Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Alejo Pérez, conductor
Gašper Muženič, narrator
Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Alejo Pérez, conductor
Gašper Muženič, narrator
Soon
Season
2022/23
Mainly Vocal Programme
On the Wings of Words
Through words and music, the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir will lead you to a deeper experience with the concerts of the subscription series MVP – Mainly Vocal Programme. The word itself has extraordinary power, and supported by melody it touches the depths of the soul. Over and over again, we each experience a range of emotions – from sorrow to joy, from melancholy to longing, from hatred to love – and with the right music we are able to relive every nuance. You are warmly invited to the world on the wings of words.
New Orchestral Works
Let’s Listen Differently
The twentieth century was a time of turbulent change. It was marked by events such as the two world wars and man’s landing on the moon. Today, in the twenty-first century, we are battling pandemics, the Earth is polluted and global warming seems unstoppable. These and other current topics are reflected in the compositions of the subscription series NOW – New Orchestral Works. Each concert is complemented by two accompanying events: SIM – Saturday Insights into Music and a post-concert gathering. When listened to differently, each concert will make a profound impression on the memory.
Philharmonic Classics
In the Embrace of Beauty
The concerts of the subscription series PC – Philharmonic Classics present the noble masterpieces of the Viennese classics, complemented by works of various stylistic periods. The concert programmes consist of compositions in which beauty, playfulness, refinement, harmony and temperament coexist idyllically.
Symphonic Masterpieces Series
In a Whirlwind of Emotions
With its opulent palette of sound colours, the large symphony orchestra will draw us into a whirlwind of diverse emotional moods at the concerts of the subscription series SMS – Symphonic Masterpieces Series. The concert programmes will mainly comprise the music of high Romanticism, complemented by works by Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Slovenian composers Demetrij Žebre and Peter Kopač.
Vocal-Instrumental Programme
The Sound of Coexistence
From the late Renaissance to the present day, the period during which singing and instrumental music have coexisted, the most beautiful and weighty works have been created for choir and orchestra, often representing the peak of the creative work of individual composers. Vocal-instrumental compositions speak to us with a special expressiveness, which is reflected in their great popularity. In the subscription series VIP – Vocal-Instrumental Programme, the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir will revive some of the most glorious moments in the history of music with the sound of coexistence.
Young Ears Series
Stories
The music of the subscription series YES! – Young Ears Series will tell a variety of stories. We will shorten Saturday mornings for families and the youngest audience at the Slovenian Philharmonic, and you will learn a lot of interesting things through music.
Saturday Insights into Music
TV
Listen remotely
Watch live concerts, with a delay in the comfort of a home armchair
Dear Audience!
Looking from Congress Square towards the Ljubljana Castle, it is impossible to overlook the famous year of 1701 etched on the façade of the Slovenian Philharmonic building. It marks the creation of the Academie Philharmonicorum, a society that brought together musicians and music lovers. In order to clarify the purpose of such a society, the founders wrote a set of statutes, one of which reads: “The purpose of the Academy of the Ljubljana Philharmonics, which was founded by mutual agreement a few years ago, towards the end of the first year after the year 1700, is not only to provide dignified entertainment from time to time, but also to occasionally devoutly bring to mind that heavenly music that shall endure for eternity.”
Years, even centuries, have passed since that time. Every time the society has been extinguished a new one has emerged, and so on until today, when musicians and music lovers still gather in the building of the Slovenian Philharmonic and the Cankarjev Dom Cultural Centre. Just like three centuries ago, we come together to listen to and experience that elusive artform that embodies a profound contradiction: it is materially transient, yet spiritually eternal. It is unrepeatable, but perhaps that is precisely why it is listened to over and over again: performed many times and, with the help of modern technology, recorded and played often. It is as if this very contradiction enables music’s eternal existence.
Music theorists, musicologists, conductors and performers are unstoppable in our search for the original messages that this heavenly music brings. In this way, we make spiritual connections with the past. At the same time, with the help of the past, we build and co-create the present. On hearing the word “present”, however, we are overwhelmed by feelings of unease, insecurity and fear, just as our predecessors have been many times since 1701. History repeats itself, art remains.
The Slovenian Philharmonic is committed to presenting the highest musical art. It creates the safe environment of a sound world in which harmony, beauty, compassion, serenity and courage complement each other. Fortunately, there is no room for selfishness, violence and suffering in such a sound world. However, concerts should not be equated with an escape from reality. The art of music is not only a paradise, but also a mirror and a moral corrective of a society that goes astray again and again. Even in such cases, art stands by our side. It enables self-examination and reflection, and helps us make decisions that lead to the triumph of good over evil. This requires faith in the good, which the art of music strengthens in us.
Valued audience, the schedule of the 2022/23 concert season has been created in the hope that all those present at our concerts will receive the gifts of boundless human creativity. That is why we, the Slovenian Philharmonic team, have chosen the very best compositions that, in all of their diversity and variety, will reach those most hidden corners of our inner selves and fill them with the power to cope with the present times. We will be greatly helped in our endeavours by a series of outstanding conductors, such as we have never before hosted in just one concert season.
You are warmly invited to join us!
Matej Šarc
General Director of the Slovenian Philharmonic
and Artistic Director of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra