IMAGO SLOVENIAE 2026 SUMMER CONCERT SEASON

Dear Lovers of Outstanding Art,

It is with great pleasure and pride that we present the 2026 Summer Concert Season of the Imago Sloveniae Foundation – The Image of Slovenia, featuring an inspiring and diverse programme of exceptional musical events.

For the 38th consecutive year, as a non-governmental and non-profit organisation, we continue to organise free, high-quality cultural events throughout Slovenia while also promoting Slovenian artists abroad. Our guiding principle remains the accessibility of artistic excellence, bringing outstanding musical experiences to the widest possible audience.

Within our programme series, we have prepared a rich and attractive selection ranging from classical music and presentations of young talents to jazz and world music. Between 17 June and 29 August, audiences will be able to enjoy 45 concerts, featuring 526 musicians from 23 countries at 17 venues across Slovenia. Through our extensive international cultural network, we not only present concerts throughout Slovenia but also facilitate performances by Slovenian musicians at renowned festivals abroad. This year, we have already organised two concerts in Italy, with two additional performances scheduled in Portugal this autumn.

The 38th International Festival Imago Sloveniae and Summer in Old Ljubljana will open with a gala concert at Congress Square, featuring the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of its Principal Conductor Kahi Solomnishvili. Joining the orchestra will be two exceptional young EMARSMaster soloists enjoying remarkable international success: flautist Lukas Grum, winner of the 10th Virtuosos International Competition (2025) and recipient of the Gold Prize at Austria’s national Prima la musica competition in Vienna, and pianist Filip Runjak, a scholarship holder at the Music Academy in Liechtenstein and prizewinner of the Young Virtuosos Zagreb 2024 and TEMSIG 2025 competitions. This magical opening evening will present a carefully selected programme of beloved classical masterpieces and will also feature the world premiere of a new work by the outstanding young Slovenian composer Leon Firšt.

At the Ljubljana City Museum, one of the festival’s central venues, audiences will hear the renowned Andalusian Guitar Quartet, paying tribute to the 150th anniversary of Manuel de Falla’s birth. Members of Budapest’s acclaimed Concerto Budapest Chamber Ensemble will celebrate the 100th anniversary of György Kurtág’s birth, while distinguished pianists Lovorka Nemeš Dular and Jasmina Trajcheska will honour the centenary of Slovenian composer Janez Matičič, presenting the Slovenian premiere of his Suite No. 3, alongside the world premiere of a new composition by one of Slovenia’s leading contemporary composers, Aleksandra Naumovski Potisk. The festival will also present another world premiere by the same composer when the Amadeo Orchestra, together with flautist Karolina Šantl Zupan, performs her new Concertino for Flute and Orchestra.

Special attention should also be given to Trio Astatine, recipients of the prestigious BBC New Generation Artists 2025–2027 title, who have rapidly established themselves as one of the United Kingdom’s most distinguished young chamber ensembles. The festival will further welcome numerous internationally acclaimed chamber groups celebrated for their artistic excellence, including Spain’s Turina Piano Ensemble TPE3, Italy’s Duo Mistral, Switzerland’s Trio Ernest, and the Brazilian-Japanese-Slovenian ensemble based in the United States, Trio Veliora.

Following their successful concert in Ljubljana, internationally acclaimed musicians of Slovenian heritage living abroad—guitarist Mak Grgić, who this year received his fourth Grammy Award nomination, and violinist Lana Trotovšek—will perform in Murska Sobota, Gornji Grad, and Rajhenburg Castle in Brestanica. Meanwhile, singers of the ASB Academy will present the operetta evening Melodies of the Heart, bringing relaxed summer evenings to audiences at Metlika Castle, Celje Castle, and Gornji Grad.

In the Year of Srečko Kosovel, marking the 100th anniversary of his death, we are preparing a special musical tribute to one of Slovenia’s greatest modernist poets with the Vienna-based ENSEMBLE -tonWerk- FORUM FOR NEW MUSIC, led by the distinguished Croatian mezzo-soprano Josipa Bainac.

Within the Young Talents series, the festival will host several leading youth orchestras, including the Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra (Canada), the Hamburg Youth Symphony Orchestra (Germany), featuring award-winning Slovenian violinist Mark Lev Krajnc as soloist, and the European Spirit of Youth Orchestra (ESYO), bringing together outstanding young musicians from eighteen countries.

Audiences can also look forward to a spectacular concert by one of the most prominent piano duos of the younger generation, Italian twin sisters Beatrice and Eleonora Dallagnese, winners of no fewer than 45 first prizes at national and international competitions and regular performers at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Wiener Saal in Salzburg, and the Museo Teatrale alla Scala in Milan. Their programme will commemorate the 90th anniversary of the death of Ottorino Respighi, one of the leading figures of twentieth-century Italian music.

The traditional concert featuring selected TEMSIG Competition laureates will present the Gubenšek–Pucihar Piano Duo performing on two pianos, while the festival will once again welcome exceptional young musicians from around the world selected through auditions at the Colluvio Chamber Music Academy in Austria.

Another highlight will be the collaborative project with the Slovenian Philharmonic entitled The Story of the Treasure at the Zoo. Performed by members of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, this imaginative family concert at Ljubljana Zoo will premiere a delightful musical fairy tale by the talented young composer Nejc Poljanec.

This year also marks the launch of a new cross-sector initiative, Connecting Disability and Cultural NGOs, developed together with partners from the Primorska region (Primorska Summer Festival), Styria (House of Culture Celje) and Central Slovenia (Intermunicipal Association of Persons with Disabilities Domžale). The project aims to open the doors of cultural events to those who are often excluded, reduce social isolation, and create more opportunities for meaningful social interaction and enriching experiences. Through free admission tickets, organised transportation and educational workshops, we seek to make outstanding cultural experiences more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities.

The summer evenings in Ljubljana’s Old Town will once again resonate with jazz performances as part of the International Jazz Stage Series. Every Friday at Upper Square and Old Square, Slovenian and international jazz masters will delight audiences. The series opens with the unique Korean-Slovenian ensemble Oollim Trio, led by Slovenia’s leading young vibraphonist Vid Jamnik, presenting their debut album Enlightenment – Solid Waves. Other highlights include Cuban jazz by an international trio led by Havana-born singer Yaremi Kordos, known for her collaboration with the legendary Buena Vista Social Club, Austria’s exciting emerging jazz ensemble Trio Haezz, and Slovenian vocalist Jadranka Juras, who will present her new album Two Black Ravens with her jazz quintet.

The Imago Sloveniae Summer Season will traditionally conclude with the Nights in Old Ljubljana Festival, the capital’s most beloved international street festival of world and jazz music, which this year explores the rich tradition of polyphonic music. As part of the festival, the International Musicological Symposium of the ICTMD Study Group on Multipart Music will be organised in cooperation with the Institute of Ethnomusicology of the ZRC SAZU, the Department of Musicology of the University of Ljubljana, and the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD).

As always, all events are free of charge.

We warmly invite you to subscribe to our visitor mailing list to receive regular updates about our events. You may also support our activities by allocating a portion of your income tax to our Foundation (the relevant form is available on our website), and we would be sincerely grateful for any voluntary contributions or donations made to our account at NLB Bank:

Imago Sloveniae Foundation – The Image of Slovenia
Dalmatinova Street 10
SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

IBAN: SI56 0205 1025 4910 271

Purpose: Donation (or Voluntary Contribution)
Reference: SI00 or SI99

We look forward to welcoming you to our cultural events!