Page 174 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2025. Glasbena interpretacija: med umetniškim in znanstvenim┊Music Interpretation: Between the Artistic and the Scientific. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 8

glasbena interpretacija ... | music interpretation ...
Maks Strmčnik, Uroš Rojko, Larisa Vrhunc, Vito Žuraj, Brina Jež Breza-
všček and many others. Reinforcing this activity over the year were the reg-
ular recitals by the composers’ association, Društvo slovenskih skladatel-
jev [The Society of Slovene Composers], in their delightful recital room. As
these were modestly planned, their aim was to focus on a small number of
players.
The founding of the Slavko Osterc Ensemble under Ivo Petrić in the
1960s was of great importance in promoting and encouraging the creation
of new works for chamber ensembles. The flexibility of this group was in-
valuable for composers as that they did not feel obliged to write for a pre-
scribed combination of players. With the new century it was important for
the development of new ensemble works that a comparable group existed.
The Slavko Osterc Ensemble was reborn in the year 2000 under the direc-
tion of the American-born Steven Loy. With the foundation of the ensem-
ble MD7 in 2002 by the composer Pavel Mihelčič, there was further oppor-
tunity to compose for a group that specialised in performing new works,
rather than assembling various ad hoc ensembles to perform new, differ-
ently scored works. The conductor Steven Loy was appointed to be the per-
manent conductor. Works by Slovene composers, many first performanc-
es, were performed together with those by other contemporary composers.
In the years 2002–2006 Slovene works included, for example, music by Ivo
Petrić (Danubian Septet, Metamorphoses concertantes), Jani Golob (Gym-
nopedie 2, Ivana, Invokacija), Črt Sojar Voglar (The Angel of Love), Pavel
Mihelčič (Sensibile, Film, Strunam), Bojana Šaljić Podešva (Kalejdoskop),
Nina Šenk (Trois couleurs), Marko Mihevc (Kodeks), and Nenad Firšt (V tis-
tem trenutku postanka).
In the years that followed, the ensemble performed many new Slovene
works showing that it was an effective platform for performances, especial-
ly of new works, notably with such impressive works as Tomaž Habe’s The
Nightingale and the Rose and Lojze Lebič’s Barvni krog (‘Colour Circle’).
Other smaller ensembles have been assembled to perform and record such
works as the delicate and adventurous miniatures by Brina Jež Brezavšček
and the exotic, fascinating and interestingly titled works by Neville Hall.
One very important group which was the inspiration for many ad-
vanced new works was the wind quintet Slowind. Their willingness and
that of their associates and colleagues to undertake the performance of
difficult new works and the ability to master the enormous difficulties in-
volved marks them out as the leading group in this field. Founded as long

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