Stories
Storytelling is one of the most central dimensions of being human. Man is a narrative being; we make sense of the world through stories. Stories are like an axis, a driving force through which we love, hate, wage war, build, and create. We have evolved through a narrative evolution, where more effective and compelling stories have pushed aside the weaker ones.
However, stories reach us not only through language and words but touch us through all possible artistic mediums. Perhaps some of the most powerful stories are those that operate beyond words and concepts. They often work even more directly and shake us more deeply than their verbal versions.
Musical stories are surely as old as humanity, if not older. It has been suggested that humans began to sing before they began to speak. This means that musical stories reached us first; they are something we need, something we still long for and reach out to find.
Within the framework of EMP (Estonian Music Days), new stories are being created, while older, more archaic tales are being weighed, gauged, and brought into the modern day.
Festival is supported by Cultural Endowment of Estonia / Estonian Ministry of Culture / LHV / Tallinn Culture & Sports Department / City of Tartu / Estonian Authors’ Society / The Goethe Institute / Culture Ireland
Festival’s partners are the Estonian Music Fund, Klassikaraadio, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Estonian National Male Choir, Estonian Centre of Contemporary Music, Go Hotel Shnelli, Estonian Music Information Centre, Tallinn Music Week, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and Estonian Music Festivals. Special thanks to all our partners and festival volunteers!