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Festival Ljubljana invites for concert on 3 July celebrating Slovenia’s 20th anniversary

28 June 2011

Slovenia and Croatia are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the states. During those 20 years, Slovenia realised its long dreams and successfully paved its way into the European Union; the country’s neighbour Croatia is looking forward to be part of our EU very soon. The Festival Ljubljana would like to underline the foundation and invites to a special gala event on 3 July 2011 at 9pm. On the renovated Congress Square (Kongresni trg) in Ljubljana, Gustav Mahler’s 8th Symphony will come to life under the baton of the charismatic conductor Valerij Gergijev. The honorary patron of the opening event is the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk. The happening will take place on Congress Square, whose origins date back to the baroque, but whose final form was achieved by Jože Plečnik during the Second World War. With this unforgettable celebration, the Ljubljana Festival will open its 59th Summer Festival and conclude the festivities marking the anniversary of the birth and death of Austrian composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). Over the last year, a cycle of seven outstanding concerts as well as numerous accompanying events organised by the Ljubljana Festival, the Slovenian Philharmonic and RTV Slovenia have taken place in Ljubljana at the composer’s honour. Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand will be performed by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, 21 choirs and eight internationally recognised soloists. The artwork is regarded as one of the greatest vocal-instrumental works, and is also one of the longest. It demands enormous instrumental and vocal forces, and it is therefore a rare opportunity to hear it performed live. This extraordinary event represents an important milestone in the cultural-artistic history of the cities of Ljubljana and Zagreb, and is on a scale that matches the greatest concerts of classical music anywhere in Europe. The spectacular introduction to the 59th summer festival will be followed by 36 world-class events. More than 3000 artists from 30 countries will perform. Among the highlights: Tomaž Pandur with La cadida de los Dioses, Bejart and Boris Eifman ballet and the famous Scala concert under the baton of Daniel Harding.