From 21 June to 8 September 2026 Ljubljana will once again become a stage for outstanding artistic events. For almost three months the 74^th Ljubljana Festival will transform the capital into an open cultural platform where music, theatre, film, dance and contemporary visual practices meet in a thoughtful dialogue. Leading Slovene and international artists will appear at selected venues including Congress Square, Križanke Summer Theatre, cultural and congress centre Cankarjev Dom and the concert hall of the Slovenian Philharmonic. Thoughtfully connecting tradition with the present, the programme addresses a diverse audience while creating space both for established artists and for new artistic voices.

Kino Križanke remains true to its mission of presenting films shaped by a strong authorial vision, often created outside the mainstream film industry. This festival of small national cinemas highlights the idea that the power of film lies in story, perspective and authenticity rather than in the size of a production budget. The programme features three films from different genres – an intimate personal story, a lighter yet incisive drama and a gripping crime narrative. Each offers a distinctive perspective, opening up a world shaped by the cultural context from which it emerges and presenting a different view of contemporary society.
(Tuesday–Thursday, 9–11 June, 9 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre)

For eleven years the concert series on the river Ljubljanica has revived the historic tradition of music on the water, bringing a distinctive soundscape to the city centre. For a few days the Ljubljanica becomes a stage where music, architecture and nature meet. The concerts draw walkers, passers-by and loyal festival audiences into a singular urban experience in which the river is not merely a setting but an active part of the artistic event.
(Wednesday–Friday, 17–19 June, River Ljubljanica)

Acclaimed Slovene musician Neisha celebrates two decades of her solo career with a jubilee concert. The evening carries particular symbolic weight as she returns to the Križanke stage, where her career began and where she first performed before a larger audience. Conceived as a musical journey through her body of work, the concert moves from the early hits that marked her breakthrough on the Slovene scene to more recent compositions reflecting artistic maturity and personal transformation. Accompanied by the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and her band, she will create a rich soundscape that brings together elements of pop, soul and classical music. Marked by a strong sense of storytelling and a direct rapport with the audience, the concert promises to be both intimate and celebratory.
(Friday, 26 June, 9 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre)

Miha Kralj, a pioneer of Slovene electronic music whose work helped shape the early development of the genre across the wider region, returns to the Križanke stage. His legendary 1980 album Andromeda is regarded as one of the first electronic albums in the former Yugoslavia and represents an important milestone in the development of contemporary music in Slovenia. Using synthesisers, Kralj created a distinctive sonic language that transcends time and genre boundaries and still sounds strikingly modern today. 
(Sunday, 28 June, 9 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre)

This year’s XXIX International Fine Arts Colony once again opens a creative dialogue among artists from different cultural backgrounds. Under the artistic direction of Tomo Vran, Križanke will be transformed into an open studio environment, with the project focusing on the exploration of contemporary visual practices and media. The colony encourages international exchange, collaboration and reflection on contemporary art, while the works created will be presented at a concluding exhibition in the Knights’ Hall of the Križanke complex. In this way the project goes beyond the creative process itself and becomes an important exhibition and a social occasion.
(Sunday–Friday, 5–10 July, Križanke)

Plečnik’s Križanke complex hosts a week of creativity, play and discovery, during which children will explore a range of artistic techniques and materials under the guidance of mentors Ema Kobal and Klara Kracina. Each day brings a new creative challenge, from making three-dimensional insects and unique animal portraits to creating puppets from cardboard tubes and experimenting with printmaking using recycled drink cartons. The creative process enriches the children’s own creativity through imagination, playful exploration and inventive combinations of materials. The week concludes with an exhibition in which the young artists present the works they have created to their families, friends and other visitors.
(Monday–Friday, 6–10 July, Križanke)

Camille Saint-Saëns’s opera Samson and Delilah  is presented at the festival in concert form, bringing the music, vocal expression and interpretative nuance to the fore. Under the baton of the distinguished conductor Charles Dutoit, one of the leading interpreters of the French repertoire, the performance features the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir together with an internationally acclaimed cast of soloists. The role of Delilah is sung by Marie-Nicole Lemieux, renowned for the richness of her voice and her commanding stage presence, while Samson is portrayed by Nikolai Schukoff, celebrated for his interpretations of demanding operatic roles. The cast is completed by Jean-François Lapointe and Jean Teitgen. Based on the biblical story of the fateful love of Samson and Delilah, the work brings out powerful contrasts between intimate inner struggles and monumental choral scenes. 
(Thursday, 9 July, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom)

The We Want Miles!  project marks the centenary of the birth of Miles Davis, one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century, whose artistic vision decisively reshaped the course of jazz. On stage will be some of his key collaborators, including bassist Marcus Miller, guitarist Mike Stern and saxophonist Bill Evans, joined by an outstanding international line-up of musicians who helped shape Davis’s distinctive sound world. The event also carries special symbolic significance, since more than three decades have passed since his only appearance in Slovenia, still regarded as one of the defining moments in the history of jazz in this country. We Want Miles! is therefore not merely a retrospective but an energetic and thoroughly contemporary concert experience that connects legacy with the present day and stands as one of the highlights of the summer jazz season.
(Tuesday, 14 July, 9.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre)

Spanish pianist Leo de María presents a recital bringing together landmarks of the piano repertoire from the late Romantic period to the twentieth century and revealing the full breadth of pianistic expression. The programme opens with “Love and Death” from Goyescas by Enrique Granados, inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya. It is followed by Franz Liszt’s Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata, whose sweeping sonorities create an almost symphonic experience. The second half of the evening features Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 8, one of the most substantial works of his cycle of “war sonatas”, in which inner tension, rhythmic sharpness and profound emotional depth intertwine. Leo de María’s interpretation combines technical brilliance with expressive precision and deep musical understanding. 
(Friday, 17 July, 5 pm, Križevniška Church)

Legendary pianist Martha Argerich joins conductor Charles Dutoit and the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra for an exceptional evening at this year’s Ljubljana Festival. The concert brings together outstanding virtuosity, profound musical insight and a finely shaped orchestral sound, and promises to be one of the highlights of the festival. Argerich is one of the most eminent pianists of our time, renowned for her extraordinary technical brilliance and powerful interpretative imagination. Maestro Dutoit, who has served as artistic director and chief conductor of several leading orchestras around the world, is regarded as one of the most distinguished conductors of his generation and is a regular guest on the world’s most important concert stages.
(Friday, 17 July, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom)

The Ljubljana Festival masterclasses once again bring together leading teachers and young musicians from around the world in an intensive educational process. The project’s artistic director is Branimir Slokar, who for many years has helped shape one of the most recognisable summer music education programmes in the region. Under the guidance of distinguished teachers – including Felix Renggli, Radovan Vlatković, Reinhold Friedrich and many others – participants refine their skills through individual tuition and chamber music. The programme also includes public concerts by the participants in Križevniška Church, giving the young artists the opportunity to perform for the festival audience. The masterclasses create a space for the exchange of knowledge, international networking and artistic development. 
(Sunday, 26 July to Sunday, 9 August, Vič–Rudnik Music School, Ljubljana Academy of Music)

Flautist Jurka Zoroja presents an evening that moves beyond traditional programming and brings classical music into dialogue with contemporary influences. She is joined by outstanding musicians active on the international scene and within the Slovene musical environment. The programme includes a new work by the Slovene composer Jani Golob, in this way shining a spotlight on contemporary creativity. In the second half the music opens out to a wider audience with works by great figures of film music such as John Williams and Ennio Morricone. Their music, which has left a lasting mark on the history of cinema, takes on a new life in the concert hall as an artistic experience in its own right. 
(Wednesday, 29 July, 8 pm, Križevniška Church)

Internationally acclaimed flautist Felix Renggli and horn player Radovan Vlatković present an evening of refined chamber music, exploring the colouristic possibilities of their instruments in a varied programme. They are joined onstage by pianists Maja Klinar and Thomas Haberlah. The programme consists of a diverse selection of chamber music from the late nineteenth to the twentieth century. Music by Saint-Saëns and Poulenc offers lyricism and elegance, while twentieth-century pieces reveal a broader spectrum of expressive possibilities. Virtuosic fantasias highlight technical brilliance, while the programme also includes the influences of the operatic tradition, particularly in themes by Verdi. The evening concludes with impressionistic sonorities and subtle tonal colour. 
(Friday, 31 July, 8 pm, Križevniška Church)

Three outstanding musicians – Janez Podlesek, Karmen Pečar Koritnik and Aleksandar Serdar – create a chamber evening with a programme that reveals the richness of Romantic musical expression. The programme opens with Ludwig van Beethoven’s playful and virtuosic “Gassenhauer” Trio, in which the outlines of his distinctive stylistic development are already apparent. This is followed by an intensely lyrical and dramatically coloured trio by Carl Maria von Weber, revealing the composer’s lesser-known yet richly expressive chamber writing, imbued with Romantic tension and melancholy. The evening concludes with one of the high points of the chamber repertoire – a sumptuous trio by Franz Schubert, in which singing melodic lines intertwine with a subtle inner dramaturgy. 
(Tuesday, 4 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church)

This chamber evening featuring four outstanding musicians – violist Hartmut Rohde, oboist Emanuel Abbühl and pianists Ken Nakasako and Kimiko Imani – covers a wide range of styles, from late-Romantic intimacy to bold contemporary expression. The lyrical and finely textured music of Robert Kahn and the graceful miniatures of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy establish a gentle Romantic foundation, which is then interrupted by the radical exploratory language of Luciano Berio in his celebrated Sequenza for oboe. The programme is further enriched by a contemporary work by Przemysław Pujanek and the expressive chamber poetry of August Klughardt, whose richly coloured sound world brings the evening to a close. 
(Wednesday, 5 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church)

An ensemble of outstanding international musicians – violinist Latica Honda-Rosenberg, double bassist Rick Stotijn, clarinettist Harri Mäki, bassoonist Ole Kristian Dahl, trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich, trombonist Branimir Slokar, percussionist Petra Vidmar and pianists Erika Takezawa and Zsuzsa Bálint – present a multi-layered programme, culminating in L’histoire du soldat, Igor Stravinsky’s celebrated tale of a soldier who sells his soul in exchange for wealth, featuring the charismatic narrator Boris Ostan. The work brings together elements of different musical styles and tells a universal story of temptation, fate and human frailty.
(Thursday, 6 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church)

The Berlin Nonet brings together nine outstanding musicians, most of whom perform with the Berlin Philharmonic, while the others collaborate with leading European ensembles and festivals. They are artists with strong solo profiles who, in the context of a chamber ensemble, create a highly refined yet vibrant musical dialogue. The programme offers a survey of different stylistic periods, from the early nineteenth century to the present day, highlighting the balance between individual expression and the collective sound of the ensemble.
(Wednesday, 12 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church)

The Slovenian Harp Quartet – or SIH4rps – is a new chamber ensemble founded in 2024 that brings together four established harpists from the Slovene musical scene. The concert features arrangements including Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba and selected excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. The programme also includes impressionist masterpieces such as Ravel’s Jeux d’eau and movements from Debussy’s Petite suite. It concludes with Astor Piazzolla’s Adiós Nonino, introducing elements of tango. A special place is given to works by Slovene composers: Folk Bagatelle by Tine Bec, The Silk Road by Maria Gamboz and The Water Man by Aleksandra Naumovski Potisk expand the contemporary repertoire for harp quartet. 
(Thursday, 13 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church)

The Pehlivanian Professional Opera Academy (PPOA) represents a distinctive model of musical education in which young singers and conductors refine their skills not only in the classroom but through direct stage experience. The academy’s founder and artistic director, George Pehlivanian, is an internationally renowned conductor who passes on his extensive experience to a new generation of performers. On this occasion they present Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, an opera that offers young voices an ideal opportunity to develop bel canto technique, expressive flexibility and convincing stage presence. The work demands precise phrasing, lightness of vocal line and a keen sense of comic timing, all elements that the academy systematically cultivates.
(Friday, 14 August, 8 pm, Grand Hall, National Gallery)

The Münchner Kammerphilharmonie Dacapo presents a programme that interweaves the elegance of the Classical period with the expressive accents of later styles. Under the artistic direction of conductor Franz Schottky and with the participation of cellist Ettore Pagano, the evening unfolds as a dialogue between orchestra and soloist. The programme reveals the many layers of the Classical repertoire, from the operatic vitality of Mozart’s early overtures, which already show remarkable dramatic sensitivity, to the expressive clarity and formal perfection of Haydn, whose cello concerto remains one of the cornerstones of the repertoire. 
(Wednesday, 19 August, 6 pm, Marjan Kozina Hall, Slovenian Philharmonic)

The Momento Cigano Extended project led by guitarist Teo Collori grows out of the gypsy swing tradition shaped by Django Reinhardt. The music is based on original material that blends swing, jazz and elements of popular music, and on a dialogue between improvisation and carefully structured arrangements, creating the sense of a performance that is both spontaneous and thoughtfully shaped. A distinctive feature of the project is its direct stage energy, which reaches beyond genre boundaries and draws the listener into a lively flow of rhythm, melody and collective music-making. The evening becomes a celebration of the freedom of musical expression, virtuosity and communication between the musicians.
(Wednesday, 19 August, 8.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre)

The Committed to Steps  project is a moving and inspiring dance initiative that reaches beyond the boundaries of conventional stage practice and places art at the heart of human connection. In partnership with institutions such as URI Soča, it brings together children undergoing rehabilitation and others without mobility impairments in a shared creative process. Under the guidance of choreographer Jana Kovač Valdés, participants take part in intensive workshops in which they develop movement skills, build confidence and cultivate a sense of collective creation. 
(Wednesday, 26 August, 6 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre)

Legendary conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner, a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement who has profoundly shaped the modern understanding of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music, appears at the Ljubljana Festival for the first time. On this occasion he presents his new artistic project The Constellation, which brings together choir and orchestra in an exploration of repertoire spanning from early music to the present day. The centrepiece of the evening is Brahms’s Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny), a setting of a poem by Friedrich Hölderlin that reflects on the relationship between the divine and the human worlds. The work weaves together lyrical and dramatic dimensions, using music to explore questions of transience, fate and the meaning of existence. The programme promises a striking musical experience that combines intellectual depth with emotional intensity and stands as one of the highlights of the festival’s symphonic programme.
(Wednesday, 26 August, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom)

The premiere of Gaja’s World 3  brings to a close a popular Slovene youth trilogy, the first of its kind since the Kekec films. This family action comedy combines a suspenseful storyline with humour and addresses themes such as peer violence, family relationships after divorce and questions of courage and empathy in times of conflict. The film is directed by Peter Bratuša and stars Uma Štader in the title role, alongside Jurij Zrnec, Sebastian Cavazza, Iva Krajnc Bagola, Ajda Smrekar and Goran Navojec. The story follows sixteen-year-old Gaja as she navigates a new phase in her life while embarking on a dangerous mission to rescue her mother, a doctor in a war zone. The premiere will be attended by the entire creative team. The event marks a cinematic highlight of the summer programme and speaks to both younger and adult audiences.
(Friday, 28 August, 8.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre)

For thirty-five consecutive years, Vlado Kreslin has been the heart and soul of one of the most eagerly awaited concerts at the close of the summer. Appearing with his long-standing bands Mali Bogovi and Beltinška Banda, joined on this occasion by the Šentjur Big Band, he presents a selection of songs that have left a lasting mark on the Slovene musical landscape, alongside more recent work that continues his creative path. One of Slovenia’s most recognisable voices, he has for decades forged a distinctive blend of rock, folk and world music. His songs, deeply rooted in the Prekmurje tradition yet open to contemporary influences, tell stories of people, landscapes and the passage of time. They have become part of a broader cultural identity, as reflected in the enduring loyalty of his audience. His annual concert at Križanke remains a traditional gathering point for different generations and musical influences.
(Saturday, 29 August, 8.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre)

The exhibition Hommage à France Rotar – 25 years  on offers an in-depth view of the work of one of the key figures of Slovene modernist sculpture in the second half of the twentieth century. Curated by Nelida Nemec, it brings together a selection of small-scale works from different periods, tracing the development of the artist’s expressive language over several decades. Rotar’s work is marked by a refined yet rigorous exploration of the relationship between form, mass and space. At the same time, the exhibition continues a series devoted to Slovene sculptors of the post-war period and raises questions about the importance of preserving and reinterpreting artistic heritage in the present.
(Tuesday, 1 September (opening at 6 pm) to Wednesday, 23 September, Križevniška Church)

Chinese-born American pianist Yuja Wang, whose technical brilliance and charismatic stage presence have made her one of the most dynamic and exciting artists of our time, makes her Ljubljana Festival debut this year with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Teddy Abrams, in a programme that juxtaposes American and European musical traditions of the twentieth century. Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring opens the proceedings with a characteristically American sense of spaciousness, while Samuel Barber’s Piano Concerto combines virtuosity with emotional intensity. Paul Dukas’s fanfare from the ballet La Péri adds a flash of orchestral colour, while the evening concludes with a jazz-inflected suite by Alexander Tsfasman, extending the boundaries of the classical concert format. 
(Tuesday, 1 September, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom)

One of the world’s leading orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra, returns to Ljubljana under the direction of Sir Antonio Pappano. The soloist is pianist Bruce Liu, who rose to international prominence after winning the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2021 and is now one of the most prominent pianists of the younger generation, performing regularly on the world’s leading stages. The programme brings together two monumental works of the nineteenth century. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is marked by dramatic tension, sharply contrasting moods and a strong dialogue between soloist and orchestra. The second half is devoted to Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9, an unfinished yet magnificent work of striking architectural clarity and spiritual depth, often regarded as the culmination of late Romanticism. The concert offers a reflection on two contrasting approaches to symphonic form – Beethoven’s expressive conflict and Bruckner’s almost sacred monumentality.
(Wednesday, 2 September, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom)

Virtuoso pianist Khatia Buniatishvili, renowned for her interpretative freedom and charismatic stage presence, appears with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Gudni Emilsson. Having come to international prominence at an early age, she is known for deeply considered interpretations of the Romantic repertoire and a strongly individual musical voice. At the centre of the programme is Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, one of the best known works of the Romantic repertoire, combining virtuosity, dramatic force and lyrical sensitivity. The solo part demands exceptional technical command and expressive power, and Buniatishvili interprets it with her characteristic intensity. The second half features Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, often described as an “apotheosis of the dance”, driven by rhythmic energy and an unstoppable musical momentum. 
(Sunday, 6 September, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom)

The legendary Dresden Staatskapelle, one of Europe’s oldest and most distinguished orchestras, comes to Ljubljana under the direction of Daniele Gatti. The programme centres on Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, often referred to as the “Tragic”, a work of searing emotional intensity and stark contrasts that stands among the most uncompromising statements in his oeuvre. This remarkable work is marked by sharp contrasts, a dark sound world and the famous hammer blows in the finale, which symbolically disrupt the course of the musical narrative. Here Mahler abandons external narrative supports and creates a concentrated, almost unrelenting symphonic structure that unfolds as a self-contained psychological universe. The Sixth is widely regarded as one of his most dramatic and psychologically complex symphonies, drawing the listener into an intense inner experience. In the hands of an orchestra with more than 450 years of tradition, this promises to be a performance of exceptional authority, combining technical refinement with a profound understanding of Mahler’s musical world.
(Monday, 7 September, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom)

Join us for an unforgettable summer filled with outstanding musical experiences, unique concerts and intimate recitals that will warm the heart of Ljubljana.