Summer Festivals in Slovenia

Summer in Ljubljana

The central Slovenian festival, the Ljubljana Festival, dedicates its programme to classical music and cultural events throughout the year, but saves its best performances for the summer festival (27.6. – 10.9.), which for 61 years in a row has been offering a wide array of music events at the venues of the Slovene Philharmonic, Cankarjev dom and Križanke.  This year's programme marks the bicentennial of two masters, Wagner and Verdi, whose operatic and orchestral works will be performed in numerous concerts. In addition to the most prestigous events, such as the staging of Wagner's musical and scenographic works of art The Valkyrie and The Rhine Gold  performed by the Saint Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev and two concert performances of Mahler's and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony by the Gewandhaus Orchestra from Leipzig conducted by Riccardo Chailly, the programme features diverse events, such as Russian and French ballet (Academic Ballet Theatre of Boris Eifman from St. Petersburg , Béjart Ballet from Lausanne), Russian Orthodox choral music, solo performances, performances by wind and brass ensembles (Slokar Trombone Quartet), chamber music (Slovenian Philharmonic String Quartet), flamenco dances and pop and rock concerts (2Cellos, Vlado Kreslin).

Slokar Trombone Quartet

Whilst Mariinsky Theatre will pay homage to Wagner's work, Verdi's bicentennial has been celebrated at a gala concert with the performance of his Requiem by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra together with the Slovenian Chamber Choir and the Choir of the Opera and Ballet Slovenian National Theatre Maribor as well as solo arias by soloists of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala.
In addition to concerts, the festival will offer masterclasses (Branimir Slokar Academy) and concerts of contemporary Slovene music (MD7 Ensemble, Slavko Osterc Trio), musicals (Grease) as well as other interesting accompanying events, among them a performance by the English actor, comedian and blues musician Hugh Laurie with The Copper Bottom Band.

With its vibrant international summer series Summer in Ljubljana Old Town (19.6. – 24.8.),  Society Imago Sloveniae – Podoba Slovenije  has for twenty-five years offered a broad palette of music styles. The center stage is given to young Slovene and international talents, performing mostly in chamber music ensembles. Until the end of August the varied programme will feature about 500 performances of classical, jazz and ethno music. Performances of classical music were and will be given by ensembles, such as Piano Quartet of Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet (23. 6.), Slovene-Japanese-Russian ensemble Brezavšček Trio – composed of Maruša Brezavšček (recorder), Makiko Kurabayashi (bassoon) and Olga Watts (harpsichord) –, Ave Chamber Choir and Tartini String Quartet. The City Museum (3.7.) was honouring the centennial of B. Britten with performances by a Slovene ensemble composed of Katja Konvalinka (soprano), Irena Yebuah Tiran (mezzosoprano), Darja Mlakar Maležič (piano) and Pavle Ravnohrib (poetry recitation). Jazz stage at Ljubljana's Gornji Trg will host the excellent saxophone player Igor Lumpert and his trio (12.7.).

Early music festivals

The Seviqc Brežice  and Radovljica  festivals, the former taking place between June and September and the latter in August, offer an authentic experience of ancient music. The Radovljica Festival features 10 concerts in Radovljica and Velesovo with performances by almost 40 singers and instrumentalists from around the world, also from Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Iceland, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, the USA and Slovenia. Within the framework of the festival a voice workshop will take place for the fourth time, this time under the mentorship of the English singer Emma Kirkby. Performances will highlight the works of Max Reger and Henri Marteau (13.8.), John Dowland (20.8.), as well as madrigals by Carlo Gesualdo (19.8.). Among the guests of the festival is also Spanish soprano Arianna Savall, who will perform ancient Greek music (18.8) with the Ensemble Melpomen.

Brežice Festival features 11 concerts inviting audiences to discover ensembles from Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Liberia and Brazil. This year's programme offers ancient music from around the world, such as a concert by Accentus Austria (2.8.) , whose repertoire is a blend of  traditional eastern and western music with performances on original instruments. The performance of a rare opera piece by the Spanish ensemble Le Tendre Amour (7.9.) should also be highlighted.

Festivals in Maribor, Bled and Velenje

The city of Maribor dedicates to summer musical activities two traditional festivals: Lent and Maribor Festival. Lent Festival  (21. 6. - 6. 7.) is the biggest and the most important open-air festival in Slovenia, visited at least once by one in four Slovenians. Festival events on the stages alongside the river Drava, comprising everything from music to theatre and dance, offer a variety of performances, among them was a performance by the renowned Viennese brass septet Mnozil Brass Band, known for its virtuosic classical arrangements and caricatures of German shlager songs, as well as for its use of a rare brass instrument, Wagner tuba. In addition to the performances on the Drava stages, there were performances of classical works in the Union Hall, such as by cellist Sebastian Bertoncelj and pianist Miha Haas, who were playing the works of W. Lutosławski, R. Schumann and J. Brahms. The so-called Jurčkov oder stage offered virtuosic performances of ethnic music by duet Duo Oba, composed of Saša Olenjuk (guitar, vocals) and Boštjan Gombač (clarinet, Celtic flute, Irish drum, ocarina, flutes, percussion, vocals). Lent Festival also provided the stage for JazzLent,  offering performances of world renowned musicians, such as the French-African drummer Manu Katché and Slovenian percussionist Zlatko Kaučič.

In September, Maribor Festival  will offer a more classical repertoire, designed by the artistic leader and virtuosic violinist Richard Tognetti and his Australian Chamber Orchestra. The evening concerts of the festival will have a more modern feel and will be staged in the Union Hall, whilst the morning concerts will draw their inspiration from the past musical currents. The festival traditionally takes place between 5th and 15th September.

Bled Festival  will take place between 1st and 18th July and will focus on classical music, jazz and crossover. The opening concert on 4th July featured the music of Depeche Mode by the group Big Band KK. The festival focuses on the international master classes and competitions in violin, viola and cello, which will be concluded by concerts presenting the young virtuosos. This year's master classes for the violin will be given by Marianne Piketty, Helfried Fister, Tomaž Lorenz and other mentors, and for viola by Matthias Maurer.

The 29th edition of Velenje Festival offers a diverse cultural programme with around 50 events. In addition to the already well-established weekly events for children within the Summer in the meadow and the summer cinema Stars under the stars, Velenje Festival invites its audiences to a stylistically rich musical programme encompassing  classical performances by a mixed choir from the eastern coast of the USA and a youth orchestra from England, numerous Slovenian and foreign ethnic ensembles, the internationally renowned Jewish klezmer band The Klezmatics (winners of the Grammy Award) and  the group Perpetuum Jazzile.

Jazz festivals

The central Slovenian Ljubljana Jazz Festival , whose 54th edition featured the German woodwind master Peter Brötzmann, is accompanied by many other jazz festivals throughout Slovenia, such as Marezijazz  in the Primorsko region and Jazzagorje , hosting many different artists and ensembles. Džjezz Celje festival provided the stage for Big Band of RTV Slovenia, vocalist Enrica Bacchia and guitar virtuoso Massimo Zemolin as well as Igor Matkovič with electronic jazz.

Rock festivals

Rock and heavy metal music fans will have their genre represented by the original American band Skunk Anansie and Plavi Orkestar at Schengenfest  (2. - 4. 8.) and Dying Fetus at the Metaldays camp in Tolmin.