Into The Open

The guiding theme of Into the Open in 2025 is...RITUALS!

Our vision is to reimagine classical music in exciting settings and create "multimedia concert experiences" that engage all the senses. In spring 2025, we will present the third edition of the festival in Berlin with an exhilarating program. A total of six concerts will feature renowned names and institutions such as Francesco Tristano, the International Ensemble Modern Academy, Opus Klassik Award winner Martynas Levickis, and the Sokhumi State Drama Theatre, alongside representatives of the independent scene. The festival will showcase international influences from Lithuania, France, and Georgia, as well as three world premieres of compositions written specifically for our festival, highlighting its interdisciplinary character. Each day, Kühlhaus Berlin will be transformed into a unique and spectacular setting.

ITO Experience

Upon entering the Kühlhaus, an exciting journey into unknown dream worlds begins, guided by video installations, visual art, electronic sounds and delicacies at our bar. The staging of the entrance ritual is an integral part of the festival concept. Admission to the events is one hour before the concert/performance begins each day.

Commissioned compositions

For the 2025 season, Into the Open has commissioned three new works from emerging composers, inspired by the festival’s interdisciplinary approach and its theme, “Rituals” . These compositions blend innovative soundscapes with ritualistic, cultural, and societal themes, pushing the boundaries of music and performance.

In Big Gay Cartoon Machine, Alex Paxton distills the intensity of his large-scale ensemble works into a trio for trombone, drum kit, and piano. The piece combines rhythmic grooves with playful electronic aesthetics, offering a fresh perspective on his artistic language.

Raimonda Žiūkaitė’s Rituals of Desire merges movement and sound into a dark, folklore-inspired ritual. Gestures, sounds, and instruments act as ritual tools, exploring the opacity of rituals through music and performance.

Hugo van Rechem’s kollektive MAL(A)K(h)UT(h) – dream crafting draws on European musical traditions and contrasts harmonious vocal performances with samples from historical war archives. Singers and instrumentalists interact freely in space, creating a sound ballet that shifts between harmony and chaos.

The location

The Kühlhaus Berlin is an industrial monument located in the heart of Berlin in the immediate vicinity of Potsdamer Platz, right next to the Technical Museum Berlin. Built at the turn of the century in 1900, it is now a universal cultural centre that hosts a wide variety of events throughout the year, from readings and concerts to fashion fairs and food markets. The Kühlhaus, with its 6 floors and the Kubus in the middle, provides the ideal setting for our festival and a place where experimentation and reflection are virtually forced upon us. The Kubus makes a wide variety of event formats possible; the musicians can play from hidden galleries, position themselves in the middle like at a boxing match or perform over several floors.