From a Historical Recording to Contemporary Musical Creativity
At ZKP RTV Slovenia, in collaboration with Radio Slovenia – Program Ars, we are releasing three digital albums: Pesmi, ki so premagale čas (Songs That Defied Time), Tišina v dvojnem zrcalu (Silence in a Double Mirror) and Koncert za klavir in orkester št. 2 (Piano Concerto No. 2). These releases bring together diverse projects, ranging from historical audio documents to contemporary Slovenian musical creativity. Songs That Defied Time and Piano Concerto No. 2 will also be performed live as part of the 40th Slovenian Music Days.
The album Songs That Defied Time presents an exceptional historical document—a recording of the final concert of the Academic Choir before the cultural silence, performed in 1941 at the Union Hall in Ljubljana under the direction of France Marolt. The recording by Rudi Omota, donated to Program Ars in 2023 by engineer and innovator Emilija Soklič, represents one of the most valuable audio documents in Slovenian cultural history.
The concert Songs That Defied Time will take place on Tuesday, April 21, at 6 p.m. in the Union Hall in Ljubljana, and will also be broadcast live on Program Ars and rtvslo.si. The first part of the evening will revive the legendary recording of the “Trbovlje Nightingale,” featuring the RTV Slovenia Youth Choir conducted by Alenka Podpečan and pianist Blaž Pirnat. Works by Emil Adamič, as well as compositions by Marko Tajčević and Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac, will be performed. The soloist will be Tia Udovičić.
The second part will recreate the 1941 concert of the Academic Choir, preserved on Omota’s tape, performed by current and former singers of the APZ Tone Tomšič University of Ljubljana and the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir. The conductors will be Sebastjan Vrhovnik and Rahela Durič, with soloists Barbara Potočnik and Rok Ferenčak. The program will include arrangements by France Marolt, Matija Tomc, Marko Bajuk, and Oskar Dev, as well as a traditional song by Davorin Jenko.
The album Silence in a Double Mirror features a selection of works by composer and long-time Program Ars editor Mihael Paš. His music intertwines electronic experimentation, chamber music, and orchestral structures, merging diverse sound worlds—from intimate solo expressions to complex ensemble soundscapes. A special place is given to the composition Dies Irae, in which the composer’s own heartbeat is incorporated into the sound image. The album is complemented by radio features about the composer, shedding light on his creative work and personality.
The album Piano Concerto No. 2 presents a performance by composer and pianist Žiga Stanič, accompanied by the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Davorin Mori. The work reflects the contemporary era marked by automation and the development of artificial intelligence, and through its polystylistic design and multilayered sound structure, it raises questions of identity in a world of information overload.
The Piano Concerto No. 2 will be performed live on April 23 as the closing event of the 40th Slovenian Music Days at the Slovenian Philharmonic, conducted by internationally acclaimed interpreter of contemporary music Steven Loy. The second part of the concert will feature Paul Clift’s Landscape (overexposed) and the orchestral version of Eisenberg by Vinko Globokar.
