The Ljubljana International Orchestra with Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony

Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, which will be performed tonight by The Ljubljana International Orchestra, was written during a happier period of the composer’s life, when, as conductor and artistic director, he was already the critically esteemed director of the Vienna Court Opera; in the same year, far from the public eye, he married the Viennese femme fatale Alma Schindler and dedicated to her, as a wedding gift, the lyrically refined Adagietto of this symphony.

Tonight at Križanke it will be heard in the interpretation of conductor Ferreira, founder and chief conductor of the Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra, who, after completing his conducting studies in Chicago, continued his training at the St Petersburg Conservatory and also honed his skills in Salzburg and Berlin under the mentorship of Claudio Abbado, the Ljubljana Festival wrote.

This year marks ten years since the founding of of the Ljubljana International Orchestra, the cultural ambassador of the City of Ljubljana, which works under the artistic direction of Živa Ploj Peršuh. The orchestra brings together outstanding young musicians from more than thirty-five countries, who gain invaluable experience by playing in a symphony orchestra and, working with renowned professors, conductors and soloists, strive together for the highest performance goals.

The orchestra is also part of the European project Sounds of Change, which, by bringing people together in artistic creation, strives to put into practice the European Union’s motto, United in Diversity.

Before that, the Knights’ Hall will today host a concert by the contemporary music ensemble MD7, which first stepped onto the concert stage 20 years ago and began to fulfil its mission. The idea of the newly founded ensemble is (was) to perform new (contemporary) music by Slovenian and foreign composers, where, for the Ensemble MD7 , new means never heard before.

For the anniversary concert of the ensemble, which worked under the artistic direction of Pavel Mihelčič and, since 2017, of Nenad Firšt, the programme features a selection from its repertoire of many high-quality works, and with the premiere of a new piece by Nenad Firšt it continues its mission at this concert too. The septet of renowned musicians will perform under the baton of conductor Steven Loy, known for his insightful interpretations of contemporary music, who has worked with the ensemble since 2005.

In 2013 the ensemble received the Lipovšek Award for exceptional dedication to Slovenian, and especially contemporary, music, presented by the Society of Slovene Composers.