| Cultural Events during the Slovenian EU Council Presidency |
| Cultural Events during the Slovenian EU Council Presidency 2008 - Events Abroad |
JANUARY
Event: Presentation of Slovenia as a special guest at the World Music Market (MIDEM) in Cannes
Date: 28 and 29 January 2008
Venue: Palais des Festivals and other venues in Cannes
The international music trade fair MIDEM takes place in Cannes every January. The trade fair is attended by representatives of many countries, publishing houses, music and information centres, important music institutions and TV and radio broadcasters from all over the world. Within a relatively small area, the trade fair is host to the top music experts and representatives of the world music industry.
In the year of its EU Council Presidency, Slovenia will for the first time be presenting music produced in Slovenia on a special stand, and presenting Slovenian creativity in live and recorded music through a series of shows by the most eminent and inspiring performers: the Slovenian Philharmonic orchestra with the renowned soloist, clarinettist Matej Bekavec, pianist Bojan Gorišek, the Slovenian Radio and Television (RTV) Big Band, the Bratko Bibič trio and the Gajo Jazz Club.
Palais des Festivals, Esplanade Georges Pompidou, 06400 Cannes, France; www.midem.com
MARCH
Event: Concert of the Slovenian Philharmonic in Brussels – official event of the Slovenian EU Presidency
Date: 12 March 2008
Venue: Bozar Palace, Henry Le Boeuf Hall, Brussels
Few symphony orchestras in the world can pride themselves on the same intensive and long-standing tradition as the Slovenian Philharmonic orchestra. It was back in 1701 that, under the name Academia Philharmonicorum, the orchestra was first active. Among the great men who became honorary members of the Slovenian Philharmonic one can find Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Nicolò Paganini, Johannes Brahms, Carlos Kleiber and many other artists of renown.
Under the baton of maestro George Pehlivanian, the Slovenian Philharmonic orchestra will perform Symphony No 2 by Gustav Mahler, who began his artistic career in Ljubljana as conductor of the then Stanovsko gledališče (Estate Theatre).The solo performers will be the world-famous mezzosoprano Marjana Lipovšek and the rising star, soprano Sabina Cvilak. The concert will be the preamble to a meeting of the European Council.
Bozar Palace, rue Ravenstein 23, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, www.bozar.be
Event: Gift from the Slovenian Government – installation of the Plečnik clock in the Justus Lipsius building
Date: 12 March 2008
Venue: Justus Lipsius building, Brussels
As a permanent memento of its EU Presidency in 2008, Slovenia will donate a replica of the Plečnik clock.
The standing clock is a replica of the clock, created by the greatest Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik (1872-1957) in his youth in Vienna. He came to the then Hapsburg capital as a trained joiner's assistant but, with talent and persistence, studying under the great architect Otto Wagner, soon made a break-through and became one of the most promising and, later, one of the most renowned Central European architects of his time.
He designed the clock as part of an interior decor made from dark polished wood, which he presented at the 1904 winter exhibition in the Austrian Museum of Art and Industry. Stylistically, the clock can be placed at the end of the Secession phase, which, particularly in Vienna, was typically characterised by strict geometric ornamentation in the form of rectangles and squares. And it was the Slovenian, Jože Plečnik, who was among its co-creators and thus literally the pioneer of modern arts.
Until recently, we have known the clock only from an old photograph and an imcomplete design. The master clockmaker Jurij Hübscher tackled the demanding task of making a replica in a highly professional manner. Every small detail reflects a great deal of care and effort. We can therefore be all the more proud that today we can admire the lost classical jewel of the Slovenian modern design in all its splendour.
Justus Lipsius building, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175, B-1048 Brussels
JUNE
Event: Donation by the Slovenian Government – artistic commemoration of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency
Date: at the end of June 2008
Venue: the square in front of the Justus Lipsius building, Brussels
As a permanent monument commemorating its EU Council Presidency 2008, Slovenia will erect a sculpture with a symbolic design and significance on the square in front of the Justus Lipsius in Brussels. The monolith is rectangular in shape with the following dimensions, as per the design: 5 m in height and 80 cm in width. It is made of characteristic Slovenian dark tonalite from Pohorje. Into the upper section of the monolithic Slovenian stone structure is inset a metallic form representing an abstract contour of Slovenia. The metal form stands slightly proud of the plane surface of the monolith and also projects at the sides. The edges of the metal form are made of vinyl glass with LED illumination, shimmering slightly in the Slovenian national colours. The context is abstract rather than realistic. The monolith will feature an inscription of the line of the Slovenian anthem in the official languages of the EU Member States, i.e. "Žive naj vsi narodi" (literally “let all nations live”, translated in the poem as “God’s blessing on all nations”) from the poem Zdravljica (The Toast) written by the greatest Slovenian poet, France Prešeren.
The exact date of the event still has to be decided by the relevant authorities in Brussels. It is possible that the dedication of the monument will take place on the eve of the Slovenian National Day.
MAY-AUGUST
Event: Jože Plečnik Exhibition in Brussels
Date: 14 May - end of August 2008
Venue: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
The work of the Slovenian architect, town planner and designer Jože Plečnik (1872-1957) whose creations are spread between Vienna, Prague and Ljubljana, in the last decades through the appearance of post-modernism and the associated re-examination of architectural development has become something of a real discovery for Europe and the whole world. The twentieth century featured other architectural tendencies in parallel to functionalism. Thanks to them, construction skills using classical materials were not entirely lost. Plečnik indeed was the central personality among the opponents of functionalism. His ultimate mastery was achieved through a subtle artistic expression tuned into the very nature of the material at hand, thus maintaining the dialogue with the Greco-Roman heritage. His work is distinguished by extraordinary originality in the use of historical, regional and even provincial elements, each time rounding them off to shape integral pieces that are new and original.
In collaboration with the architect of Slovenian origin and international reputation, Boris Podrecca, the National Gallery of Ljubljana will organise an exhibition on the work of the most notable Slovenian architect, Jože Plečnik. Plečnik is the founder of the so-called Slovenian school of architecture and his works have ennobled the spatial and architectural image of Ljubljana. Plečnik's masterpieces, in which classical design was used in a surprising and quite often unconventional manner, include street furniture and objects of applied art, from chairs and lamps, to goblets and typographies. Plečnik's voluminous works will be presented through original sketches, models, film presentations and records.
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Rue du Musée 9, 1000 Bruxelles, www.fine-arts-museum.be
FEBRUARY-AUGUST
Event: Touring exhibition "The Great War in the Krn Mountains"
Date: February-August 2008
Venue: Vienna, Rome, Ypres, Paris, Brdo pri Kranju
The Kobarid Museum exhibition documents events on the mountainous sector of the Soča front from the entry of the Kingdom of Italy into the Great War up to the decisive battle at Kobarid (Caporetto, Karfreit) in October 1917, after which military operations moved to the Piava River near Venice. The timetable of the exhibition will be as follows:
21 and 22 February – during the informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers, at the Brdo Congress Centre in Brdo pri Kranju;
from 24 February to 8 March – at the Arsenal Museum of Military History in Vienna;
from 22 March to 8 April – at the Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres, Belgium;
from 20 April to 31 May – at the Altare della Patria Museum in Rome;
from 25 June to 31 August – at the French Musée de l'Armée, Dôme des Invalides, Paris.
Brdo Congress Centre, Brdo pri Kranju
In Flanders Fields, Lakenhallen, Grote Markt 34, 8900 Ieper
www.inflandersfields.be/
Musée de l'Armée, Dom des Invalides, www.invalides.org
Altare della Patria, Via S. Pietro in Carcere, Roma (RM)
Museum of Military History Arsenal, Vienna, Object 1, www.hgm.or.at
| Cultural Events during the Slovenian EU Council Presidency 2008 - Events in Slovenia |
JANUARY
Event: Opening event of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue
Date: 7 and 8 January 2008
Venue: Cankarjev Dom Cultural and Congress Centre, Ljubljana
The European Year of Intercultural Dialogue will commence with the Community-level opening event on 7 and 8 January 2008, prepared by Slovenia as the presiding EU country in cooperation with the European Commission. The event will also be the opening ceremony of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency.
The two-day programme will consist of two parts: the conference entitled Intercultural Dialogue as a Fundamental Value of the EU covering culture, media, education and economic development, prepared in cooperation with the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Primorska, and the grand opening ceremony at Community level, prepared in cooperation with the director Barbara Hieng Samobor and the producer, the Cankarjev dom.
You will find more on the opening event and the European Year of the Multicultural Dialogue 2008 at: http://www.mk.gov.si/si/evropsko_leto_medkulturnega_dialoga/
MARCH
Event: Exhibition on Primož Trubar
Date: 6 March 2008
Venue: National Museum of Ljubljana, new premises on Metelkova Streeet
The exhibition will honour the 500th anniversary of the birth of the creator of the first Slovenian book and the Slovene literary language, Primož Trubar (1508-1586). It will also show the important phases and turning points in his life and work and his personality, as well as the mind-set of the environment which inspired and supported his work.
Along with Trubar's life, the exhibition will present the sixteenth-century conditions and certain phenomena of the age linked with protestantism.
APRIL
Event: Exhibition "Slovenska moderna" (Early Modernism in Slovenia) (1890-1920)
Date: 23 April 2008
Venue: National Gallery of Ljubljana
The exhibition will focus on the period in Slovenian history of art between 1890 and 1920, the "Slovenska moderna" period. The aim of the exhibition is to create a tangible three-dimensional image of the age and the developments through which Slovenian impressionism and the arts in general established the self-image of Slovenians as self-confident Europeans.
MAY
Event: Jazz gre naprej/Jazz Goes Ahead (Germany/Portugal/Slovenia)
Date: 10-20 May 2008
Venue: Cerkno
As part of the Cerkno Jazz Festival, the third part of a trilateral project between Germany, Portugal and Slovenia will take place in Cerkno. Jazz musicians from the three countries will perform together at a workshop and then go on tour, presenting a series of concerts across Slovenia.
Event: IETM Plenary Meeting
Date: 15-18 May 2008
Venue: TBA
The purpose of the IETM (Informal European Theatre Meeting) network is to contribute to the quality, development and improvement of conditions for the performing arts in the global environment through dynamic exchange of information and presentations of artists. Along with presentations, round tables and working sessions, the plenary meeting will also include a festival programme, which will present Slovenian artistic work currently being produced to participants from abroad.
Photo: IETM Archives
Event: Presentation of Lipicanci (Lipizzaner horses)
Date: 18-20 May 2008
Venue: Brdo pri Kranju
On the occasion of the Conference of Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries, a presentation of the Lipizzaner breed of horses will take place at Brdo pri Kranju. The Lipicanec (the Lipizzan) breed originates from a small Kras village of Lipica in the Karst Region of Slovenia and was developed by crossbreeding local Karst horses with Andalusian, Neapolitan, Danish and Arab breeds. One of the oldest stud farms in the world, the Lipica Stud Farm is systematically represented with successes in the international sports arena, where it has achieved notable results at European championships, the Olympic Games and World Cup competitions.
JUNE
Event: International Symposium on Primož Trubar
Date: 5-7 June 2008
Venue: The Scientific and Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Science and Arts (ZRC SAZU), Ljubljana
The aim of the International Symposium on Languages and Identities organised in the honour of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Primož Trubar is to reconsider the fundamental issues of the existence of individuals, nations and language communities in the past, present and future. Taking a range of different experiences into consideration, it will define the visions which influenced strategies of survival and development in different historical periods.
Photo: ZRC SAZU Archives
Event: International Festival of Slovenian Choruses
Date: 22 June 2008
Venue: Šentvid pri Stični
The traditional annual meeting of choirs from Slovenia and choirs of the Slovenian national minorities abroad, which is usually attended by up to 250 choirs and approximately 5 000 singers, is one of the largest choral events in Europe.
In 2008, the festival will host choirs from all the EU Member States which have collaborated with Slovenian choruses in the past.
Photo: JSKD Archives
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