The Ljubljana International Orchestra (LIO) celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. With soloist Nuška Drašček and conductor Živa Ploj Peršuh, LIO will celebrate the anniversary with a concert on 31 August at 20:00 in the Marjan Kozina Hall of the Slovenian Philharmonic.
The concert will revive the memory of two giants of classical music who have always divided listeners and followers, Wagner and Brahms. In the 19th century, the split between Wagner and Brahms angrily divided progressives and conservatives. Wagner proclaimed his music to be the music of the future, while Brahms remained a stubborn classicist. Brahms' Symphony No 4 never disappoints. It is full of dialogue, reflections, pictures of nature, it is full of feelings that never unravel, it is an endless reflection on love and the meaning of life. It has been said that this symphony is like an old wise friend who always cheers us up with a visit. Five of Mathilde Wesendonck's songs were set to music by Wagner while he was working on Tristan und Isolde. Together with Siegfried's Idyll, the songs are two of Wagner's most frequently performed works.
The patron of honour of the concert of the Ljubljana International Orchestra on the occasion of its 10th anniversary is the Mayor of the Municipality of Ljubljana, Zoran Janković.
In ten years we have brought together at least 800 musicians from 42 countries, performed in Slovenia, Italy and the UK, and collaborated with renowned institutions such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia Rome, Orchestre National Lille, Sarajevo Philharmonic and others. The orchestra has been honoured by the participation of renowned soloists: trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich, violist Gilad Karni, violinist Michael Barenboim, violinist Gregory Ahss and cellist Konstantin Pfiz, double-bassist Knut Erik Sundquist, violist Joerg Wikler, clarinettist Jože Kotar, soprano Urška Breznik and tenor Aljaž Farasin, as well as director and composer Heiner Goebbels.
In addition to Živa Ploj Peršuh, the orchestra's chief conductor and founder, the orchestra has been conducted by Klaus Arp, Uroš Lajovic, Carlo Rizzari, Domingo Hindoyan, Osvaldo Ferreira and Daniele Gatti. Since 2023, the Ljubljana International Orchestra has been based in Ljubljana, where members travel from all over the world to prepare the programme over several days. LIO is a cultural ambassador of the City of Ljubljana, representing the Slovenian capital and portraying it as a cosmopolitan city, a city of youth, a city of creativity, art and opportunity.
On the programme:
New work of the Sounds of Change project
R. Wagner: Five Songs for female voice on verses by Mathilde Wesendonck, WWV91
Sounds of Change project partners
Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra (Portugal)
ART BSA (Slovenia)
International Music Festival Koblenz (Germany)
Noletia (Spain)
Serbian National Theatre / Opera (Serbia)
Tickets are available at all Eventim outlets and at www.eventim.si
Ljubljana International Orchestra - our love, our inspiration, our orchestra, a unique blend of the best talents, cultural diversity and artistic vision.
The Ljubljana International Orchestra has been gaining a growing reputation among young musicians and top professional artists since its successful performances in Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Great Britain and Spain. The orchestra is made up of young, excellent musicians who gain invaluable experience playing in a symphony orchestra, working with renowned professors, conductors and soloists. Musicians from more than thirty-five different countries, and therefore from different cultures and social backgrounds, strive together for the highest performance goals. The orchestra's repertoire includes symphonic works from the Viennese classical and romantic periods as well as contemporary works from the 20th and 21st centuries. Sincere enthusiasm, youthful energy and irresistible courage are the basis for the great masterpieces of the symphonic repertoire, which the musicians tackle in several working phases each year. The orchestra has worked with soloists such as violist Wolfram Christ, trombonist Branimir Slokar, trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich, cellist Konstantin Pfiz, violinist Gregory Ahss and violist Gilad Karni. Concertmasters of the orchestra are Gregory Ahss (concertmaster of the Camerata Salzburg and the Luzern Festival Orchestra), Janez Podlesek (concertmaster of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra) and Yuri Kalnits (soloist). The orchestra also includes Konstantin Pfiz (cello), Knut-Erik Sundquist (double bass), Jože Kotar (clarinet), Igor Ahss (bassoon), Zora Slokar (French horn), Mihael Šuler (trombone) and Raymond Curfs (timpani). The Ljubljana International Orchestra is a cultural ambassador of the City of Ljubljana. It represents the Slovenian capital and portrays Ljubljana as a cosmopolitan city, a city of youth, a city of creativity and opportunity. The chief conductor of the orchestra is Živa Ploj Peršuh.
