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s o C i e t y
Text: JOŽE OSTERMAN, Photo: STA
musical group Jararaja.
SLOvENE FOLk SONG HERITAGE
‘SOuNdS OF SLOvENIA’ IN BRuSSELS
Want to hear some Slovene music, taste some sweet potica
cake and some Slovene wine? Welcome to Brussels. In the year
dedicated to intercultural dialogue, and to mark the end of
the Slovene Presidency of the Council of the European Union,
there was a concert called Sounds of Slovenia on the 17th of
June in Brussels. A group of 24 renowned soloists and musicians
from several musical groups (Jararaja, Katalena, and Katice, for
instance) presented Slovene folk songs in a modern performance,
seasoned with a personal note of improvisation in different musical
traditions. The concert was organized by the Slovene Government
Communication Office and by the office of the Slovene Tourist
Board in Brussels. The invitation to the concert read that “Slovene
folk songs are a heritage from ancient times, an echo of space,
they represent the variety of the Slovene regions”, and promised
that that evening Slovenia would offer “a musical promenade”
of sounds from under the Alpine mountaintops, from the
Pannonian lowlands and the lively Adriatic. Approximately 1100
people attended the concert. There were many representatives of
European institutions − the European Commission, the European
Parliament, the Council of EU and a large group of journalists -
foreign media correspondents.
MuSICALS IN FuLL BLOOM ON SLOvENE
STAGES
What was once an almost despised form of theatrical performance,
the musical, has found its way onto Slovene stages. In the last
few years several distinguished theatres and musical groups have
successfully presented adaptations of world famous hits. The
Slovene version of the legendary Hair was staged last year, and
this year, it’s time for an even more ambitious adaptation of The
Sound of Music (Moje pesmi moje sanje), co-produced by the
Musika workshop of Radovljica and the Prešernovo gledališËe
theatre in Kranj. Most Slovenes will remember the movie, for it
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sold more tickets than any other movie ever shown in Slovenia −
which is certainly a solid foundation for a commercial success of
the show. The organisers are not hiding their attempt to get a hit,
giving their best in the preparations.
TIME FOR BRECHT!
Under this title the youngest Slovenian professional theatre, Teater
Antona Podbevška from Novo mesto, prepared a real Brechtian
marathon on June 10th, dedicated to 110th anniversary of the
birth of this famous German writer. As the name of the theatre
suggests, their tradition is anchored in the period of engaged art
of the first half of the 20th century, to which Brecht contributed
a great deal. Also participating was the Studia humanitatis
publishing house, the most prominent publisher of world class
books in the field of social sciences in Slovenia.
EXHIBITION PRIMuS IN THE CITY
MuSEuM OF LJuBLJANA
As part of the celebrations of the fifth centennial of the birth
of Primož Trubar (we wrote about the principal celebration in
Trubar’s birth place in the previous issue) there is an immense
exhibition at Ljubljana City Museum entitled Primus (meaning
“the first one”) about the years Primož Trubar has spend in the
city of Ljubljana. “Ljubljana has shown a very ambivalent attitude
towards Primož Trubar,” said Dr Matjaž Kmecl at the opening,
“as he was praised and celebrated as her greatest son at the
beginning of his reformation work, but was later cruelly and
senselessly exiled and never allowed to return again.” In this way
the exhibition Primus symbolises Trubar’s return to the capital,
for he undoubtedly is one of its greatest sons.
Mayors of some of the European cities where Trubar spent his life
also gave speeches at the opening - the mayors of Rothenburg
and Derendingen (both from Germany) and the mayor of Trieste.
The exhibition is open until the end of the year.