GRAND OPENING OF THE 38th IMAGO SLOVENIAE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL AND SUMMER IN LJUBLJANA OLD TOWN

THE EVENT IS PART OF THE JUNE IN LJUBLJANA FESTIVAL

Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Kakhi Solomnishvili (Georgia)
Soloists:
Filip Runjak, piano
Lukas Grum, flute

Programme:

Nikolaj Rimski Korsakov (1844–1908), Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34

Edvard Grieg (1843–1907), Piano Concerto, Op. 16
I. Allegro molto moderato

Leon Firšt (1994), Ilusions (premiere)

François Borne (1840–1920), Fantasie Brillante on Themes from Bizet’s Carmen

Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894), España, rhapsody for orchestra

Chick Corea (1941–2021), Spain (arr. Emilio Solla)

The 38th International Imago Sloveniae Festival will open with a gala concert performed by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of the newly appointed chief conductor of Slovenia’s central philharmonic institution, Kahi Solomnishvili. Joining the orchestra will be two outstanding young musicians who, despite their youth, are already achieving remarkable international success: the exceptional flautist Lukas Grum, winner of the 10th season of Virtuosos International in 2025 and recipient of the Gold Prize at Austria’s national music competition Prima la musica in Vienna, as well as the outstanding pianist Filip Runjak, a scholarship holder at the Music Academy in Liechtenstein and prizewinner at, among others, the Mladi virtuozi Zagreb 2024 and TEMSIG 2025 competitions. The evening’s programme will bring together a selection of celebrated works from the classical repertoire and will also feature the premiere of a new work by the outstanding young Slovenian composer Leon Firšt.

The Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, with roots dating back to 1701, is one of the oldest musical institutions in Europe. The Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra came to its glory after the founding of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra in 1947, with local resident conductors and guest greats such as Carlos Kleiber, Riccardo Muti and Daniel Harding. It offers Ljubljana audiences a variety of subscription cycles, including standard orchestral repertoire from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the most modern music and music from earlier stylistic periods, demonstrating the musicians’ versatility. It brings together the best local musicians, joined since 1990 by a number of outstanding foreign instrumentalists. Foreign countries have also been able to experience the successes and strong traditions of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra – over the past decades, tours and guest appearances have taken the Orchestra to the most prestigious halls and high-profile festivals around the world.

Kakhi Solomnishvili, an outstanding young conductor of Georgian roots, took over the role of the Principal Conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic last year. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Georgian Tsinandali Award for outstanding achievements in music. Since 2022 he has been working with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra and Teatro Colón, where he made his debut with the premiere of I. Stravinsky’s opera The Rake’s Progress. He has worked with various national and international orchestras, including Frederic Chopin’s Polish Baltic Philharmonic, the Israel Sinfonietta and the Georgian Sinfonietta. He has been working with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra since 2023 and is a regular conductor of the Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Lukas Grum is establishing himself as one of the most prominent young Slovenian flautists of his generation. In the 2024/25 season, he attracted international attention by winning the 10th anniversary season of the televised competition Virtuosos, reaching the finals of the prestigious Severino Gazzelloni International Flute Competition in Naples, and receiving an award for a performance with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra within the EMARS MASTER programme. He also won the audition for a solo appearance with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra at the Mozart Hall of the Vienna Konzerthaus and was honoured with the special European “Prima la musica” award presented by the Province of Styria for outstanding artistic achievement. Since 2019, he has appeared regularly at national and international competitions, where he has received top prizes and gold distinctions. A particularly notable success came at the Davorin Jenko International Competition in 2024, where he was awarded first prize with the maximum score of 100 points and received the title of Laureate as the overall winner of the competition. He currently studies with Professor Jernej Marinšek and was recently (March 2026) admitted to the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW), where he continues his training in the Vorbereitungslehre programme under the guidance of Professor Wally Hase. His artistic development is further shaped through masterclasses with distinguished flautists and pedagogues, while he regularly performs both as a soloist and as a chamber musician.

Filip Runjak is among the leading emerging Slovenian pianists of the younger generation. He is a finalist of the IPC Enschede International Piano Competition 2026 and of the EMARS educational programme (2024, 2025), within which he appeared as a soloist with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra at Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana. Among his notable achievements are first prizes at the TEMSIG national competition (2022 – Gold Plaque and Special Prize for the best performance of a Classical sonata), Merci, Maestro (2022), the Ivan Rijavec International Piano Competition, and the Peter Toperczer International Competition. He also distinguished himself at the Young Virtuosos Zagreb competition, where he received special prizes for his interpretation of the compulsory piece and for his performance of works by Johann Sebastian Bach. He regularly collaborates with the orchestra of the Danica Neuvirt Koren Summer Music School, performing piano concertos by Joseph Haydn (2023), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (2024), and Felix Mendelssohn (2025). He is currently studying at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet in the class of Professor Sijavuš Gadžijev. In addition to his formal studies, he regularly participates in masterclasses with renowned pianists and is a scholarship holder of the Academy of Music in Liechtenstein, where he takes part in intensive artistic programmes for young musicians.

Admission free. 

*In case of rain, the concert will take place at the Slovenian Philharmonic Hall.

In collaboration with: