13th Arsana Festival
WORLD MUSIC EXPERIENCES
17th–29th July 2021, Ptuj, Slovenia
Every July, Slovenia’s oldest city of Ptuj transforms into a global meeting place for music artists from all around the globe. World-class concerts of classical music, jazz, ethno, world music, rock, instrumental and vocal music are joined by numerous street events such as the Stage of The Youth, the Children’s Music Festival, the Music in the City, the Open Kitchen, and a rich accompanying programme. The previous twelve editions of the Arsana Festival have hosted over 8,500 artists at more than 850 events and attracted over 370,000 visitors. This year, between 17th and 29th July 2021, Ptuj will once more proudly welcome visitors to the 13th Arsana Festival. Numerous events will again also be available via livestreaming.
We’ll be entering the 13th edition of the festival with the Opera Evening on Panorama hill, performed by Opera SNG Maribor with a symphony orchestra, choir and soloists, conducted by Simon Krečič.
One of the highlights of this year’s festival will be Naturally 7, one of the world’s premier vocal groups. After a year-and-a-half-long break due to the Covid pandemic, they’re once again returning to the stage and are visiting Slovenia’s oldest city as part of a wider European tour.
The Slovenian artists Vox Arsana, Vlado Kreslin and the string orchestra led by Matija Krečič have stepped together and prepared fresh orchestral arrangements of numerous legendary hits composed by the “gentleman with the black guitar”. Kreslin’s famous hits will dress in the musical colours of ethno, chanson, classical music and polyphonic jazz.
Under the guidance of Patrik Greblo, outstanding performers such as Elda Viler, Oto Pestner, Nuša Derenda, Nina Strnad and Saša Lešnjek, along with the Big Band RTV Slovenija – one of the oldest bands of its kind in Europe – will accompany us into a summer night imbued with Slovenian song and musical melancholy. Moderator of the evening will be Tilen Artač.
Connoisseurs of classical music will be delighted by Sabina Cvilak, Slovenia’s internationally most renowned opera singer. She will be performing not only operatic works, but also stylistically adventurous interpretations of Slovenian songs together with French and Spanish evergreens. She will be joined on the main stage by Janez Dovč and Goran Krmac on accordion and tuba.
The 13th edition of the international Arsana Festival will be concluded in spectacular fashion, with powerful rhythms, rich harmonies and tons of positive energy, by none other than Slovenia’s world-famous vocal orchestra Perpetuum Jazzile.
Our newest venue in the Sunny Park will be home to a range of genres that haven’t appeared at the Arsana Festival so far. Titled “Music in the Park”, this series of events will include the Amy Winehouse tribute by June, a concert by the young Ptuj band Infected, and a concert by the Shagadelic rock ‘n’ roll five Joker out.
Music in the City remains a mainstay of the festival’s heartbeat. Ptuj is home to a number of magical boutique venues, which form just the right backdrop for summer music events. The courtyard of the Home of culture MuziKafe will host the band PLIŠ as well as a concert by the seasoned masters Vasko Atanasovski and Zoran Majstorović with their project Balkan Duo, while the young Fridas jazz quartet ft. Katarina Samobor will be performing at the Mitra hotel.
Our festival ambassador Tadej Toš, a Ptuj native, will once again take to the stage in the southern courtyard of the Dominican monastery.
The Festive hall of Ptuj Castle will come alive with the sound of classical music. The series of concerts will open with a recital by Marko Črnčec, introducing a wide musical repertoire with numerous interpretations of great works by legends of jazz and classical music. Next up are a range of concerts by young virtuosi: Tim Jančar, CWA – Classical with attitude, and students of the Academy of Music of the University of Ljubljana Trio Affetuoso, Trio Aurum, Trio Muska and Trio La – mer.
The Slovenski trg Square will host the traditional Stage of the Youth, a series of seven consecutive evening events, all with free admission: Andrej and Ida, Janez Ivačič, LPS, MYA, Re-punk, Friški Pir, and Dora Šandor, as well as the closing event of the Summer Music School, a three-day course that will accompany this year’s Children’s Music Festival with creative workshops, musical fairytales and artistic performances.
For any inquiries or additional information, please call 05 99 55 041 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. or contact us by e-mail at info@arsana.si. For the latest news and giveaways, visit our social media channels:
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