Ljubljana’s music: the back story

About Ljubljana’s music: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Ljubljana Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Music runs deep in Ljubljana. The Academia Philharmonicorum was founded here in 1701, Gustav Mahler spent a season conducting at the city’s theatre in 1881–82, and today the Slovenian Philharmonic and the Opera fill the winter, while the Ljubljana Festival takes over the summer.

The Philharmonic

The Slovenian Philharmonic traces its roots to the Academia Philharmonicorum of 1701. Its concert hall on Congress Square, built in 1891, is the home of its orchestra and choir.

Opera and ballet

The neo-Renaissance Opera House of 1892, with a modern extension, is the home of the Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Few cities this size offer so much music, so close together.

The Ljubljana Festival

Every summer the Ljubljana Festival brings orchestras, soloists, opera and dance to the open-air stage of Križanke, the former monastery Plečnik transformed in the 1950s, and to other venues around the city.

Concerts all year

Cankarjev dom, the city’s big cultural centre, hosts orchestras, jazz and world music, and churches and squares fill with concerts in December.

Our advice: check the Philharmonic, the Opera, Cankarjev dom and the Ljubljana Festival before you travel, and book early for the summer festival at Križanke.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Ljubljana’s music: the back story before you go.