The current times are somewhat similar for us. We cannot be without music, and even when it is silenced we can swirl it about in our minds and remember it for an even longer time – even without the help of concerts, recordings or sheet music. After having been separated from it for such a lengthy period, it will now sound even more beautiful and even more intense. It will become more than just a satisfying bouquet of tones – it will also represent an inextinguishable joy for life. As long as we live, music will live. And just like life, which can grow from the smallest piece of fruit, when concert life is pruned music will eventually sprout and come to life at the most humble opportunity.
And that’s exactly what we’re celebrating! We are celebrating life, music, the return of listeners to concert halls and musicians to stages. Looking forward to new discoveries and gatherings, it is in this spirit that we offer Festival Maribor 2020. We love music, we miss it and we do not accept a life without it. Patience, hope and the belief that it will sound again without hesitation – these are what keep us going though these difficult months. This hope will not evaporate, even when more patience is required; and we have more than enough of that because we know that every crises has an end. We will defeat the virus and play and sing on!
Beethoven, whose celebratory year turned into an unforgettable turning point in recent human history, will indeed be remembered. As life writes the most imaginative stories, so Beethoven and mobile phones have both found themselves in the program of our festival in an unpredictable way. During the shutdown of public life, mobile phones became our indispensable companions, a source of entertainment, consolation, connection and socializing, and in our case, musical instruments as well.
As always we will celebrate in the very best company, with probing and original performers who are among the most well-loved and sought-after musicians of our time, cellist Nicolas Altstaedt and Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang. Accompanied by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Marko Letonja, we will hear the famous Brahms Double Concerto. The star duo will be joined by British violist Lawrence Power, hailed by critics as both soloist and chamber musician, for an evening of trios by Beethoven, whose genius lies at the heart of this year’s festival program. With the fiery and sensitive Austrian duo BartholomeyBittmann we will test the boundaries of classical music (and musical instruments), and with the Slovenian Philharmonic Chamber String Orchestra we will blur the line between performers and listeners. In Anders Lind’s daring composition for orchestra and smartphones, the audience will participate as performers. If you’ve ever dreamed of performing at a classical concert, now is your chance to make that dream become a reality. We also invite you to Lind’s interactive sound exhibition Lines, where music will emerge not from notes but from your movement!
We’ve prepared all this and more for this year’s Festival Maribor. We hope you will join us again in September and that together we will create and enjoy new, unusual and exhilarating unforgettable musical experiences!
Barbara Švrljuga Hergovich
Festival Maribor Program Director
Narodni dom Maribor