Bach's Chorales and instrumentals

Marko Hatlak’s rich artistic career has for a number of years included a mission to transfer the masterpieces of Johann Sebastian Bach into the sound world of the accordion. Together with the versatile Bernarda and Marcos Fink, who have been enriching Slovenia’s musical landscape for years with their well-considered performances of works from the baroque and romantic repertoires, and four first-class musicians, he has prepared, for this year’s Winter Festival, a unique evening dedicated to Bach’s vocal works. Appearing in the rarely heard combination of flute, piano, violin and double bass will be Eva-Nina Kozmus, winner of the Eurovision Young Musician title in 2010, Aleksandra Pavlovič, an experienced pianist and respected chamber musician and teacher, Jelena Pejić, an award-winning violinist who collaborates with numerous prestigious ensembles across the wider region, and Stevan Jovanović, a Deputy Head of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and temporary leader of the double bass section, who in 2023 was proclaimed the best young artist in Serbia. To make the experience of Bach’s intricate polyphonies truly complete, the performers will be joined by the 30-member Chamber Choir of the Glasbena Matica Ljubljana.

The concert programme devotes particular attention to the carefully designed dramaturgy of the event. To start with, we will hear Marko Hatlak’s performance of a Lutheran chorale used by Bach in several works. This will be followed by excerpts from the St Matthew Passion,  one of the masterpieces of baroque sacred music. The centrepiece of the concert will be Bach’s Concerto for two harpsichords in C major,  originally composed for two keyboard instruments but performed here by concert grand piano and accordion. Following a return to the dramatic narrative of the Crucifixion, the dramaturgical arc will conclude with excerpts from two cantatas. The concert will end as it began: with a solo accordion performance of the intimate opening Aria of the Goldberg Variations.  A complete and carefully planned evening full of Bach’s timeless music that has been inspiring composers, musicians and listeners for centuries.