Prima/Vera Contemporanea
The season of research and experimental music at the Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa in Palermo
About Prima/Vera Contemporanea
A season of research music in the heart of Palermo
Prima/Vera Contemporanea is the festival that, every spring, transforms the Sala Perriera of the Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa in Palermo into a landmark for research music and sound experimentation. Curated by the Curva Minore association under the artistic direction of Valeria Cuffaro, the season offers three months of concerts, improvisations, and new productions, with over twenty events that explore contemporary composition and free improvisation as parts of a single creative process.
A permanent listening laboratory
The festival acts as a constantly evolving sound ecosystem, an open laboratory where musical writing is challenged and listening becomes a shared practice. Special attention is given to new artistic personalities engaged in the repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries, in dialogue with established figures of the international scene. Prima/Vera Contemporanea thus confirms Palermo as an international crossroads for research music, a space where composition and improvisation are recognized as parts of the same language.
Curva Minore and the legacy of Lelio Giannetto
The season carries forward the vision of Lelio Giannetto, the double bassist and cultural organizer who founded Curva Minore, to whom a constant tribute is paid. For years, the association has been a bastion of contemporary music in Sicily, capable of bringing national and world premieres to Palermo, as well as projects by improvisers and composers from all over Europe and beyond.
Program and protagonists
Each edition alternates recitals, ensembles, and solo performances: from piano music to multi-percussion, from historical avant-garde pages (such as Karlheinz Stockhausen's Mikrophonie I) to radical improvisation projects. Artists gracing the Sala Perriera include names from the international improvised music scene and numerous newly formed ensembles.
- Piano recitals and contemporary chamber music
- Free improvisation and radio art projects
- National and world premieres of new productions
- Documentaries and in-depth sessions
A festival within the heritage of the Cantieri Culturali
The Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, a former industrial plant converted into a cultural hub by the Municipality of Palermo, provide an evocative setting for the festival, adjacent to the famous Arab-Norman Castello della Zisa. Prima/Vera Contemporanea thus contributes to placing Palermo and Sicily on the European circuit of research music, within an urban context of strong historical and identity value.
Prima/Vera Contemporanea — edition 2026
Prima/Vera Contemporanea 2026
The 2026 season opened with a preview on February 21 and 22: on February 21, the screening of the documentary Artists Engaged – Episode 4: Tutti per Lelio dedicated to Lelio Giannetto, followed by a jam session; on February 22, an improvisational meeting with Claudio Covato and Dario Lo Cicero. The main calendar, from March 7 to June 5, featured over twenty events in the Sala Perriera of the Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa.
Among the protagonists of the edition: Emanuele Pino on piano (March 7), Stockhausen's Mikrophonie I (March 20), Raúl Cantizano with Zona Acordonada (March 27), Gunda Gottschalk and Miriam Palma (April 10), the Mazurek/Puglisi project (April 16), Radina Kordova with POTOP (May 2), and, in closing, the DDK Trio with Sachiko M (June 5). Numerous national and world premieres took place, including the Transduction Project Ensemble (May 22).
Programme Prima/Vera Contemporanea 2026
Preview
- Feb 21 (6:30 PM): screening "Artists Engaged – Episode 4: Tutti per Lelio" + jam session
- Feb 22 (6:30 PM): Claudio Covato and Dario Lo Cicero – "Improvvisazione Definitiva"
Main Season (March 7 - June 5)
- March 7: Emanuele Pino (piano)
- March 20: Stockhausen "Mikrophonie I"
- March 21: Giulia Lo Giudice (multi-percussion)
- March 25: JEM3 – "Apices"
- March 27: Raúl Cantizano – "Zona Acordonada"
- March 28: Luca La Russa – "Nembrot" (debut)
- April 10: Gunda Gottschalk & Miriam Palma – "Incontro"
- April 11: ACRE Trio – "Praxis"
- April 16: Mazurek/Puglisi
- April 23: Luca Tilli "Empty Smile" + Ludico Trio (national premiere)
- April 24: Flying Slippers (Beresford/Tilli/Tramontana)
- May 2: Radina Kordova – "POTOP"
- May 9-10: Wolf Silent; Filip/Kobi/Malfatti
- May 22: Transduction Project Ensemble – "IN_CON_SUPER DADA!!" (world premiere)
- May 29: "Ricordo del Giardino Grande" (Geraci/Triscari/Squadrito)
- June 5: DDK Trio & Sachiko M
Highlights Prima/Vera Contemporanea 2026
- Over twenty events of research music and improvisation
- The historic Mikrophonie I by Karlheinz Stockhausen
- National and world premieres of new productions
- International guests such as Sachiko M, Raúl Cantizano, and Rob Mazurek
Prices Prima/Vera Contemporanea 2026
Practical information — Prima/Vera Contemporanea
How to get there
The Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa are located at Via Paolo Gili 4, in the Zisa district of Palermo, just a few minutes from the historic center. They can be reached by car (parking available in nearby streets), by city bus, and on foot from the Castello della Zisa.
Tickets
Concerts are held in the Sala Perriera. Tickets are available for individual events, with reduced rates for students under 30 and season passes for the entire program. Information and advance sales are available through Curva Minore ([email protected]) and official channels.
When
The season takes place every year from February/March to June, with a preview in February and the main calendar running from March to June.
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Where does it take place — Prima/Vera Contemporanea
Sala Perriera, Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa
Via Paolo Gili 4, 90138 Palermo