September 20, 2018
Festival Maribor has been enlivening the city for almost half a century, since 1964, gradually expanding from its original focus on Baroque music to more modern forms, as played by groups of various sizes, from chamber to full orchestra. Over the years it has also grown from the city that bears its name into a festival with performances in neighbouring towns, such as Ptuj, Slovenj Gradec, and Dornava, and in the process earning its status as one of the preeminent classical musical festivals in the country, and a must-do event for many.
Photo: Tamara Tasev
A variety of venues will be used. Photo: Festival Maribor
Each year is arranged around a central theme, and this year’s is passion. As Barbara Švrljuga Hergovich, the Artistic Director of Concert Management and the Maribor Festival, writes in her introduction to the programme “…nothing and nobody has been able to communicate the feeling of passion as well as music; it is so good in this respect that – like many before me – I have begun to believe that music is passion itself.”
Photo: Festival Maribor
There's something for all ages, and most tastes. Photo: Natan Esku
The Festival has a mix of free and paid events, aimed at children and all ages, and includes workshops in addition to concerts. Some of the big names appearing include the German-French cellist Niolas Altstaedt, the Hungarian conductor Gergely Dubóczky, the Haydn Philharmonic, the Slovenian Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra, the composer, puppet theatre, instrument builder and educator Peter Kus, SNG Maribor Symphony Orchestra, the pianist Adriana Magdovski , the horn player Mahir Kalmik, and many more, as introduced here. In terms of composers, you’ll be able hear music from, among others, Haydn, Mozart, Elgar, Schumann, Beethoven, Dvorak, Gluck, Piazzolla, Rachmaninoff and Gershwin.
The conductor Alexander Lonquich has a passion for music. Photo: Dejan Bulut
The PDF brochure for the festival, with lengthy introductions of each event, in Slovene then English, can be found here, while a more concise version can be found here. The website, which contains all this information and more, is here. While you can see more of the photographer Dejan Bulut's work on Instagram or Facebook.
