About the book

Anyone who has ever visited the small hall of the Slovenian Philharmonic, either attending a concert or some other cultural event, has laid eyes on the large painting of Slovenian composers by the painter and composer Saša Šantel. This piece of art is known to many music lovers. Fewer, on the other hand, are familiar with Šantel’s portraits of composers, collectors of national material, patrons and other cultural personages, who have moved along with the library of the Ljubljana Academy of Music from its original address on the Gosposka street to the Stari trg square. These drawings were the basis for the large painting of the 36 Slovenian composers with Primož Trubar – as a bust – symbolically watching over them. To the author, Trubar represents the beginning of the literary and music awareness in Slovenia. The number of the individual portraits is much vaster since a whole arrange of artists whom Šantel thought were important formers of the music and cultural lifetakes place before our eyes. The majority of them were present and active in his lifetime. We also learn about the principal difference between the group portrait and the individual ones. The composers on the group portrait were chosen by the Philharmonic, while the individual paintings were done by Šantel’s own conscience and consideration. Therefore, 117 composers’ portraits are gathered in the book, each accompanied by a short biography in Slovenian and English. At the end of the book you will find the group painting as well.