A discussion with artists will take place before the concert, beginning at 7.30 pm. Conversation will be moderated by Tjaša Ribizel Popič.

Programme:
K. Jeraj, arr. K. Hvala: The gondoliers
K. Jeraj, arr. K. Hvala:
Autumn song (V. Jeraj)
What gave me comfort (V. Jeraj)
Don’t ask (V. Jeraj)
M. Kogoj / K. Jeraj: Allegretto
L. M. Škerjanc, arr. K. Hvala:
White clouds (T. Li / P. Karlin)
Autumn song (T. Li / O. Hauser / F. Kozak)
A rest at the foot of the mountain (T. Li / O. Hauser / F. Kozak)
In front of the mirror (T. Li / O. Hauser / F. Kozak)
Vision (P. Karlin)
Evening impression (I. Gruden)
***
L. M. Škerjanc: Ciaccona
L. M. Škerjanc: Symphony No. 4 in B major

For decades, vocal music and choir singing were the guiding star of musical life in the Slovene lands: they were the source of national identity and cultural strength, which reached all layers of the Slovenian population. The poorly educated public therefore had little interest in instrumental music. In order to encourage development in the field of orchestral music, Glasbena Matica founded the Orchestral Society in 1919, which served as a classroom not only for amateurs but also for future professional musicians. Although it was conceived as an amateur string ensemble (joined if necessary by other instruments), whose main aim was to nurture serious instrumental music and encourage creativity, until 1945 the society made a significant contribution to original symphonic music in the interwar period.
The string Ensemble Dissonance will play a historical programme with which it will fulfill one of its missions, which is to promote the rich past of musical Ljubljana and shed light on the central figures that left a mark on the work of the Orchestral Society. The violinist Karel Jeraj, who was a long-standing member of the Vienna Court Opera orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic until the collapse of the monarchy, was the Society’s founder and first conductor, and he also left a lasting impression as violin teacher and leader of the youth orchestra at the Ljubljana Matica’s conservatory. His son-in-law Lucijan Marija Škerjanc, member of Matica’s artistic section, led the Orchestral Society for two decades and enriched the orchestra’s repertoire with many original compositions.
In addition to the instrumental compositions, written or adapted for string orchestra in contemporary musical style by Klemen Hvala (founder and artistic director of Ensemble Dissonance), we will also listen to the songs of both composers, performed this time by the young soprano Nika Gorič, a rising star of the world’s concert hall and opera stages, and a “master of various musical styles.”