkompress, will showcase recent releases from exciting local labels, who will also speak about their work. The programme is once again accompanied by the »Radio of the Month« on Cashmere Radio. In four broadcasts, host Nico Daleman will invite artists of the festival to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives and introduce the concert programmes to the audience.

Participating ensembles include renowned groups such as Maulwerker, DLW, ensemble mosaik, JACK Quartet, Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, LUX:NM, the Splitter Orchester, Ensemble Apparat and Ensemble Adapter. The festival also features festivals such as Berlin Solo Impro, the Festival für Selbstgebaute Musik, Labor Sonor, and selected concerts by Musikfest Berlin. 

Berlin is considered one of the most exciting cities for contemporary music worldwide – not least due to its decentralised structure, which makes it possible to encounter music at any time and in a wide variety of places. Accordingly, the festival can be experienced across the city – in major concert halls (Philharmonie, Konzerthaus, Pierre Boulez Saal), at independent venues (KM28, exploratorium berlin, Kotti-Shop, and ausland), and in unexpected spaces such as cemetery chapels or the Schinkel Pavillon.

Overview

Program
The full program of the Month of Contemporary Music is available here.

Tickets
Tickets are sold individually by the respective organisers. Information on ticket purchase and prices is available here.

Venues
An overview of all festival venues is available here.

Supporting program
A diverse framework programme provides additional insights into the work of the artists participating in the festival and their music:

• Three Questions to… – Artist Talks at selected events with field notes editor Lisa Nolte.
• Radio of the Month – host Nico Daleman invites various festival artists to discuss their work and provide behind-the-scenes insights on Cashmere Radio.
• KISSAS – the Berlin labels Sacred Realism, Feral Note, BlackTruffle and Psychic Liberation present their latest releases in listening sessions, organised in a collaboration with listening bar Unkompress.

Further Information in our magazine
For deeper insights, the field notes Magazine #43 (September/October 2025) specialises on the Month of Contemporary Music and is available as a PDF download.

Accessibility
As the Month of Contemporary Music takes place at numerous venues, accessibility varies by location. Please check the websites of individual venues for information on available access and support services.

The Month of Contemporary Music is organised by the field notes program of inm – initiative neue musik berlin e.V. and is funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, INPIII and EFRE.