Artistic director Domen Marinčič he has been taking care of the dynamics of the Radovljica Festival for two decades. He emphasized that this year’s repertoire ranges “from Richard the Lionheart to the chamber music of Robert Schumann”. He added that this covers as many as eight centuries. As many as six concerts will feature baroque music, but the programs are very different.
A concert will open the festival Mozart, Haydn and Beethovenwhich will feature an Italian string quartet Altemps presented the development of the string quartet as one of the most important forms of chamber music on historical instruments. The conclusion of the festival will belong to romance, as the last concert will feature works by Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms performed by an international ensemble on historic piano and strings.
In the spirit of the Baroque
A special place in the program is again occupied by baroque music. For the fourth time, an extensive oratorio will be performed at the festival, this time Magdalene’s conversion by the composer Giovanni Bononcini, Handel’s greatest rival in 18th-century England. At the concert, the festival baroque orchestra will work with internationally renowned soloists Kathryn Hottiger, Francesco Ascioti, Nikolina Hrkać and Lisandro Abadie.
Marinčič points out that the festival not only represents well-known names in European music, but also lesser-known treasures. Among them are the organ masses of Claudio Merulo, the famous organist of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Works from the collection of the Ljubljana Cathedral will be performed in the church in Velesovo in a historically based form, alternating between organ polyphony and choral singing.
An important part of this year’s program remains Slovenian musical heritage. Slovenian musicians will perform at four concerts, and two programs will be directly related to the heritage of the Slovenian area. There will be a concert between them Italian raptureon which he will play the recorder Erazem Žganjarone of the most prominent young Slovenian performers of early music.
Back in the footsteps of Bach
The festival continues the multi-year cycle of performing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. This year there will be two Croatian-Italian flutists Eleonora Bišćević and a Mexican harpsichordist Melanie Flores presented Bach sonatas for flute and harpsichord. Among the more interesting events will be a recital by an Austrian harpist Margret Köllwhich will take listeners to the musical world of 17th-century Naples and the legend of the mermaid Parthenope.
The concert attracts special attention Richard the Lionheart and the troubadourswhich will feature a French ensemble Le Miroir de Musique presented medieval poems that accompanied the struggle for the English crown with satire and political criticism. Marinčič explained that in their songs the troubadours made fun of the political intrigues that led to the coronation of Richard the Lionheart as the King of England.
Among the highlights will be a performance by a Croatian violinist Bojan Čičićconcertmaster of some of Britain’s most prominent early music ensembles. Tartini’s famous works will be on the program of his solo evening The devil trill and works related to the rich tradition of virtuoso violin repertoire.
This year, the Radovljica Festival will host artists from Europe, Australia, Israel and Latin America, including Mexico and Colombia. As much as half of this year’s programs were created specifically for the Radovlji festival. President of the Radovljica Association of Old Music Lovers Domain Vurnik during the presentation he emphasized the importance of support from the local environment and the state. The festival was also successful in the multi-year tender of the Ministry of Culture. Again this year, a free festival bus will be organized for visitors between the venues in Radovljica and Velesovo.
