Page 326 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2026 Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes.../Composers’ Societies Past and Present...

Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes | Composers’ Societies Past and Present
determined to “eliminate the sediments of the past, not only from the point
of view of art, but also as regards contacts between artists from neighbour-
17
ing nations.” These contacts intensified greatly through the activities of
the Slavko Osterc Ensemble. In this context I should mention the record-
ing of albums of works by composers from Kosovo (in 1978) and albums by
numerous other composers from the former Yugoslav republics, with Cro-
atian composers – including Bogdan Gagić (1931–2019), Frano Parać (born
in 1948) and others – particularly strongly represented.
Following a performance in Milan, a reporter (“P.V.”) from leading
Italian daily Corriere della Sera named the Slavko Osterc Ensemble an am-
bassador of Yugoslav and, in particular, Slovene culture. He goes on to
say that the Ensemble is made up of soloists “of international quality” un-
der the artistic direction of “a first-rate artist and expert who is always well
18
prepared.” Of the performances, he particularly singles out the Nonet by
Slavko Osterc and Signali by Primož Ramovš. Petrić’s contribution as con-
ductor is also highlighted by the critic of the Austrian newspaper Kleine
Zeitung, who, in an article entitled “Slowenen eroffnen die Woche der Be-
gegnung” (Slovenes open the week of encounters), describes the Ensemble’s
performance at its concert on 16 June 1969 as “masterful” and conductor Ivo
Petrić as “unsurpassable”. 19

Members of the Slavko Osterc Ensemble:
Slovenia’s most successful performers
More than 110 performers passed through the Ensemble’s ranks during its
initial two decades of activity. It should be emphasised, however, that Petrić
– the only constant member of the Ensemble, and, for two decades, both
its conductor and its artistic director – succeeded in gathering together the
finest Slovene performers (including the violinist Igor Ozim, the flautist
Fedja Rupel, the trumpeter Stanko Arnold, the Lorenz brothers, the pia-
nist Aci Bertoncelj and many others), with whom the Ensemble achieved
a high level of quality at its concerts, as was consistently confirmed by the
numerous reviews published in domestic and foreign media. The Ensemble
usually consisted of four to five string players with some additional winds,
brass, percussion, piano and harp. The high turnover of musicians was, as

17 Ubald Vrabec, Primorski dnevnik XXI, no. 90 (16 April 1965).
18 Report from a performance in Milan, 26 October 1971. P.V., Corriere della Sera, 26
October 1971
19 Anon., “Slowenen eroffnen die Woche der Begegnung,” Kleine Zeitung, 16 June 1969.

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