Page 329 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2026 Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes.../Composers’ Societies Past and Present...

The Slavko Osterc Ensemble (1961–1981): The Principal Promoter of the Creativity …
Contemporary Slovene chamber music grew significantly stronger un-
der Petrić’s artistic direction of the Ensemble. Petrić himself explains that
he “composed a whole series of pieces for concert performances by various
29
line-ups of the Ensemble.” “Since it was also able to perform these pieces im-
mediately, this can be said to have provided [him] with much needed experi-
ence in chamber music composition.” 30
There is no question that, with the Slavko Osterc Ensemble, cham-
ber music by Slovene composers and Slovene musical creativity in gener-
al gained its most important promoter, both in Yugoslavia and abroad. This
extremely important mission is continued today by a number of similar
contemporary music ensembles (MD7, Ensemble Dissonance, The Slovene
Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra etc.).
It was the performance activities of the Slavko Osterc Ensemble, sup-
ported by simultaneous publications of sheet music by Edicije DSS, that en-
couraged the creative endeavours of DSS members and, via international
connections and comparisons with the situation in other countries, pro-
vided an essential confidence boost for Slovene composers. In 1979, after
almost two decades at the head of the Ensemble, Petrić took over the di-
rection of the Slovenian Philharmonic, which he then led for the next dec-
ade and a half. This new position was incompatible with his leadership of
the Slavko Osterc Ensemble, with the result that the latter ceased its activ-
ities in 1981.
Without a doubt, the tireless efforts of Ivo Petrić left a significant mark
on the activities of some of the most important performing ensembles in
Slovenia in the second half of the twentieth century and helped shape the
publishing and concert policy of the DSS. Petrić’s dual role as artistic direc-
tor and editor of Edicije DSS is therefore of key importance for the creativ-
ity of Slovene composers in the second half of the twentieth century, and
his contribution to Slovene music is an essential one. It would therefore be
well worth examining his interpretational and organisational contribution
in greater detail in the future.

29 Štular, Glasbeno delo Ansambla Slavko Osterc, 15.
30 Ibid.

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