The Festine concert cycle was based on the concept of intergenerational networking between musicians. It provided young musicians, who were just starting out and becoming independent, with professionals who were willing to share their experience and the stage. Many bold chamber and later symphonic programmes were created. It was the former, among others, who regularly presented works that were less frequently performed or unknown in this country. We created a flow of musicians from Slovenia and abroad and at the same time performed the cycle in three Slovenian cities, Ljubljana, Maribor and Lendava. The concept has been validated over the years, when we have witnessed the progress of young musicians who have taken up this kind of challenge.
The programming of our concerts has always been based on criteria that first appeal to the selected performers. We then used the selections to appeal to new audiences, offering novelties or unfamiliar repertoire, while, as a counterbalance, revisiting the ironclad repertoire and thus rounding off the programmes thematically.
The core of the cycle has been represented over the years by an ensemble of young musicians who, in collaboration with artistic eminences, have gained valuable experience and the opportunity to perform and recreate literature, something they were otherwise more or less deprived of. We have also designed our concert programmes in an interdisciplinary manner. We have woven other arts such as poetry, theatre genres and film into our programmes. Over the years, we have hosted a number of artists who have become our permanent collaborators in other projects. It is with them that we are able to sustain an artistic scene that impresses with carefully selected programmes, the most authentic concert performances and a barbecue from which we draw ideas for future concerts and projects. We allow them to present themselves in several roles (as soloists, orchestral musicians, orchestra leaders), thus presenting their ambitions and aspirations, and at the same time promoting a quality and perceptive presentation of the selected programme. The Festine concert cycle has contributed to the enrichment of art music on the stages of the best Slovenian halls with its own productions. In these palaces of art, our music resonates as a complement to the other offerings, with the aim of focusing all attention on young performers. Most of our concerts have been recorded for RTV Slovenia.
