Since the Middle Ages, Maribor has been known as a town with its doors wide open, a place of comings and goings. From the clash of the Jewish and Christian cultures, the city on the Drava River has been a place of change and commotion, an intersection of different traditions and cultures. Their constant evolvements and shifts are the building blocks of Maribor's history, a splendid century-long gallery presenting thousands of images. They offer an astonishing variety of contexts and contrasts, from the opulence and splendour of Austro-Hungarian grandiosity to the vibrancy and tumult of the ever-restless Balkans.
The turbulent and diverse history of our town is what the Maribor Festival 2024 is focused on. It is no surprise that Mate Bekavac, the new creative force behind the festival's programmes, chose a theme so profoundly rooted in Maribor's social and musical identity for his first collaboration with our festival. As a musical nomad, Bekavac not only constantly observes the interweaving of cultures, he lives it, thus transforming the general social dynamics into an intimate experience. He built the festival program, symbolically named "Embracing Roots," upon this fragile and sensitive intersection of historical, personal, objective, and intimate, the society and the individual within it. How does the past shape the present? How do roots shape the tree? How do all these relations resonate in music— both past and contemporary? These are the questions we will seek the answers to in the company of excellent musicians from the regions that have influenced the image of our city over the centuries. Join us from September 11th to September 21st for an exciting encounter of past and present!
Similarly thrilling, even though experienced year after year, is the encounter of the old and the new year. As we have just stepped into the latter, there is still time to add our best wishes for your 2024: may it be full of exciting discoveries and good music!
Text by. Maja Pirš