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 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, Masaaki Suzuki, Andrea Marcon and Christian Schmitt.

Harpsichord competition

Winners have included Christiane Jaccottet, Anne Gallet, Colin Tilney, Scott Ross, John Whitelaw, Alexander Sung, Martin Pearlman, Ketil Haugsand, Christophe Rousset, Pierre Hantaï, Ottavio Dantone, Nicholas Parle, Blandine Rannou, Roberto Menichetti, Béatrice Martin, Isabelle Sauveur, Benjamin Alard, Julien Wolfs, Francesco Corti, Kazuya Gunji, Maxim Emelyanychev, Stanislav Gres, Mark Edwards, Jean Rondeau and Andrea Buccarella.

Recorder competition

Winners in various instrumental, vocal and ensemble categories have included Huelgas Ensemble, Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet, Aldo Abreu, Robert Barto, Matthias Maute, Kai Wessel, Elisabeth Scholl, Hélène Schmitt, Mimè Yamahiro, Knut Schoch, Makoto Sakurada and Yosemeh Adjei .

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