SUMMER CONCERT SEASON 2024
Dear Esteemed Culture Enthusiasts,
For the 36th consecutive year, we at Imago, a non-governmental and non-profit organization, have been committed to providing high-quality, free cultural events across Slovenia and abroad. We remain steadfast in our mission to make top-tier culture accessible to all, as we aim to bring exceptional musical content to the widest audience possiblr.
Our program features an exciting and diverse musical lineup, from classical and emerging talents to jazz and world music. This summer, we’ve planned more than 60 concerts with excellent musicians from Slovenia and 26 other countries. We’ve strengthened our international cultural network, ensuring concerts across various Slovenian locations and international appearances at renowned festivals. This year, concerts will take place at 27 venues in 4 European countries.
This year’s opening of the 36th International Imago Sloveniae Festival and Summer in Ljubljana Old Town is dedicated to creating opportunities for young people. The festival season kicks off with a gala concert conducted by the talented young conductors Daša Černe and Jakob Barbo, featuring the Symphony Orchestra of SNG Maribor. The concert will showcase elite young Slovenian singers – sopranos Pia Novak and Gaja Sorč, tenors Gregor Ravnik and Matic Zakonjšek, and the exceptional young virtuoso Rok Zaletel Černoš, who last year became the first Slovenian violinist to participate in the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, ranking among the world’s top 13. The program will honor the 100th anniversary of the deaths of composers Giacomo Puccini and Gabriel Fauré, and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana. It will also feature new works by the rapidly rising Slovenian composer Aleksandra Naumovski Potisk.
At the City Museum, our main chamber concert venue in Ljubljana, we are preparing an evening of new compositions with the Camerata Academica Ljubljana ensemble of professors from the Ljubljana Academy of Music. Six new works by Slovenian composers (Marko Muni Mihevc, Klara Mlakar, Jan Triller, Tilen Slakan, Aleksandra Naumovski Potisk, Klemen Leben) will be premiered.
We are also hosting several top international musical artists. Highlights include the leading Viennese ensemble specializing in the Second Viennese School, the Aron String Quartet (Austria), celebrating the 150th anniversary of Arnold Schoenberg’s birth. Eminent violinist Aiman Mussakhajayeva, known for her masterful technique and significant contributions to Kazakhstan’s cultural development, will also perform. Additionally, Portuguese pianist Bernardo Santos, hailed by The Guardian as a musical genius, will grace our stage.
A standout event this summer will be the Salzburg Regional Wind Orchestra‘s performance at the Ljubljana Cathedral, conducted by internationally acclaimed Slovenian conductor Gregor Kovačič, with Munich Philharmonic’s principal flautist Martin Belič as the soloist.
Vocal music enthusiasts will enjoy works by Charles Villiers Stanford and Gustav Holst, performed by London’s renowned chamber choir, Londinium, and the Male Choir Il Polifonico di Ruda from Italy. Both choirs have received numerous accolades for their exceptional performances.
In the historic setting of the National Gallery, there will be a concert by the internationally acclaimed early music master, lutenist Bor Zuljan. We are also preparing a concert with the Slovenian Flute Trio, which will be dedicated to Belgian composer Eugène Walckiers as well as premiere a new piece by young composer Tilen Slakan.
In Ljubljana and Maribor, two legends of the concert accordion, Franc Žibert and Marko Hatlak, will perform together. Special mention goes to the chamber opera Iliad by the new-generation composer Aleksandra Naumovski Potisk, which will have its premiere at the City Museum Ljubljana.
As part of our Young Talents sub-cycle, the internationally acclaimed Trio Tempestoso will perform in Gornji Grad, Sutrio (Italy), and Graz (Austria). At the traditional TEMSIG competition laureates’ concert, two ensembles will share the stage: the trio Risus Musicorum and the duo Flauccord (Croatia, Serbia).
We will also host young musicians from around the world who successfully auditioned for the Colluvio Chamber Music Academy in Austria, and several youth orchestras and choirs from Germany, Spain, and the USA.
A special project with the Slovenian Philharmonic, titled Peter and the Wolf in the Zoo, will introduce audiences of all generations to Sergei Prokofiev’s beloved musical fairy tale at the Ljubljana Zoo.
A highlight of this season is the cross-border project Prečkanja – Sconfinamenti. Under the artistic direction of our piano star Alexander Gadjiev, in collaboration with the Music Society Friuli Venezia Giulia, we are preparing an international piano masterclass and concert series.
Our summer evenings in old Ljubljana will once again be filled with jazz concerts as part of the International Jazz Stage, albeit abridged due to funding cuts. Performances will feature both Slovenian and international jazz masters, including Igor Lumpert and Svoboda, and the Daniel Caccia Trio.
As is tradition, the Imago Sloveniae’s summer season will close with the Nights in Old Ljubljana festival – the largest international street festival of world and jazz music in the capital, which will be significantly reduced this year due to funding cuts by the new MOL commission. The festival will also include an International Musicological Symposium on the theme New Attire: Folk Music and Dance Revival Movements.
All events remain admission free. We invite you to sign up for our mailing list to receive regular updates about our events. You can also support our events by allocating a portion of your income tax (download the form from our website) or through voluntary contributions and donations via SMS with the message IMAGO5 to the phone number 1919 or by transfer to our account at NLB:
Ustanova Imago Sloveniae – Podoba Slovenije
Dalmatinova ulica 10
1000 Ljubljana
IBAN: SI56 0205 1025 4910 271
Purpose: donation (or voluntary contribution) Reference: SI00 or SI99
We cordially invite you to join us for our cultural events!
