The Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra (''Simfonični orkester Slovenske filharmonije'') is a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

based in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

. Its primary concert venues are Marjan Kozina Hall in Philharmonic Hall, Ljubljana, at

Congress Square Congress Square ( sl, Kongresni trg) is one of the central squares in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. History The square was built in 1821 at the site of the ruins of a medieval Capuchin monastery, which had been abolished during the reign ...

() and Gallus Hall in the

Cankar Centre The Cankar Centre or Cankar Hall ( sl, Cankarjev dom) is the largest Slovenian convention, congress and culture center. The building was designed by the architect Edvard Ravnikar and was built at the southern edge of Republic Square in Ljubljana b ...

at Republic Square () in Ljubljana. The roots of the orchestra go back to 1701, to the founding of the ''Academia Philharmonicorum'', which performed oratorios and other works of the era. This organisation then became the Philharmonic Society (''Filharmonična družba'') in 1794. On 23 October 1908, the ''Filharmonična družba'' officially merged with the ''Glasbena matica'' (The Music Society) to form the first incarnation of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, which lasted from 1908 to 1913. In 1947, the re-establishment of a new incarnation of the orchestra was initiated. The new version of the orchestra gave its first concert on January 13, 1948, conducted by Salvador Bacarisse and attended by composer

Marjan Kozina Marjan Kozina (4 June 1907 – 19 June 1966) was a Slovene composer. He is considered one of the most important Slovene composers of the 20th century. His best known works include a symphony, composed in stages through the late 1940s; the opera ' ...

, who became the first administrator of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra employed a number of "permanent conductors" (''stalni dirigenti'') from its 1948 re-inception, including Jakov Cipci (1948–1955), Samo Hubad (1948–1966), Bogo Leskovic (1951–1958), and

Lovro von Matačić Lovro von Matačić (14 February 1899 – 4 January 1985) was a Croatian conductor and composer. Early life Lovro von Matačić was born in Sušak to a family that was granted a noble title in the early 17th century. Growing up, he was always s ...

(1955–1956).

Oskar Danon Oskar Danon (7 February 1913 – 18 December 2009)
''

was the first conductor to have the title of principal conductor of the orchestra, from 1970 to 1974. The first non-Slovenian principal conductor of the orchestra was

George Pehlivanian George Pehlivanian (born 20 April 1964) is a French-American conductor. Biography A French-American conductor, born in Beirut, Lebanon, into a musical family of Armenian origin. His mother, Arpine Pehlivanian, is a Lebanese Armenian classica ...

, from 2005 to 2008. From 2013 to 2015, the principal conductor of the orchestra was Canadian-born

Keri-Lynn Wilson Keri-Lynn Wilson (May 17, 1967) is a Canadian conductor of operatic and symphonic repertoire. Childhood and education Wilson was born on May 17, 1967, in Milwaukee in the U.S. state of Wisconsin to an accomplished musical family. The richly a ...

, the first female principal conductor in the orchestra's history. The orchestra's most recent principal conductor was Uroš Lajovic, from 2015 to 2017..

Principal conductors

Oskar Danon Oskar Danon (7 February 1913 – 18 December 2009)
''

(1970–1974) *

Uroš Lajovic Uroš Lajovic is a Slovenian conductor. He has served as guest conductor, permanent conductor, artistic director and artistic advisor at numerous prominent European orchestras. Career Uroš Lajovic, born on July 4, 1944 in Slovenia studied comp ...

(1974–1975; acting principal conductor) *

Marko Letonja Marko Letonja (born 12 August 1961) is a Slovenian conductor. Biography Letonja studied piano and conducting at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where his conducting teachers included Anton Nanut. He continued his conducting studies at the ...

(1996–2002) *

(2005–2008) *

Emmanuel Villaume Emmanuel Villaume (born 1964 in Strasbourg, France) is a French orchestra conductor. He is currently music director of the Dallas Opera and chief conductor of the Prague Philharmonia. Biography Villaume began his musical education at the Strasbou ...

(2008–2013) *

(2013–2015) * Uroš Lajovic (2015–2017)

References

External links

Official orchestra webpage
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovenian Slovenian orchestras Cultural organizations based in Ljubljana 1948 establishments in Slovenia