by Nina Vaclavikova
Interview: Darko Brlek, general and artistic director of the Ljubljana Festival
In the depths of winter, when much of Central Europe slows down, Ljubljana leans into culture. From Feb. 10 to March 2, 2026, the Slovenian capital will host the ninth edition of the Ljubljana Winter Festival, a three-week series of classical concerts and competitions that has become one of the city’s most reliable fixtures for international music.
Centered on Cankarjev dom and the Slovenian Philharmonic, the festival brings together leading conductors, soloists and ensembles from across Europe with Slovenia’s own orchestras and young musicians. Over the years, it has carved out a distinctive role: a winter counterpart to Ljubljana’s better-known summer festival, offering high-level performances at a time when cultural calendars elsewhere tend to thin out.
The festival opens on Feb. 10 with a large-scale statement. Hector Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette, the composer’s dramatic symphony inspired by Shakespeare, will be performed in the Gallus Hall of Cankarjev dom under the direction of Charles Dutoit, a veteran conductor whose career spans more than six decades. The Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, joined by international choirs and vocal soloists, will bring Berlioz’s richly colored score to life, setting an ambitious tone for what follows.
Over the next week, the program shifts between intimacy and experimentation. On Feb. 12, a literary-musical evening at Križanke combines harp music with spoken word, exploring the artistic world of the Slovenian painter Ivana Kobilca through texts and contemporary compositions. On Feb. 17, the Slokar Trombone Quartet, one of Europe’s longest-standing brass ensembles, appears at the Slovenian Philharmonic, presenting a program that moves from early music to modern and jazz-inflected works, joined by students from Ljubljana’s conservatory. A day later, Ensemble Dissonancebrings a Mediterranean-themed concert to the same hall, with Spanish guest artists and music inspired by Madrid, Valencia and the coastal landscapes of Spain and Italy.
A different kind of intensity arrives with the Ljubljana Festival International Piano Competition, running from Feb. 21 to March 1. Thirty pianists from 19 countries will compete in several rounds, culminating in orchestral finals at Cankarjev dom. The €50,000 first prize makes it one of the more lucrative piano competitions in the region, and an international jury chaired by the renowned Slovenian pianist Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak will decide the winners.
The festival concludes on March 2 with a recital by Grigory Sokolov, a pianist known for his uncompromising approach to performance and his selective concert schedule. Sokolov’s appearances are rare enough to be events in themselves, and his return to Ljubljana serves as a quiet but emphatic closing to the season.
Tickets for the Winter Festival are available through ljubljanafestival.si, at the Križanke box office, and through Eventim outlets. Members of the Festival Ljubljana Club receive a 10 percent discount.
