Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra

Soloist: Marjan Peternel, klavir

Conductor: Lovrenc Arnič

Programme:

Marij Kogoj: Suite “Če se pleše”

Demetrij Žebre: Concertino for piano and orchestra

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Marij Kogoj (orch. Alojz Srebotnjak): Bagatelle for orchestra

Slavko Osterc: Passacaglia for orchestra

Demetrij Žebre: Running

In the first decades of the twentieth century the compositional language of Slovene composers entered new musical waters. The period between the two world wars found it in step with European musical developments for the first time. The first to bring the new music to Slovenia was Marij Kogoj (1892–1956), who explained his progressive views of art clearly and openly. Although his directness and difference were met with anything but approval, Kogoj succeeded in going beyond the aesthetic criteria of the time. “Every artist has his own journey, but all have one thing in common: a coming to the self. By finding themselves they find a new shape, a new direction for art.” This was Kogoj’s view, one that contributed to his distinctively expressionist style based on the value of direct inner expression. His orchestral suite Če se pleše (“When Dancing”) is a vividly coloured composition in three movements, each with a characteristic rhythm or mode of expression: Foxtrot, Chopiniana and Tango. Kogoj’s Bagatelles were originally composed for piano are performed here in the orchestral arrangement by Alojz Srebotnjak. Another fundamental pillar of Slovene contemporary music alongside Marij Kogoj was Slavko Osterc (1895–1941); if Kogoj found a model in the uncompromising attitude of Arnold Schoenberg, his great teacher, Osterc’s innovations were modelled above all on the renowned Czech constructivist Alois Hába. Osterc’s style changed over the years from an early period with Romantic roots via expressionism to neoclassicism and neo-baroque. The neoclassical work Passacaglia and Chorale for Orchestra brought Osterc international recognition. He was also a mentor to important Slovene composers, among them Demetrij Žebre (1912–1970), who crafted an inventive and substantial oeuvre but is mainly remembered as a conductor and as the director of the opera houses in Maribor and Ljubljana and is still under-represented on the concert platform. This, then, is a fine opportunity to hear Žebre’s Concertino for Piano featuring the young soloist Marjan Peternel and one of his most radical compositions, the distinctly motoric symphonic picture Tek (“Running”). The Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted on this occasion by Lovrenc Arnič, an experienced operatic and symphonic conductor and one of the leading interpreters of interwar Slovene musical creativity.

Before the concert, a conversation on orhestral works by Demetrij Žebre with dr. Karmen Salmič Kovačič, will take place in Marjan Kozina Hall. Conversation will be moderated by dr. Ana Vončina.

Free ntrance with ticket for students and Festival Ljubljana Club members, 20 % discount for pensioners and groups of more than 30 people. You can pick your tickets at the Križanke Box office, upon presentation of the relevant document.