Difference between revisions of "Slovene Philharmonic"

Revision as of 16:12, 28 December 2010

{{Teaser| The Slovene Philharmonics is music institution, devoted primarily to orchestral music. Its tradition can be traced back to the early Academia Philharmonicorum and then also Philharmonische Gesellschaft, Slovene Philharmonics (1908-1913) and Ljubljana Philharmonics (1934-1941). Today the Slovene Philharmonics is a national institute which incorporates the Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra and the Slovene Chamber Choir, the leading Slovene ensembles with international reputation.

History

Academia Philharmonicorum

The Slovene Philharmonics traces its illustrious heritage back to the Academia Philharmonicorum, which was founded in Ljubljana in 1701 on the model of the Italian academies. The Academy chose for its emblem the organ of its patron, St. Cecilia, and its seal incorporated the motto Receat, mentique perennia monstrat (It entertains, and reveals eternal things to the mind). Its members were drawn from the aristocracy and from the town's intelligentsia, and according to reports by contemporary chroniclers, after several years of practice and with a great deal of enthusiasm the Academy began staging performing symphonic compositions by European, particularly Italian Baroque masters.

Habsburg empire

By the end of the 18th century the Academy ceased to exist. In 1794 the Philharmonische Gesellschaft (Philharmonic Society) was established, one of the first institutions of this kind within the Habsburg empire. It grew out of the string quartet of non-professional musicians. The number of musician rose and in the begging of the 19th century the well-versed amateurs and professional musicians were able to perform works by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. In its desire for international input into its ambitious activities the Philharmonic Society sought prominent European musicians as honorary members. The first was Joseph Haydn who gratefully presented the Society with a score of his Missa in Tempore belli. Next was Ludwig van Beethoven who sent a letter of thanks together with a transcript of the score for his Pastoral Symphony. At a later stage, honorary membership was gratefully accepted also by violinist Nicolò Paganini and by composers Johannes Brahms.

A very important phase in a three century-long history of the Slovene Philharmonics took place in the mid-19th century when a process of independent Slovene musical activities was initiated, leading to the foundation of the first independent Slovene Philharmonic Society (1908-1913) under the leadership of renown Czech conductor Václav Talich.

After the 2nd World war

In the period between the two wars following Talich's departure, the activities of the Slovene Philharmonic were formally abandoned, but there were several attempts at establishing orchestral body (amateur Orchestral Society of Musical Society and Ljubljana Philharmonics). However, in 1947, on the initiative of composer Marjan Kozina, conductor Samo Hubad and musicologist Vlado Golob, a resolution was passed on the formation of the Slovene Philharmonics, with a symphony orchestra, a mixed (until 1976) and youth choir (until 1952), a string quartet and an agency which organised concerts (this became independent in 1952). The first concert by the new Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Spanish conductor Salvador Bacarisse, took place on 13 January 1948.

In 1999 the Slovenian Chamber Chorus, which had been founded in 1991 as an independent body and led by Mirko Cuderman (assisted by Marko Vatovec), became part of the institution.

The first director of the institution was M. Kozina who was followed by L. M. Škerjanc, M. Lipovšek, C. Cvetko, D. Božič, A. Kolar, M. Gabrijelčič, B. Šinigoj and M. Menart.

Concert halls

The site of today’s Philharmonic building was for decades dominated by the old Stanovsko gledališče (State Theatre). In 1887 the old theatre building was burnt down and new concert building was built in 1891. The preparations for the tercentenary of the Slovenian Philharmonic and its predecessors (2001/02), brought about a thorough renovation of the entire building. The restored building was inaugurated on 25 September 2001, while on 8 January 2003, on the three hundredth anniversary of the first documented performances, the newly installed organ resounded in the Great Hall for the first time.

Today performances are held at Slovene Philharmonics halls and more often at Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre. The Slovene Philharmonics Hall itself incorporates two venues - the greater Kozinova dvorana (Kozina Hall) and the smaller Osterčeva dvorana (Osterc Hall).

Kozinova dvorana (Kozina Hall)

Type of venue: Concert hall; main use: concerts, music theatre and dance performances, ceremonies; seating: 507 seats, comprising 345 stalls, 162 balcony]]; performing area: raised open platform 11.54m W x 9.8m D; lighting: basic concert rig only; sound: basic PA system only; stage equipment: Diocesan Organ Workshop Maribor organ (1999) with 2,614 pipes and 40 registers; backstage: dressing rooms accommodating 150-200 persons total, technical staff available; climate control: air-conditioned and heated; availability: available for hire

Osterčeva dvorana (Osterc Hall)

Type of venue: Recital room; main use: chamber music concerts, lectures, seminars, press conferences; seating: 200 removable seats total; performing area: flexible within total area 10m x 6m x 2.5m H to ceiling; lighting: recessed ceiling lighting only; sound: basic PA system; backstage: facilities shared with Great Hall; availability: available for hire.

External links

The Slovene Philharmonics website (in English)

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 ===After the 2nd World war===
-In the period between the two wars following Talich's departure, the activities of the Slovene Philharmonic Society were formally abandoned. However, in 1947, on the initiative of composer Marjan Kozina, conductor Samo Hubad and musicologist Vlado Golob, a resolution was passed on the formation of the Slovene Philharmonics, with a symphony orchestra, a mixed (until 1976) and youth choir (until 1952), a string quartet and an agency which organised concerts (this became independent in 1952). The first concert by the new Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Spanish conductor Salvador Bacarisse, took place on 13 January 1948.
+In the period between the two wars following Talich's departure, the activities of the Slovene Philharmonic were formally abandoned, but there were several attempts at establishing orchestral body (amateur Orchestral Society of Musical Society and Ljubljana Philharmonics). However, in 1947, on the initiative of composer Marjan Kozina, conductor Samo Hubad and musicologist Vlado Golob, a resolution was passed on the formation of the Slovene Philharmonics, with a symphony orchestra, a mixed (until 1976) and youth choir (until 1952), a string quartet and an agency which organised concerts (this became independent in 1952). The first concert by the new Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Spanish conductor Salvador Bacarisse, took place on 13 January 1948.
-==The Slovene Chamber Choir==
+In 1999 the Slovenian Chamber Chorus, which had been founded in 1991 as an independent body and led by Mirko Cuderman (assisted by Marko Vatovec), became part of the institution.
-In 1999 the Slovene Chamber Choir, founded in 1991 by Dr. [[Mirko Cuderman]], was formally incorporated into the Slovene Philharmonics, facilitating more detailed and long-term planning both of the choir's own concert programme and of joint performances of the great vocal-instrumental works with the Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra.
-==The Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra==
+The first director of the institution was M. Kozina who was followed by L. M. Škerjanc, M. Lipovšek, C. Cvetko, D. Božič, A. Kolar, M. Gabrijelčič, B. Šinigoj and M. Menart.
-The Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Central Europe, it traces its illustrious heritage back to the 18th Century. The Society's orchestra reached an impressive standard under the leadership of Czech conductor Václav Talich and became very well known, however following Talich’s departure its activity declined in the period between two wars. The orchestra was re-established in 1947 and was thereafter led by many renowned conductors, among them [[Bogo Leskovic]], [[Samo Hubad]], [[Oskar Danon]], [[Lovro Matačić]], [[Uroš Lajovic]], [[Milan Horvat]], and from 1995 through to 2004 Marko Letonja who left to became Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra Basel. From 2005 until 2008 the Orchestra has been led by renowned American conductor George Pehlivanian. In October 2008 the position of the orchestra's principal conductor has been taken by the French [[Emmanuel Villaume]].
-Within the last decades, Slovene Philharmonics mainly collaborated with some renowned conductors, to name just a few: [[Carlos Kleiber]], [[Lovro Matačić]], [[Riccardo Muti]], [[Zubin Mehta]], [[Kurt Sanderling]], [[Dmitri Kitayenko]], [[Rudolf Barshai]], [[Leopold Hager]], [[Theodor Guschlbauer]], [[Tadeusz Wojchiechowski]], [[Yuri Simonov]], [[Jacek Kaspszyk]], [[Serge Baudo]], [[Hartmut Haenchen]], [[Jiří Bělohlávek]], [[Heinz Holliger]], [[Stanisław Wisłocki]], etc.
+==Concert halls==
+The site of today’s Philharmonic building was for decades dominated by the old Stanovsko gledališče (State Theatre). In 1887 the old theatre building was burnt down and new concert building was built in 1891. The preparations for the tercentenary of the Slovenian Philharmonic and its predecessors (2001/02), brought about a thorough renovation of the entire building. The restored building was inaugurated on 25 September 2001, while on 8 January 2003, on the three hundredth anniversary of the first documented performances, the newly installed organ resounded in the Great Hall for the first time.
-Great many of Slovene and world famous musicians performed with the Orchestra: [[Irena Grafenauer]], [[Marjana Lipovšek]], [[Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak]], [[Bernarda Fink]], [[Igor Ozim]], [[Arthur Rubinstein]], [[Yehudi Menuhin]], [[David Oistrakh]], [[Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli]], [[Sviatoslav Richter]], [[Gidon Kremer]], [[Anne-Sophie Mutter]], [[Vadim Repin]], [[Ivo Pogorelić]], [[Lazar Berman]], [[Elisabeth Leonskaja]], [[John Ogdon]], [[Miklós Perényi]], [[Schlomo Mintz]], [[Heinz Holliger]], [[Julian Rachlin]], [[Sarah Chang]], [[Till Felner]], [[Sharon Kam]], [[Fazil Say]], [[Mario Brunello]], [[Zoltán Kocsis]], [[Håkan Hardenberger]], [[David Garrett]], etc.
-From the late 70's on, Slovene Philharmonics have toured Europe, USA and Japan many times. During those tours they played in some of the most prestigious venues, as [[Carnegie Hall]] (New York City) and [[Musikverein]] (Vienna). Among the Philharmonics recent most successful tours and collaborations one finds the tour all over Switzerland, in Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, France and Belgium, gala concert with [[Luciano Pavarotti]], as well as both Rome and Valencia performances accompaniing the great cellist [[Mstislav Rostropovich]]. Just couple of years before his death, the Orchestra found particular close cooperation with one of the most inspirative world conductors [[Carlos Kleiber]]. As Maestro Kleiber has later been buried in the Slovenian village of Konjšica near Litija in 2004 - together with his wife, former ballet dancer [[Stanislava Brezovar]] - his great conducting colleague Riccardo Muti chosed Slovene Philharmonics for the memorial gala that took place in both Ljubljana and Ravenna. On 21 June 2010, Ljubljana celebrates Carlos Kleiber's 80th birthday with [[Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra]] and [[Riccardo Muti]].
-==Concert halls==
+Today performances are held at Slovene Philharmonics halls and more often at [[Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre]]. The Slovene Philharmonics Hall itself incorporates two venues - the greater Kozinova dvorana (Kozina Hall) and the smaller Osterčeva dvorana (Osterc Hall).
-Performances are held at Slovene Philharmonics halls and more often at [[Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre]]. The Slovene Philharmonics Hall itself incorporates two venues - the Velika dvorana (Great Hall) and the Mala dvorana (Small Hall).
-===Velika dvorana (Great Hall)===
+===Kozinova dvorana (Kozina Hall)===
 '''Type of venue:''' [[Type of venue::concert hall]]; '''main use:''' [[main use::concerts, music theatre and dance performances, ceremonies]]; '''seating:''' [[seats::507|507 seats]], comprising 345 stalls, 162 balcony]]; '''performing area: '''raised open platform 11.54m W x 9.8m D; '''lighting: '''basic concert rig only; '''sound:''' [[sound::basic PA system only]]; '''stage equipment: '''Diocesan Organ Workshop Maribor organ (1999) with 2,614 pipes and 40 registers; '''backstage:''' [[backstage::dressing rooms accommodating 150-200 persons total, technical staff available]]; '''climate control:''' [[climate control::air-conditioned and heated]]; '''availability:''' [[availability::available for hire]]
-===Mala dvorana (Small Hall)===
+===Osterčeva dvorana (Osterc Hall)===
 '''Type of venue:''' [[Type of venue::recital room]]; '''main use:''' [[main use::chamber music concerts, lectures, seminars, press conferences]]; '''seating:''' [[seats::200|200 removable seats total]]; '''performing area: '''flexible within total area 10m x 6m x 2.5m H to ceiling; '''lighting:''' [[lighting::recessed ceiling lighting only]]; ''' sound:''' [[ sound::basic PA system]]; '''backstage:''' [[backstage::facilities shared with Great Hall]]; '''availability:''' [[availability::available for hire. ]]