262 premieres for Venezuela, and 42 commissions, including 2 collective works in 191 concerts. Also, the festival has hosted 31 workshops on composition, dance, storytelling, poetry, painting and film; 47 musical lectures; 32 conferences; 1 opera; 4 dance venues; 15 poetry recitals; 9 plastic interventions (1 of design); 7 books published; 1 photo exhibition and a musical album commemorating the Festival's 15 anniversary. The music of Diogenes Rivas The following is an extract form a letter the Italian maestro Antonio Pileggi wrote (in 2002) relating to Diogenes Rivas, his art and character: For about twenty years, Maestro Diogenes Rivas has had a presence on the European and American musical scene. As a result, his work has become an important reference in the creative world. Yearly, his compositions are heard in the most important musical centers of the moment: Paris, London Zurich, Venice, New York Montreal, Cincinnati Caracas and others. Additionally, yearly performances of commissioned works are presented by the most prestigious musical institutions (Radio France, I'EIC, Aleph...) thus confirming his growing international recognition. The music of Maestro Rivas is a synthesis consisting of the major compositional elements of Western musical traditions and composing techniques provided in mathematical and geometrical structures (such as the number of mandala gold and structure). Indeed it is a syncretism that integrates the different disciplines as is the case in the "Quadrivium" of Greek and medieval culture in which music was integrated into mathematics, geometry and astronomy. This characteristic in Rivas is more about being Venezuela's temperament rather than its language. Nevertheless, this comparison is not enough to give us an understanding of the special touch that makes his world strange and seductive. Beyond the impeccable mastery of the orchestrations and the entire compositional practice, there is a wise and masterful modernity. In other words, not only has he the temerity to explore structure and language to its limits but also is able to produce an astonishing result of great musical coherence and original timbres without ever breaking the balance between abstraction and human perceptual ability. In the contemporary music scene of recent years, the works of Maestro Rivas are in the forefront of living Latin American composers. He is considered the Venezuelan composer par excellence with great success representing his homeland of Venezuela, so rich in art and cultural personalities. Nevertheless, in Europe and America we also recognize Rivas for his work as Artistic Director