Klasika III - Izbor sodobnih orkesterskih in ansambelskih skladb

There is no doubt that Slovenia has become a composing superpower over the last two decades. This is confirmed by the outstanding results in the International Rostrum of Composers and performances by prestigious orchestras and contemporary music ensembles. Such successes may seem somewhat surprising, as few Slovenian composers had previously found their way into the international spotlight, and most of those who did achieve renown lived outside the borders of their homeland. These changes can certainly be linked to the new political situation after Slovenia’s independence in 1991 and its subsequent integration into the European Union. This opened the doors of foreign countries to the new generation of composers, while the general global connection resulting from widespread Internet connectivity has also played an important role.
This connectivity has enabled composers of the newer generations to live a kind of double life: it has been easier for them to become acquainted with the latest artistic movements in Europe without having to move permanently abroad, as was the case for previous generations (Vinko Globokar, Janez Matičič, Uroš Rojko). This shift can be observed even among the oldest composers on the present anthology, all of whom perfected their knowledge abroad but then returned to their homeland, without forsaking their outstanding international successes. This is the case for Larisa Vrhunc (1967), who, after completing her studies in Ljubljana, honed her skills in Geneva, Lyon and Paris. She cites Brian Ferneyhough as her most important mentor, and it could be argued that she adopts some of the characteristics of the so-called “second modernism” of this greatest master of new complexity: a consistent loyalty to structure, a focus on working with sound, and a search for new sonorities. In the creation of these sonorities, however, Vrhunc is not driven by the idea of achieving ​​the densest and most complex texture possible, but rather by the immanent qualities of sound itself, even the fine details that separate sonority from silence, which is why in some of her works it is impossible to overlook the inspiration derived from the works of the French spectralists.