For the 20th time now, klub katarakt presents experimental music beyond strictly academic contexts from January 13 to 17, 2026. With the clear aim of reaching people without specific knowledge of contemporary music in particular, the Hamburg festival has been accepted by a steadily growing heterogeneous audience of all ages. We are looking forward to presenting an unusual and avant-garde programme again for the anniversary of klub katarakt in 2026 – this time on five days.Di 13.01. OpeningThe festival opens again with a walking concert. The three interconnected halls P1, KMH, and K4, invite you to move fluidly through the sounds. Many Hamburg musicians, composers, and performers are invited to develop a new form collectively. Quatuor Bozzini from Canada as well as the improvisation collective META from Darmstadt will also take part.Mi 14.01. Sarah Davachi / Morton FeldmanCanadian composer Sarah Davachi is concerned with the close intricacies of timbral and temporal space. Her sound is an intimate and patient experience that lessens perceptions of the familiar and the distant. Following a lecture about her work, she will play a solo concert on electric organ. In the night concert, Darragh Morgan and Mary Dullea will perform the piece For John Cage by Morton Feldman, who would have turned 100 this year. It exists as a plateau of existential sound, pianissimo with almost entirely still gestures throughout.Do 15.01. Afrorack / Alexander Schubert Afrorack from Uganda blends polyrhythmic structures from African music with elements of acid, techno, and ambient on his self-built modular synthesizer. Before that, the German premiere of Alexander Schubert's new music theater project Eternal Dawn with Decoder Ensemble will take place as part of klub katarakt. A combination ticket offers discounted admission to both events.Fr 16.01. Sarah Davachi / GroupshowQuatuor Bozzini from Canada play Sarah Davachi’s complete cycle Long Gradus as a Hamburg premiere. Shifts in pitch material and texture occur on a very gradual scale, allowing the listener’s perceptions to settle on the spatial experience of harmony. Groupshow (Jan Jelinek, Hanno Leichtmann, and Andrew Pekler) has established a method of transparent density in which links and breaks are not concealed but remain audible. Their night concert take place in the centre of the room surrounded by the audience, who only enter the space once the musical interaction is already underway.SA 17.01. Lange NachtThe Long Night presents first and world premieres by the local scene as well as international guests, alternating with experimental short films. Special guests are General Magic ∞ Tina Frank. Also performing are Hamburg band TWISK and many other local musicians. DJ collective Sutsche will close the evening.
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