Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ent Slovenia and Yugoslavia. Goran Vojnovič (1980-) wrote a satire called
Čefurji Raus!
(2009), which is translated as
Southern Scum Out!
and refers to those from the other
former Yugoslav republics living in Slovenia.
Music
As elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe, music - especially the classical variety - is
very important in Slovenia. There is a network of music schools at the secondary level
across the nation, and attendance at concerts and recitals is high in cities and towns.
Contemporary classical composers whose
reputations go well beyond the borders of
Slovenia include Primož Ramovš, Marjan Koz-
ina, Lojze Lebič and the ultramodernist Vinko
Globokar, who was born in France. Aldo Ku-
mar has received awards for his theatre and
film compositions; Milko Lazar is one of the
more interesting composer-musicians to emerge in recent years. Opera buffs won't want
to miss out on the chance to hear Marjana Lipovšek and Argentina-born Bernarda Fink,
the country's foremost mezzo-sopranos.
Popular music runs the gamut from Slovenian
chanson
(eg Vita Mavrič) and folk to
jazz and mainstream polka best, exemplified by the Avsenik Brothers Ensemble.
However, it was punk music in the late 1970s and early 1980s that put Slovenia on the
world stage. The most celebrated groups were Pankrti, Borghesia and especially Laibach,
and they were imitated throughout Eastern Europe. The most popular rock band in Slove-
nia today remains Siddharta, formed in 1995 and still going strong.
The bilingual
Slovenian Folk Songs/Slovenske
Ljudske Pesmi
(ed Marko Terseglav) is a good in-
troduction to what was (and sometimes still is) sung
up in them thar hills.
FOLK MUSIC
Ljudska glasba
(folk music) has developed independently from other forms of music over the centuries. Tradition-
al folk instruments include the
frajtonarica
(button accordion),
cimbalom
(a stringed instrument played with
sticks),
bisernica
(lute),
zvegla
(wooden cross flute),
okarina
(clay flute),
šurle
(Istrian double flute),
trstenke
(reed pipes), Jew's harp,
lončeni bajs
(earthenware bass),
berdo
(contrabass) and
brač
(eight-string guitar).
Folk-music performances are usually local affairs and are very popular in Dolenjska and especially Bela
Krajina. There's also been a modern folk-music revival in recent years. Listen for the groups Katice and Katalena,
who play traditional Slovenian music with a modern twist, and Terra Folk, a quintessential world-music band.
