Thursday, June 15th at 17:00 and 19:30 , Radio Slovenia, Studio 26
Attedance is free, but due to practical limitations registration is required: register for 17:00 performance or register for 19:30 performance. Also on radiowaves - Radio Slovenia, Programme Ars at 19.30.
A symphony orchestra concert for babies and toddlers
Svetlana Maraš based her composition on the recordings of children's improvisations, expanded and interpreted by the instrumental performance. Of Defiance of the Glorious Children, she writes: "The piece is characterized in many ways by its fragmentation of form (and sound), and its collage approach. The unusual multi-channel speaker setup, division of the orchestra into smaller groups, and dissolution of the boundary between audience and sound (audience and orchestra) support the desire to get closer to the music – all the crackling, squeaking, humming nuances of music; retaining its simplicity and instinctive feel in recordings played over the loudspeakers. The work celebrates the creativity and imagination of children, respecting their adventurous attitude in improvising and making music."
Matej Bonin in his new work Perpetuum Mobile II continues reflection on the possibility of creating rich sound textures from a single monophonic line: "The piece continues my interest in such reduction. From the outset, the challenge with this project was to seek something basic, but at the same time not simplistic. The essence of the piece is focused on the single line, while conjuring up kaleidoscopic changes
in timbre and sound texture through the very explicit placement of the instruments in circular formation, arranged in the most elemental groups – the string group, the brass group, the percussion group, and the woodwind group."
Matej Bonin is among the most prominent Slovenian composers of the younger and middle generation. He graduated in composition under Uroš Rojko at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana and continued his education at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (composition-music theatre) under the mentorship of Beat Furrer. At the 62nd International Rostrum of Composers in 2015, he was the first Slovenian composer to win the under 30 category with his composition Cancro for symphony orchestra and a concert recording by the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, which also premiered his Eppur si muove IV for saxophone, percussion and symphony orchestra in 2022.
Svetlana Maraš is a composer and sound artist engaged with experimental music. Her work includes live performances, electroacoustic compositions, sound installations and radiophonic pieces. Currently, she is a professor of creative music technology and co-director of the electronic studio at the FHNW Academy of Music. From 2016 to 2021 she was composer-in-residence and artistic director at the electronic studio of Radio Belgrade, where she led the renovation of the famous EMS Synthi 100 synthesizer and set up a number of programs like artist residencies and training courses.
Steven Loy, conductor and composer, is a renowned interpreter of contemporary music in Slovenia and the wider space. As a permanent conductor of the MD7 ensemble since 2005, he has premiered more than 30 new works, frequently collaborating with the Slowind Festival and the Slavko Osterc Ensemble, and has led the first Slovenian performances of many foundational works of the 20th century. He devised the Predihano new music cycle and founded the contemporary music ensemble Neofonía. He is the artistic director of the Slovenian Philharmonic Chamber String Orchestra and the initiator of the Odkritja 26 series of studio concerts of contemporary music. He studied conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and later at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. In 2002 he completed his conducting studies at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, under Lothar Zagrosek. He is from the USA, living and working in Slovenia.
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, conductor Steven Loy
In cooperation with the Improvisation Ensemble of the Basel Music Academy, "ImproNext" with:
- THAINA DE SA, flute
- REEM AKRA, violin
- MERLE AREND-HEIDBRINCK, cello
- CONSTANTIN GIGER, percussion
- MAXIM KRÄUCHI, percussion
- under direction by Sylwia Zytynska
