Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Simon Dvoršak
Hosted by: Blaž Šef

Programme:
The Great Dictator (by Charles Chaplin, 1940): Johannes Brahms, Hungarian Dance No. 5
Seven (by David Fincher, 1995): Johann S. Bach, Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068
The Lone Ranger (by Gore Verbinski, 2013): Gioachino Rossini, William Tell, overture
Amadeus (by Miloš Forman, 1984): Wolfgang A. Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria
The King's Speech (by Tom Hooper, 2010): Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 in A Major, II, Allegretto
Quantum of Solace (by Marc Forster, 2008): Giacomo Puccini, Tosca, excerpt
Johnny English Reborn (by Oliver Parker, 2011): Edvard Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 (In the Hall of the Mountain King)
Apocalypse Now (by Francis Ford Coppola, 1979): Richard Wagner, The Valkyrie, excerpt

Brina Kafol Žust, flute
Tomaž Močilnik, clarinet
Andrej Žust, horn
Tonko Huljev, bassoon
Petra Kovačič, violin
Matjaž Bogataj, violin
Gea Pantner Volfand, viola
Jaka Stadler, cello
Iztok Hrastnik, double bass


Program:
Anton Reicha, Octet in E-flat Major for Flute, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, String Quartet and Double Bass ad lib., Op. 96
*
Aldo Kumar, Istrian Suite for strings
Heinrich Hofmann, Octet in F Major for Two Violins, Viola, Cello, Flute, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon, Op. 80

 
Talent and courage, but also a devotion to chamber music, is the common denominator of excellent Slovenian instrumentalists who have won over the music community, rose to international prominence and established themselves in some of the most prestigious music institutions, pre-eminent ensembles admitting only the cream of the crop: the Vienna and Bavarian state operas, the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra…
Coming together to form an ad hoc ensemble for the first time, the musicians embark on a journey across a lesser-known past to shed light on some remarkably talented composers whose genius was eclipsed by the greatness of their contemporaries: Anton Reicha, for example, was overshadowed by Beethoven, and Heinrich Hofmann by Brahms.

Capricornus Consort Basel
Peter Barczi Baroque violin; Eva Borhi Baroque violin; Matthias Jäggi Baroque viola; Maya Amrein Baroque cello; Georg Schuppe violone; Juan Sebastian Lima theorbo; David Blunden harpsichord


Program
Johann Joseph Fux, Overture (Suite) in D Major, a selection
Johann Friederich Fasch, Sonata in D minor, for two violins, viola and basso continuo
Johann Sebastian Bach, Fantasia in G Major, “Piece d'orgue”, BWV 572, arr. for strings
Georg Philipp Telemann, Sonata II, TWV 43:g1 (1730)                       
Franz Xaver Richter, Trio Sonata in A minor, Op. 4, No. 6
Christoph Graupner, Overture (Suite) in F Major, GWV 447

The Baroque ensemble Capricornus Consort Basel, winner of the 2018 International Classical Music Award, brings together artists dedicated to period performance – seeking to place a piece of music in its original context and striving to reach the very essence of the music. The artistic connection among the musicians goes back to their studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, where Maruša Brezavšček, a young Slovenian virtuoso, is also completing her master's degree. She was awarded first prizes at the TARF 3 (Tel Aviv Recorder Competition) in 2020 in both the “Soloist” and “Best Interpretation of an Israeli Piece” categories, and has lately been gaining experience on the baroque bassoon.

Named after the Baroque composer Samuel Capricornus (1628-1665), the Capricornus Consort Basel has dedicated itself to the performance of Baroque and High Baroque works. In addition to being their major source of inspiration, Capricornus also encourages research into the repertoire: dedicated to historically informed performance, on period instruments, the musicians bring to life (also) lesser-known and rarely played compositions by both Capricornus and his contemporaries.
 

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Program
Jean-Baptiste Lully, Overture to Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (arr. Th. Escaich)
Johann S. Bach, Fugue in G Major (a la Gigue), BWV 577
Belá Bártok, Romanian Folk Dances (arr. Th. Escaich)
Jehan Alain, Variations on a Theme by Clement Janequin
Litanies
Nicolas de Grigny, Récit de tierce en taille
Theirry Escaich, Evocations I and II
Maurice Duruflé, Toccata from Suite for Organ, Op. 5
Improvisation - Dance suite

Composer, organist and improviser Thierry Escaich is able to combine these three profiles in a unique manner, binding them inextricably together to reflect his rich inner world. An ambassador of the great French school of improvisation, four-time recipient of the Victoires de la Musique award and 2020/21 resident organist of the Dresden Philharmonic, Escaich is equally impressive as a brilliant performer of a stylistically diversified repertoire that blends early and contemporary, folk and sacred music, or an inspired composer whose unique, highly personal style covers a broad spectrum of forms and genres.
Presented under the evocative title Mirror Dances, the evening’s programme takes us on a thrilling musical journey. Pairing the elaborate grandeur of the Baroque style with contemporary pieces, it is interspersed with the organist’s own compositions and masterful improvisations.

Director Fabrice Murgia digs through the journals, short stories and essays of the American poet Sylvia Plath on a quest for this brilliant artist’s soul. To reflect on this female voice, he conceived a work layered with the numerous nuances and ambiguities of Sylvia Plath’s personality.

The originality of this show is its melding of theatre and film. Throughout the performance spectators watch in real time the creation of a film projected on a big screen. The camera work highlights the tearing apart of the artist, and follows the movements of the different Sylvias from the beginning to the end. Plath’s personal and professional demons are exposed in a way that makes us feel we’ve entered the mind of a woman exhausted by her creative instincts. Nevertheless, she adamantly denies her need for a ‘normal’ life, a world hostile to talented women.

Treading the fine line between a theatrical production and filmmaking, the actors must remain aware of both the stage and cameras that watch them incessantly. This means that they are stage acting with their bodies and screen acting with their faces, as they are mostly seen in close-up. On stage, the action takes place on a film set that shows both a film in the making and backstage activity: a bridge between “being” and “portraying,” between dream and reality. And it is this ‘double’ acting, coupled with the staging’s starkness, that is the strong suit of the show, whose costumes, set design and props pay homage to 1950s pop culture.

Sašo Vollmaier, piano; Tine Grgurevič aka Bowrain
Two of Slovenia’s most prominent pianists in two interconnected solo recitals

Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19
Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 93 in D Major, Hob. I/93
*
Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
 

Over the past decade, Sir András Schiff, insightful musician known for the masterful and intellectual approach he brings to each masterpiece he performs, one of the finest interpreters of the German piano repertoire and founder of the Cappella Andrea Barca, has been exploring the authentic sound of the fortepiano. Sir Schiff confesses that his initial views on the instrument have been wrong and today praises the transparency and natural equilibrium of the fortepiano.
Sir Schiff, whose many honours include the International Mozarteum Foundation’s Golden Medal (2012), the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Gold Medal and a Knighthood for Services to Music, performs the dual role of soloist-conductor with great proficiency.

In 2018, he accepted the role of Associated Artist with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, complementing his interest in performing on period keyboard instruments. An ensemble seeking to break stereotypes of what it means to be a classical musician, OAD is an innovative and forward-thinking ensemble that playfully combines free-spirited risk-taking with deep scholarship.

Program:
Claude Debussy, La mer (The Sea), three symphonic sketches for orchestra, L 109
Maurice Ravel, La Valse, a choreographic poem for orchestra
*
Igor Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring, pictures from pagan Russia in two parts


Winner of the prestigious 2007 European Cultural Foundation Award and a pan-European talent pool, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester is probably the most important heritage of a visionary artist, the great conductor Claudio Abbado. GMJO is an idealistic project that ensures the future of Europe's cultural heritage by investing into the next generation.

The orchestra’s talented musicians absorb the knowledge of some of the most distinguished musical names, including Myung-Whun Chung – who, alongside Abbado and Muti, is part of the elite trio of two-time winners of the Premio Abbiati for Best Conductor (1988, 2015).
Underscored by French composers, the evening’s programme gives prominence to the stylistic break between legendary composers whose music pays homage to the past whilst staying oriented towards the future.

 

Soloist: Kit Armstrong, piano

Program
Bryce Dessner/Woodkid, Three Hundred and Twenty
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat Major, K482
*
Nicole Lizée, 8-Bit Noir
Robert Schumann, Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120 (original version 1841)

Youthful virtuosity, energetic creativity and zealous vision for the future all blend seamlessly in the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie – a democratically organised orchestra that shapes the music of the future whilst honouring the past. Recipients of the 2020 Cultural Commitment Award¸ Junge Deutsche Philharmonie are joined by soloist Kit Armstrong. A mathematical genius who has carved out a glittering career as a composer and pianist, Armstrong’s newly adopted artistic home is a former house of worship, the Church of Sainte-Thérese-de-l'Enfant-Jésus located in the city of Hirson, Northern France, which he refurbished as a concert hall. 

The stylistic and genre diversity that is the hallmark of conductor André de Ridder, founder of the experimental orchestra s t a r g a z e, is reflected in the finely balanced freshness of the evening’s programme: the familiarity of the past merges with the optimism of new sounds, first venturing into minimalism, which revives the music of the early Baroque, and then merging live performance with video.

Program:
Janez Matičič: Trans
Pierre Boulez: Notations I–IV in VII
Edgard Varese: Amériques
George Gershwin: Lullaby


Klub Lili Novy, 25 May 2022, post-concert gathering with Janez Matičič and the performers, accompanied by a selection of superb Slovenian wines.