From October 11 to 25, 2025, Venice will once again become the beating heart of contemporary creativity with the 69th International Festival of Contemporary Music (Venice Biennale Musica 2025), directed by Caterina Barbieri and titled “La Stella Dentro” (The Star Within).
The festival unfolds over two weeks with daily concerts, performances, and encounters, featuring some of the world’s most innovative soloists and ensembles. At its core lies the Biennale College Musica, a platform for emerging artists whose projects, selected through an international call, will premiere as part of the official program.
Caterina Barbieri (b. 1990), a Berlin-based Italian composer and musician, brings her visionary perspective to this edition. Trained in classical guitar, electroacoustic composition, and modern literature in Bologna, she furthered her studies in Stockholm and London, performing at major festivals across the globe.
The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement will honor the legendary Meredith Monk, a pioneer of extended vocal techniques and interdisciplinary performance. The Silver Lion will be awarded to Chuquimamani-Condori, an American artist of Bolivian origin whose experimental voice expands the boundaries of contemporary sound.
The program spans an extraordinary range of artists, including Laurie Spiegel, Suzanne Ciani with Actress, Catherine Christer Hennix, William Basinski, Yosuke Fujita, Sunn O))), Fennesz, Nkisi, Mabe Fratti, Carl Craig, and many more, shaping a kaleidoscopic musical landscape.
A special highlight is “Star Chamber – Secret Island” on October 19th: an immersive voyage by boat to a mysterious Venetian lagoon island, transformed into a living stage of sound and performance. A dreamlike encounter with music, space, and perception, it embodies the very essence of “La Stella Dentro”.
The Venetian music festival where sound becomes light and imagination becomes reality.
Website: www.labiennale.org
Location: Ca’ Giustinian Palace and Arsenale, Venice
Schedule: October 11 – 25, 2025
