International Music Festival Bled
The 14th annual Bled International Music Festival kicks off on July 2nd, marking the beginning of two weeks' worth of events in Slovenia's tiny alpine paradise. While the festival attracts thousands of music lovers with its concerts, workshops and competitions, its original purpose is a much more novel objective: to wake the often slumbering Muse of Bled, who apparently has a tough time staying awake when faced with the region's overwhelming natural beauty.
During the festival, nightly performances are given by an impressive line-up of internationally acclaimed musicians and artists across many genres, ranging from classical and swing to Spanish guitar and traditional gypsy music. Another aspect of the festival's innovative approach is holding events at a variety of different venues, including not only standards such as Bled's Festival Hall and the palatial Vila Bled Hotel but also smaller more intimate settings such as St Martin's Church and even the Church of the Assumption on Lake Bled's famous island.
In addition to concerts a number of multi-day workshops will be held over the two-week period, led by music experts in various fields and backgrounds, coming together from Slovenia, Europe and as far away as Korea. For those who don't have the time to participate in the longer workshops, there is also going to be a day-long symposium on Sunday, July 5th, entitled "Beyond Modernisms: Exploring New Paths with Music," which will discuss the future of music after modernism and post-modernism and be led by Dr Leon Stefanija, the head of the Musicology Department at the University of Ljubljana.
Other events include separate violin and viola competitions and a photo exhibition of Slovenia's prized white Lipizzaner horses, by well-known Slovene photographer Milan Malovrh. For a full schedule of events and further information check out the festival website.
