Programme:
Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83
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Lili Boulanger: “The earth is the Lord’s”, Psalm 24
Camille Saint-Saëns: Messe de Requiem, Op. 5

The opening evening will begin with a performance by the Taiwanese pianist Kai-Min Chang, the winner of the 1st Ljubljana Festival International Piano Competition, held in 2023. Chang will perform one of the most challenging concertos in the piano repertoire, the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83  by Johannes Brahms, a large-scale work which took the composer three full years to complete. Considered by many to be Brahms’s opus summum, in recognition of the lofty position it occupies in the composer’s oeuvre, it is also regarded as one of the pinnacles of 19th century piano concerto composition. The work combines the characteristics of the concerto and the symphony, with a structure that is subordinated to musical expression and requires a technically demanding interpretation that is a great challenge for every pianist. In the second part of the programme, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and the distinguished French conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier will be joined by the Mixed Choir of the Glasbena Matica Ljubljana, the Virtuosi Festival Choir, the Academy of Music Chamber Choir, the soprano Sophie Marin-Degor, the mezzo-soprano Annalisa Stroppa, the tenor Celso Albelo and the bass-baritone Paul Armin Edelmann in a performance of “The Earth is the Lord’s” by the French composer Lili Boulanger and the Messe de Requiem  by Camille Saint-Saëns. The former wrote her sacral masterpiece “The Earth is the Lord’s”,  based on Psalm 24  of the Bible, a year before her death at the tender age of 24. This majestic work with dramatic elements is written for soloists, choir and orchestra, and is considered one of her most important. Once described as the French Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, he was acclaimed as the epitome of a musical genius. He played a unique role in transforming French musical taste from grand opera to the classical symphony and was notable for his ability to maintain traditional form while simultaneously experimenting with contemporary musical stylings to appeal to an ever-changing audience in France. These qualities
are reflected in this unusual work, which remains an important part of his musical legacy and represents a unique interpretation of a liturgical text that combines Classical and Romantic musical elements.

• following his extremely successful tenure as Principal Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra from 1992 to 2003, Yan Pascal Tortelier now holds the title of conductor emeritus and continues to perform and record regularly with the ensemble
• Tortelier began learning the piano and violin at the age of four; at 14 he won the first prize for violin at the Paris Conservatoire
• he made his debut as an opera conductor in 1978 with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse
• Paul Armin Edelmann was a member of (and soloist with) the famous Vienna Boys’ Choir
• Celso Albelo has been appointed honorary artistic adviser by the Guangzhou Opera in China
• in addition to her diploma in singing, Annalisa Stroppa holds a degree in Education Science from the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy of the University of Bergamo
• Sophie Marin-Degor has recently directed and choreographed Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow  at the Théâtre de la Passerelle in Nouaillé-Maupertuis