Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra

The Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra is part of Slovene Philharmonics. One of the leading orchestras in Central Europe, it traces its illustrious heritage back to the days of the Academia Philharmonicorum (1701) and the Philharmonic Society (1794), forerunners of the first Slovene Philharmonic Society which was founded in 1908. 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 Matačič, 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 recent years the Orchestra has reaffirmed its reputation on numerous tours to Europe (Vienna, Rome, Florence, Salzburg, Venice, Zurich, Bern, Geneva, Brussels, Madrid, St Petersburg, Moscow, Bucharest) and the United States, and has also performed at many great international festivals (Wiener Festwochen, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Prague Summer, Warsaw Autumn, Dubrovnik Summer Festival). Guest performers have included many world-famous artists, including conductors Serge Baudo, Theodor Guschlbauer, Leopold Hager, Hartmut Haenchen, Dmitri Kitajenko, Paul Kletzki, Zubin Mehta, Kurt Sanderling and Rudolf Barshai, and the best Slovene and foreign soloists including Irena Grafenauer, Marjana Lipovšek, Igor Ozim, Dubravka Tomšič, Arthuro Benedetti Michelangeli, Boris Berezovsky, Lazar Berman, Sarah Chang, Håkan Hardenberger, Heinz Holliger, Zoltán Kocsis, Stephen Kovacevich, Gidon Kremer, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Ivo Pogorelič, Dezsö Ranki, Vadim Repin, Svjatoslav Richter, Grygory Sokolov, Alexander Toradze, Julian Lloyd-Webber and Julian Rachlin.

The Orchestra is a regular participant in the Varadin Baroque Evenings festival and the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. In October 1999 the Orchestra undertook a noteworthy tour of Great Britain, and in May 2000 it participated in the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli International Piano Festival in Brescia and Bergamo. In recent seasons the Orchestra has performed under the baton of the celebrated Carlos Kleiber, in gala concerts with the late Luciano Pavarotti and Mstislav Rostropovich in Rome and Valencia, in guest performances in Barcelona and in a festive concert in the Great Hall of the Vienna Musikverein under Marko Letonja.

Figures for 2005 showed a three per cent rise in audience numbers for the Orchestra's concerts. The 2005-2006 season marked the anniversaries of five celebrated composers: Mozart (250th anniversary of birth), Shostakovich (30th anniversary of death), Schumann (140th anniversary of death), Boulez (80th birthday) and Aratunian (58th birthday). Four young conductors worked with the orchestra during this period, with a special guest appearance by Japanese pianist Fujiko Hemming.

To date the Orchestra has performed nearly 40 subscription concerts in the Gallus Hall at Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre as well as one-off concerts on special occasions and musical matinees for young audiences. The Orchestra also has over 40 CD recordings to its credit.

Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra

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