Slowind

Founded back in 1987, the wind quintet Slowind has ever since been one of the most active new music ensembles in Slovenia, gaining international recognition and working with some of the most innovative composers of the time. However, though most of the ensemble’s attention is focused on works of the 20th and 21st century, the quintet’s repertoire nevertheless often includes compositions from the classical and romantic periods.

The Slowind Music Society

Besides playing music, the quintet also acts as a producer. Slowind is thus also the name for a non-for-profit organisation that organises the Slowind Festival and the concert cycle entitled Slowind Spring (both mainly devoted to contemporary music). They frequently commission new works to be written for these occasions.

Personnel

The Slowind Quintet are Aleš Kacjan (flute), Matej Šarc (oboe), Jurij Jenko (clarinet), Metod Tomac (horn), and Paolo Calligaris (bassoon). They are simultaneously all soloists at the Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra)

Background

The ensemble was initially established as a trio by Kacjan, Jenko, and the bassoonist Zoran Mitev, with the three of them soon winning the first prize at the National Musicians Competition of Yugoslavia (1987). In 1995 Calligaris replaced Mitev and with the addition of Šarc and Tomac, the trio was expanded to a quintet.

Since 1999 they have been running their own annual festival, featuring international guest artists such as Arvid Engegard, James Avery, Bernhard Wulff, Jürg Wyttenbach, Vinko Globokar, Heinz Holliger, Steven Davislim, Christiane Iven, David Wilson-Johnson, Robert Aitken, Alexander Lonquich, Ensemble SurPlus (Freiburg i. Br.), Accroche Note (Strasbourg), Salvatore Sciarrino, Pascal Dusapin, and others.

The Slowind Quintet received the Župančič Award of the City of Ljubljana in 1999, the Prešeren Award in 2003, and the Betetto Award in 2013.

Slowind ensemble programme

The repertoire of the Slowind ensemble includes both classical and 20th-century contemporary music, as well as recent works by modern composers. A number of prominent Slovene composers have dedicated works to Slowind, amnog them Vinko Globokar, Uroš Rojko, Lojze Lebič, Bor Turel, and Urška Pompe. The ensemble also actively engages with young Slovenian composers, often commissioning new works themselves and playing them on their international tours.

Among the established composers from around the world, who also wrote their pieces exclusively for Slowind, one can name Volker Staub, Ivo Nilsson, Martin Smolka, Robert Aitken, Heinz Holliger, Jürg Wyttenbach, Toshio Hosokawa, UGérard Buquet, and Niels Rosing Schow.

The quintet often presents seldom heard works from chamber literature. Many of the leading composers of the 20th century have had their Slovene debut on Slowind's repertoire (Luciano Berio, Edgar Varese, Elliott Cartet, Giacinto Scelsi, Iannis Xenakis, Karlheinz Stockhausen).

Performances

The members of quintet give regular concerts in Ljubljana in the hall of the Slovene Philharmonic or in the studio of Radio Slovenia, though they perform (often doing just classical pieces) all over Slovenia.

Abroad, Slowind Quintet has performed at music festivals and contemporary music venues such as Ars Musica, Brussels (BE); the International Contemporary Music Festival, Opatija (HR); Musicora, Paris (FR); Roaring Hoofs Festival, Mongolia; the Bern Biennale (CH); Klangspuren, Schwaz (AT); Musica Danubiana (AT); the New Music Concerts Series Toronto (CA); the Takefu International Music Festival (JP); the Venice Biennale (IT); the Zagreb Music Biennale (HR); and Théâtre Dunois Paris (FR). All in all, they regularly play their music all over Europe and have also toured the United States numerous times since 1999.

The ensemble has issued several CDs and a DVD.

International cooperation

Slowind was a partner in the LIEU (EUropean Instrumental Laboratory) project, led by the Ensemble Aleph from Paris, and dedicated to the diffusion of contemporary music. During the project some 50 musicians have been involved and more than 25 works have premièred in some 30 events in 8 European countries (Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Slovenia).

External links

Slowind Quintet website

Slowind

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