Nika Perunović, vocals; Arsenije Krstić, piano; Tadej Kampl, bass; Janez Gabrič, drums

A Slovenian music group, Patetico’s alchemic blend of music and lyrics reattaches the original noble connotation to the word "pathetic”. Since their 2003 ‘kick-off’, they have stood on a par with Slovenia’s most original music creators – with powerful lyrics, soulful vocals and the fiery energy of live music. With three albums under their belt (Prolog, Patetico, and Vse je vredu z mojo dušo), a new creative path is unfolding with the band’s latest project, Armadilo.

More than a mere collection of songs – Armadillo is a spatial-emotional experience and a metaphor for life marked by both hardness and vulnerability. According to the band members, the album sounds both like a racehorse at the start of its racing career, and a stargazing reflection on a galaxy existing somewhere beyond the fifth dimension. Their music combines poetry, jazz, and pop grooves with raw sincerity, creating a sense of authenticity, synchronicity, and ‘spine-tingling’ thrills. 

A project created with great dedication and love, Armadilo urges us to listen with an open heart and a curious mind.
 

19:30
Pre-concert talk with Simone Heilgendorff (moderated by: Gregor Pompe)

20:00
Concert 
The concert Let’s Experiment! offers an in-depth perspective on the experimental practices that emerged in the second half of the twentieth century, where the boundaries between composition, interpretation, and performance were consciously dissolved. The performer assumes the role of co-creator, and the score becomes a site of open exploration. In the works of Pauline Oliveros and Karlheinz Stockhausen, where text replaces traditional notation, one observes a shift from prescriptive writing towards a conceptual understanding of the musical event. Oliveros develops a practice of deep listening as a form of sonic consciousness, while Stockhausen, in his cycle Aus den sieben Tagen (From the Seven Days), articulates the paradigm of “intuitive music”. The works of Dieter Schnebel extend this experience into the domains of corporeality and space, whereas Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes provide a historical framework for these experimental inquiries.

Under the artistic direction of Simone Heilgendorff—renowned violist, musicologist, and researcher of performative practices—the concert establishes a reflective space for the exploration of relationships between sound and silence, and between individual and collective creativity.

Programme 
Selection from the collections:
Earle Brown, Folio
John Cage, Song Books
John Cage, Sonatas and Interludes
Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening 
Dieter Schnebel, Museumsstücke I
Dieter Schnebel, MoMA Museumsstücke II
Karlheinz Stockhausen, Aus den sieben Tagen
Chrfistian Wolf, Prose Collection
Karlheinz Essl, Fontana Mixer 

Performers: Simone Heilgendorff (concept & artistic leadership), Ina Puntar (voice), Lucija Lorenzutti (piano), Rok Zalokar (electronics, intermedia), Urška Rihtaršič (harp), Weronika Partyka (saxophone), Luka Poljanec (percussion)

Co-produced by Društvo UHO (New Music Forum) and Cankarjev dom. 

New Music Forum 2025 Festival: An Open Cage 
Featured Composer: John Cage 
11–26 November, various venues 
More >>
 

A series of lectures on John Cage and the artistic currents of his time — encompassing music, visual art, and dance — will illuminate the historical contexts and open broader reflections on his aesthetic legacy. The second part of the event features the presentation of the Slovene translation of Cage’s seminal book Silence, conceived as a performative act in the spirit of Cage’s own artistic philosophy.

19:30 
Cage and Music (dr. Gregor Pompe)
Cage and fine arts (dr. Rebeka Vidrih)
Cage and contemporary dance (Rok Vevar)

21:00
Presentation of the translation of the book Silence by John Cage
Performers: CPG impro (Primož Čunik, Ana Pepelnik, Tomaž Grom)

Co-produced by Društvo UHO (New Music Forum) and Cankarjev dom. 
In collaboration with Zavod Sploh and LUD Šerpa. 

New Music Forum 2025 Festival: An Open Cage 
Featured Composer: John Cage 
11–26 November, various venues 
More >>

The concert titled Instrumental Theatre draws from John Cage’s concept of musical performance as a performative act—a notion that Mauricio Kagel further developed and established as a form of musical theatre during the 1960s and 1970s. The programme features works by composers who explore the intersection of music and theatre from various perspectives: from Cage’s early experiments in extended interpretation (such as Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs and Aria) to conceptually driven pieces by Cathy Berberian, Vinko Globokar, and Mauricio Kagel, in which the performer assumes an active, performative role as a co-creator of the stage action.

Within this framework, the programme also includes works by Primož Ramovš, who adapts the ideas of instrumental theatre into his distinctive sonic and structural language, and Petra Strahovnik, who subtly continues this tradition, situating it firmly within a contemporary context.

Programme: 
John Cage, Cheap Imitations I
Cathy Berberian, Stripsody
John Cage, The wonderful widow of eighteen springs
John Cage, Aria
Vinko Globokar, Metamorphosis
Mauricio Kagel, Match
Primož Ramovš, Pentektasis
Primož Ramovš, (Ne)-simetrija
Petra Strahovnik, 4’44’’
Performed by members of the New Music Forum Ensemble.

Co-produced by Društvo UHO (New Music Forum) and Cankarjev dom. 

New Music Forum 2025 Festival: An Open Cage 
Featured Composer: John Cage 
11–26 November, various venues 
More >>

Tectonic shifts in global geopolitics, the drive for internal transformation within the European Union, and a renewed search for identity in the West call upon us to reconsider what Central Europe is, what it once was, and what it might yet become.

The Slovenes, situated at the crossroads of the Latin, Slavic, and Germanic worlds, have throughout history inhabited the Central European space culturally, religiously, intellectually, and geopolitically. At the same time, however, the position of Slovenia and the Slovenes within the region has often remained undefined—both in public discourse and in strategic orientation. This conference seeks to reassess and redefine that position. It aims to revive the idea of Mitteleuropa as something more than a mere historical-geographical curiosity or a nostalgic ideal. The ambition is to present Central Europe as a living intellectual, cultural, and political space—an axis of shared experiences, values, and challenges.

In doing so, we also wish to challenge ideological simplifications: Central Europe is neither merely a transit zone nor a periphery, but a center in its own right, with diverse voices and traditions that can help reshape Europe beyond technocratic centralism and geopolitical naivety.

View the conference programme HERE.

Kris Davis, piano; Robert Hurst, double basss; Johnathan Blake, drums

Kris Davis is a Grammy Award-winning pianist and composer described by The New York Times as a beacon for “deciding where to hear jazz [in New York] on a given night.” Davis has released 24 recordings as a leader or co-leader and collaborated with artists such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Dave Holland, John Zorn, Craig Taborn, Ingrid Laubrock, Tyshawn Sorey and Esperanza Spalding.  She was named a 2021 Doris Duke Artist alongside Wayne Shorter and Danilo Perez, Pianist of the Year by DownBeat magazine in 2022 and 2020, and Pianist and Composer of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2021.  In 2019, Kris Davis’ Diatom Ribbons was named jazz album of the year by both The New York Times and the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll.  

The album draws from the musical worlds of free improvisation, spoken word, electronica, mainstream jazz, R&B and rock. In September 2023, Davis released Diatom Ribbons – Live at the Village Vanguard featuring Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, Julian Lage on guitar, Val Jeanty on turntables and electronics, and Trevor Dunn on bass.  Davis is the Associate Program Director of Creative Development at the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice and the founder of Pyroclastic Records. She is a Steinway Artist. 
 

Cene Resnik, saxophone; tenor saxophone; Samo Šalamon, guitar; Samuel Ber, drums

The trio brings together three notable European jazz artists: established Slovenian mavens, saxophonist Cene Resnik and guitarist Samo Šalamon have been exploring the trio format (guitar, saxophone, drums) for some time, most notably with the drummer Bojan Krhlanko on the album Timelessness (2021). This time they are joined by Belgian drummer Samuel Ber, one of Europe’s finest young percussionists committed to exploring new soundworlds and pursuing an open approach to improvisation. Having performed at the Porgy & Bess Club in Vienna and Jazz Cerkno in a quartet with Michael Formanek on bass, their international visibility is markedly increasing. Their music is grounded in spontaneous dialogue, exploring different textures and making music in the moment – always fresh, intense and unpredictable. It won critical praise for striking a subtle balance between individual expression and collective drive. Their album The Thinkers came out last year; the CD concert will feature brand-new material.
 

Rokia Koné, vocal; Salif Koné, guitar; Yahel Camara, percussion

The Malian diva Rokia Koné and her acoustic trio featuring virtuoso guitarist Salif Koné and percussionist Yahael Camaro are touring Europe this autumn with Rokia’s new album, to be released on Real World Records in next year.

Mali’s most beloved and dynamic artist is constantly evolving. Her voice soars – pure, clear, and true – above the infectious Mande guitar grooves and traditional rhythms, and her performances are invariably captivating, as Koné runs the gamut of emotion from joy to despair, fury to tenderness, wielding that astounding voice with grace and power.

Jan Sever, piano; Jošt Lampret, bass; Kristijan Krajnčan, drums; Jerca Rožnik Novak, dance

As a classical pianist, Jan Sever expanded his horizons decades ago by searching for his own, singular identity outside his primary musical field. Years of honing his skills in classical music whilst exploring other genres and a variety of settings finally culminated in original projects of entirely improvised piano music. The result of seven years of creativity and exploration, Sever’s upcoming album Nordica gives voice to the creative spectrum that emerges between complete improvisation and notated music.
 

The B2B world is changing rapidly: new strategies and tactics, new sales and purchasing funnels, unprecedented technological developments, and last but not least – societal shifts. To the traditional objectives, such as generating sales opportunities followed by the growth of sales and business results, we are adding softer goals that are difficult to measure even with the most advanced technology, yet we know they have a strong impact. Alongside high-quality content, social responsibility and sustainability are increasingly in the spotlight. At the same time, we are facing a shortage of professionals and a constant flow of new approaches that require continuous learning.