Atalanta Festival of Women Composers

Atalanta champions a pluralistic musical landscape, with women composers* at the heart of the contemporary musical canon, and supports the musicians who perform their works. The festival is curated by Fidan Aghayeva-Edler, who caused a sensation in 2024 and 2025 with her ‘24-hour non-stop piano marathon’.

Alongside three major world premieres, which will subsequently be released on Fidan Aghayeva-Edler’s Salomé label, the festival has a Berlin focus and an exciting international perspective. Of particular note are the concert featuring works by modernist female composers from Berlin, as well as the concerts with young, innovative Berlin-based duos and ensembles. On the international front, the ‘Music HerStories’ talk-concert with the British pianist and musicologist Samantha Ege is particularly noteworthy. She is known for her award-winning work on the African-American composer Florence Price, as well as for her critically acclaimed recordings of under-represented female composers.

The three-day concert marathon features, amongst other things:

• 11 concerts and 5 world premieres by modern and contemporary female composers

• World premieres of three commissioned works by Jobina Tinnemans, Leonie Rössel and Rachel C. Walker

• A discussion with these three composers

• A concert featuring modernist female composers from Berlin, with ensemble works by Verdina Shlonsky, Ruth Zechlin, Ursula Mamlok and others

• An empowering talk-concert, ‘Music HerStories’, with the British pianist Samantha Ege (details HERE)

• Text-and-music performance based on the myth of Atalanta

• Musical journeys of discovery with nine Berlin ensembles, including FrauVonDa, OpusXX and Lux:NM

The festival opens on 23 October at 5.30 pm with the concert “The Waves of Amphitrite – Myths of the Sea” (details HERE)

Before that, at 4.00 pm, there will be a public meet-and-greet with the production team and numerous female composers and musicians taking part in the festival.

Curator Fidan Aghayeva-Edler is an outstanding Berlin-based artist who has been championing female composers for years and is highly acclaimed for her concerts both in Germany and internationally. She sits on the board of Archiv Frau & Musik and, in both 2024 and 2025, staged a 24-hour non-stop piano marathon featuring world premieres and works exclusively by female composers. In spring 2026, she also founded the label Salomé Records, which releases only recordings of works by female composers.