The Federal Council is providing funding of CHF 280 million for measures in the cultural sector. According to the federal distribution formula, the canton of Basel-Landschaft will be allocated CHF 4.051 million. This is on condition that the canton provides the same amount of funding. A total of CHF 8.102 million is therefore available in the Basel region.

Non-profit cultural enterprises and profit-oriented cultural enterprises without a business identification number (UID) as well as cultural professionals can apply for compensation for loss of up to 80% of the financial loss associated with the cancellation or postponement of events and projects or with the closure of businesses caused by government measures to combat the coronavirus. The measures are implemented and applications processed in close coordination with the Canton of Basel-Stadt. This applies in particular to applications that are related to the BS/BL bicantonal expert committees.

For non-profit cultural enterprises, the Federal Council also provides for repayable interest-free loans to ensure liquidity if this is at risk as a result of government measures to combat the coronavirus. The loans amount to a maximum of 30% of the cultural enterprise's income, less subsidies from the public sector. They can be applied for by submitting an application to kulturelles.bl after a prior consultation.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Canton of Basel-Landschaft Cultural Awards ceremony has been postponed. The cultural award ceremony will be held in a different form at a later date. Kulturelles.bl will provide information in due course. The 2021 cultural awards ceremony will take place in Oltingen, as planned for this year.

More info: www.kulturelles.bl.ch/corona
 

It is well known that the coronavirus has brought public cultural life in Switzerland to a virtual standstill. The Migros Culture Percentage music festival m4music has even been thwarted twice by the pandemic. Two weeks before the start, it was announced that the 23rd edition, originally planned for March 19 to 21, would have to be canceled due to official requirements. "It is not justifiable to hold the event," the media release stated.

However, the makers did not want to admit complete defeat at this point. Consequently, they announced: "m4music 2020 will become m4music 2.0." Instead of a three-day festival for 6,000 visitors, a livestream was now planned for those at home. A mix of music, panel discussions and the so-called Demotape Clinic - the competition for up-and-coming Swiss pop music talent - was planned. Just eleven days later, this plan was already history. "In view of the current situation and the latest guidelines from the Federal Council, holding an event like the m4music 2.0 streaming festival, for which over 50 employees and guests from various parts of Switzerland would be traveling, is not justifiable," the festival management announced.

For m4music, however, there was no question of backing down. Festival director Philipp Schnyder von Wartensee promised: "Despite all the circumstances, we want to offer Swiss pop music a platform and provide specially produced content for music fans and professionals on our digital channels in the coming weeks." In fact, on March 21 - the original Saturday of the festival - the first online panel was held under the title Total breakdown - The music scene in times of the coronavirus. Around 350 participants followed the discussion live on Facebook or Zoom and the number of clicks on the recording on YouTube is constantly increasing, explained Philipp Schnyder on request. "We can be satisfied with that."

When asked about the impact of the festival's cancellation, he explains: "m4music is the most important meeting place for the Swiss indie music scene. So the move was correspondingly painful." At the same time, however, it is important to be aware that the representatives of the local music scene are currently focusing on other issues. Consequently, the above-mentioned online panel, which is still available on YouTube, was deliberately dedicated to these problems. For example, the existential hardship faced by musicians in the absence of payment and the increasing number of clubs and festivals in the face of the ban on events were discussed.

But back to m4music: according to Schnyder, they are currently still analyzing the financial impact of the festival cancellation. It is a complex process that also requires legal clarifications. "It is not the intention of m4music and the Migros Culture Percentage to get off as lightly as possible financially." This is an attitude that the festival can adopt because it is not being called into question despite the cancellation. "We are very well positioned and assume that m4music will take place again next year," explains Schnyder. Postponing this year's festival - to the fall, for example - was not considered. "That would have been too costly," says the festival director.

It is clear that they want to help the Swiss music scene even without m4music 2020. "We are currently still thinking about how we want to position ourselves in order to support the local scene in the best possible way," reports Schnyder. Because Swiss radio and television are already active with all kinds of streams, m4music is planning to get involved in other ways. For example, the next online panel on April 16, 2020 will focus on the topic of Multiculturalism true(ly)? - About migration, culture and diversity accept. The focus of the discussion is the realization that our society is shaped by migration. But although more than 50 per cent of 15 to 35-year-olds in Switzerland have a migration background, this is hardly reflected in the arts pages, for example. Which leads to the question of why the multicultural music scene in this country is not more in the spotlight.

The Demotape Clinic will also be held digitally for the first time in April. The four category winners and the winner of the Demo of the Year will be announced online on April 28. And in the background, preparations for m4music 2021 will soon begin again, as Philipp Schnyder knows: "We're already starting the booking process again!"

At the end of March, the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana Foundation created a solidarity fund to quickly and efficiently support students at the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana who are facing severe financial hardship due to the economic consequences of the current pandemic. According to the foundation, affected students can apply for an emergency grant immediately. After a review of the conditions and financial need, a support contribution will be transferred directly to the student's account.

The anation of all concerts and events deprived students of an important, if not their only, source of income. In addition, the extensive shutdown of the economy not only deprived them of their sideline opportunities, but often also of family support.

The President of the Foundation Board, Ina Piattini Pelloni, appeals for solidarity with the young students. Christoph Brenner, Director General of the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana, is convinced that the protection and support of musical talent will allow us to "quickly return to normality - when we will need art and culture, especially music."

The initiative has already mobilized 61,710 francs within a few days.

Update 30.4.2020:
The foundation announced on 29 April 2020 that over 100,000 Swiss francs had already been mobilized within three weeks and that 60 emergency scholarships had already been made available.

This year, the German Music Publishers Association (DMV) honored nine publications with the "Best Edition" seal of approval. The four-member jury (Jan Sören Fölster, church musician, Berlin, Susanne Funk, Kulturkaufhaus Dussmann, Berlin, Mario Müller, Bundesverband Freier Musikschulen, Bonn and Bert Odenthal, graphic designer, Berlin) had to evaluate a total of 81 entries from the entire range of publications from German music publishers. All submitted works were judged according to the following criteria:

1. Overall editorial impression
2. Special publishing or scientific achievement or idea
3. Correctness and quality of the music (engraving, typography, electronic notation, calligraphy)
4. Graphic design
5. For digital submissions: User-friendliness, innovation, accessibility
6. Printing, paper, binding

The awards ceremony was planned as part of the International Music Fair in Frankfurt, which had to be canceled. "Especially at this time, when many music publishers are struggling to survive due to the corona crisis, it is important to show how high-quality their sheet music and music editions are in terms of content and form," explained Clemens Scheuch, Vice President and Chairman of the DMV's E-Music Committee.
 

Award winner 2020:

Large-scale vocal music by Beethoven is often reduced to just a few works. The finale of the Ninth is on everyone's lips and ears. The Missa solemnis can confidently be called Opus magnum and the Mass in C major stands in its shadow. But an oratorio, especially for Holy Week? In fact Christ on the Mount of Olives op. 85, Beethoven's only contribution to this genre, has almost completely disappeared from the repertoire. Perhaps it was chance that led Beethoven to compose this work. In early 1803, he had been commissioned by Emanuel Schikaneder to write an opera for the Theater an der Wien. And he was assured that he would also be able to perform concerts with the musicians for his own benefit, the first on April 5, 1803, the Tuesday of Holy Week.

Beethoven had included his first two symphonies and the third piano concerto on the program. The oratorio was also composed more or less at short notice in accordance with the church year. His later assertion that it was written in "14 days" has been written down, is cum grano salis to take. The first sketches date from February of that year. Above all, however, Beethoven evidently saw the oratorio as a step on the way to opera, both dramaturgically and musically.

Christ on the Mount of Olives was successfully performed. However, the libretto by Franz Xaver Huber (1755-1814) proved to be problematic outside Vienna, so that the publisher made unauthorized changes when it went to press (Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1811). Beethoven only found out about this in the galley proofs - too late to be able to clarify fundamental points in his favor, even though he had to admit: "the text is extremely bad in the old meaning of 'simple', but once you've gotten yourself out of a bad arbitrate text as a whole, it is difficult to prevent it from being disturbed by individual changes."

In particular, he referred to the warriors' chorus, which seems a little strange: "We have seen him, / Going to that mountain, / Just take the path to the left, / He must be very close!" Such verses only make sense against the background of the Viennese performance tradition, which apparently also included a scenic concept. In any case, several textbooks of the time contain corresponding references such as "Christ. He kneels at some distance from the sleeping disciples", "Christ rises", "Paul draws the sword", "Choir of the soldiers leading Christ". Here it is particularly worthwhile to refer to the music text of the current complete edition (also available as a study score from Henle). And once you have been captivated by the symphonic introduction (beginning in E flat minor!), you will probably want to continue listening with curiosity ...

Information on the study score:
Ludwig van Beethoven. Christus am Ölberge op. 85, edited by Anja Mühlenweg (Studien-Edition), Henle-Verlag Munich, 255 pages (HN 9311)

Link to the project homepage "52 x Beethoven"

Non-profit cultural enterprises can apply for interest-free, repayable loans from the canton to maintain their liquidity. Self-employed cultural professionals and cultural enterprises can apply for loss compensation to cushion the costs incurred as a result of the COVID measures. For guidance, overviews and decision-making aids have been published on the Homepage of the Office for Culture/Cultural Promotion of the Canton of Bern published. Here, the artists concerned can submit applications online.

After the government council had already decided on March 26 to support the cultural sector with lottery funds in the millions, it has now approved an extraordinary allocation of CHF 15 million from the lottery fund to the cultural promotion fund.
 

The press release states:

"The Paul Sacher Foundation has recently acquired a large number of important scores and letters from the publishing archives of Schott Music in Mainz, enabling it to substantially expand its existing collections. Formerly known as B. Schott's Söhne, one of the publishers of Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Wagner, Schott is today one of the largest and most traditional music publishers in the world, and has always been committed to contemporary music.

Of the composers represented in the Paul Sacher Foundation, Hans Werner Henze, György Ligeti, Heinz Holliger, Aribert Reimann, Dieter Schnebel and, in some cases, Igor Stravinsky, Klaus Huber, Jürg Wyttenbach and Conrad Beck have had their works published by Schott. In the past, their fair copies usually became the property of the publishing house. The Hans Werner Henze collection in particular is experiencing immense growth,
The composer was associated with the Mainz publishing house for over fifty years and had all his works published there until 2001.

Among the manuscripts that have now found their way into the Paul Sacher Foundation are Hans Werner Henze's fair copies of The Bassarids and Muses of Sicily. But also the handwritten piano score of Igor Stravinsky's Violin concertoGyörgy Ligeti's fair copies of Lontano and Chamber concert or Aribert Reimann's opera Lear are included.

In total, the parts of the Schott archive transferred to Basel comprise over 280 - in some cases extensive - manuscripts of works from the period from 1927 to 2018. In addition, there are around 3,000 original letters, which provide an insight into the creation of the works and the circumstances surrounding their production and premiere. Production documents also document the printing of the works (often in different versions);
Many of them contain substantial corrections by the composers.

The materials from the Schott archive will be processed in the course of 2020 and should be made available for research as quickly as possible."

The international classical music fair Classical:Next would have taken place in Rotterdam from May 18 to 21. Due to the spread of COVID-19, this event also had to be canceled.

But Classical:Next is not "just" an event. Rather, the platform creates classicalnext.com the opportunity to network digitally with international players on the classical music scene. For example, "Mentoring Sessions" and "Regional and Sector Meet Ups" will soon be launched as an alternative to the conferences planned during the trade fair. As in the past, Classical:Next wants to continue to promote exchange and mutual learning. The team is open to suggestions and welcomes ideas. Communication will be in English only. You can register free of charge until April 17 and benefit from the platform's services.

The Federal Council is providing emergency aid for cultural enterprises and professional cultural practitioners, compensation for cultural enterprises and cultural practitioners as well as financial aid for cultural associations in the amateur sector with a Covid Ordinance on Culture. In a first step, the federal government is initially making CHF 280 million available for the period from March 21 to May 20, 2020.

The Federal Council has also tasked the cantons with implementing and financing some of the measures. It bases this on the constitutional responsibility of the cantons for culture. The cantonal government of Obwalden is complying with this requirement and is providing CHF 100,000 from the Swisslos fund to cover half of the compensation for losses incurred in accordance with the ordinance. The other half - as well as the financing of all other aid measures - will be covered by the federal treasury.

The Cantonal Office for Culture and Sport is responsible for carrying out the application procedures for emergency aid for cultural enterprises and for loss compensation for cultural enterprises and cultural professionals. More detailed information on eligibility and application procedures will be published on the canton's website on Thursday, April 9, 2020.
 

Independent cultural practitioners and cultural enterprises active in the performing arts, music, film, literature, visual arts, design and museums can now submit applications for support measures to the Department of Culture. All instructions for submitting an application can be found on the website https://www.vs.ch/web/culture/coronavirus-culture. Additional information can be obtained by e-mail via SC-COVID19@admin.vs.ch be obtained.

The canton's press release also draws attention to the fact that self-employed cultural professionals can apply to the Suisseculture Sociale association for emergency aid to cover their immediate living costs. In addition, amateur associations in the fields of music and theater can be supported with a financial contribution for the financial loss associated with the cancellation or postponement of their events. To do so, they must contact the respective national umbrella organization.

Zurich cultural institutions and cultural professionals from the performing arts, design, film, visual arts, literature, music and museums can submit an application for emergency aid or compensation for loss of earnings. As far as reasonable, it is assumed that the cultural institutions have already registered for short-time work and that the self-employed cultural professionals have applied for compensation for loss of earnings. In addition, the financial loss must be directly related to the official measures taken against the coronavirus pandemic.

Cultural institutions wishing to apply for emergency aid or compensation for loss of earnings can submit an application to the Canton of Zurich's Department of Culture from April 9, 2020. Cultural practitioners who are claiming compensation for loss of earnings can also submit their application to the Culture Office. The detailed documents are published on the website of the Department of Culture.

Cultural practitioners who wish to claim emergency aid should contact Suisse Culture, the umbrella organization for professional cultural practitioners in Switzerland. Cultural associations in the amateur sector with regional significance that have suffered financial losses due to canceled events can also submit an application for cancellation compensation to the Culture Office.

The federal government is making a total of CHF 26.5 million available to cultural workers and cultural institutions in the canton of Zurich to cover the loss compensation, and CHF 18.3 million for emergency aid. On March 18, the Government Council of the Canton of Zurich decided to also provide CHF 20 million in support for loss compensation in the cultural sector.
 

Emergency aid is granted in the form of repayable, interest-free loans. The aim is to ensure liquidity. Applications from non-profit cultural enterprises are dealt with on a cantonal basis. The same applies to applications for loss compensation for cultural enterprises and creative artists. In Appenzell Ausserrhoden, the Office for Culture is responsible for emergency aid and loss compensation. The relevant information sheets and application forms can be found on the canton's homepage at www.ar.ch/kulturfoerderung will be published. If possible, applications must be submitted by Thursday, April 30, 2020, but no later than May 20, 2020.

The cantonal government allocates CHF 450,000 from the lottery fund to the cultural fund, which - with the same contribution from the federal government - makes a total of CHF 900,000 available as aid for culture. If the maximum amount is used, the federal contribution to Appenzell Ausserrhoden would amount to CHF 725,000.

According to a - non-exhaustive - overview from the Office for Culture, there are up to 120 cultural event organizers and cultural institutions and around 100 cultural professionals in the canton who are affected by the current situation. It can be assumed that around 40 to 50 percent of cultural professionals will apply for compensation due to the postponement and cancellation of projects and events. It is currently impossible to estimate how many profit-oriented cultural enterprises will apply for financial support under the COVID Ordinance on Culture. The cultural associations are responsible for implementing the emergency aid for creative artists and supporting cultural associations in the amateur sector.
 

The office of the European Youth Choir Festival (EYCF) has hundreds of promotional textiles and thousands of flyers and cards that can no longer fulfill their purpose because they are time-bound. In order to recycle this material, the EJCF is looking for resourceful seamstresses and craftswomen to create new items from it. In stock are:

• 1200 hand flags in six different colors (50cm/100cm with eyelets in all four corners)
• 600 red bicycle pennants (with an eyelet in each of the three corners)
• 3000 business cards to promote the youth choir ship
• 3000 business cards to promote the opening concert
• 30'000 Leporellos
• 2000 posters in world format, A2, A3 and A4
• 130 Adhesive films for streetcar and car windows

We are looking for individual pieces that will be presented on the EJCF website with or without instructions or series products for sale at the next EJCF 2022.
Interested parties should inform the festival team as soon as possible by e-mail info@ejcf.ch or call 061 401 21 00 with your ideas and wishes as specifically as possible. The material will be sent to you or can be picked up in Basel at the reception of Settelen AG at Türkheimerstrasse 17.
 

The support includes a financial contribution of CHF 130,000 per year, the granting of usage rights in the KKL Lucerne and the provision of public land free of charge. Festival director Urs Leierer had previously announced that without broader sponsorship and additional funding from private individuals and the city, he would no longer be prepared to organize the festival at his own risk or that of the association he presides over.

The city is of the opinion that a foundation model is not suitable for securing the festival's future. Furthermore, the involvement of the City of Lucerne within the framework of a foundation under private law does not fit in with the participation strategy of the City of Lucerne.

The festival has existed since 1992 and is organized by the Lucerne Blues Session association based in Lucerne. The name "Blue Balls" has been used since 1999. The event has grown steadily over the years, both spatially and financially.

The Federal Office of Culture writes in its press release: "The cultural sector has been severely affected by the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the measures taken by the authorities to contain it. For this reason, the Federal Council approved a package of measures worth 280 million for the cultural sector on March 20, 2020. The financial aid is available and can be applied for from the cantons, the Suisseculture Sociale association and amateur cultural associations."

The ordinance is limited to two months and a first tranche of CHF 280 million will be distributed as follows:
"- Emergency aid for non-profit cultural enterprises (CHF 100 million) and creative artists (CHF 25 million)
- Loss compensation for profit-oriented and non-profit-oriented cultural enterprises and creative artists (CHF 145 million)
- Financial aid for cultural associations in the lay sector (CHF 10 million)"

Financial aid can be applied for from the Suisseculture Sociale association, the amateur cultural associations and the cantons, the latter only after they have signed a service agreement with the federal government.

The Federal Office of Culture and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia are monitoring the situation together with the cantons and cultural organizations (in particular Suisseculture Sociale) during these two months. On behalf of the Federal Council, they will draw up an assessment of the situation and examine the possibility of extending the period of validity of the ordinance.