The new orchestral work by Petra Strahovnik will receive its world premiere on October 14th, 2025, at the Slovenian Philharmonic Hall in Ljubljana. This special occasion marks the 80th anniversary of the Society of Slovenian Composers, presented in collaboration with ECSA – European Composer and Songwriter Alliance and performed by the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. 

1945– is a new orchestral composition that traces the acoustic memory of rupture and reconciliation across a fractured historical landscape. Commissioned to mark the 80th anniversary of the Society of Slovenian Composers (DSS) and developed with international collaboration in mind, the work inhabits a space between remembrance and resonance—between historical trauma and artistic continuity. 

The title references not only a pivotal year that reshaped Europe but also gestures toward the open-ended reverberations of 1945—cultural, political, emotional—that still resonate today. The piece is inspired by the complex history of Slovenia during World War II and its aftermath, where questions of resistance, exile, and ideological division remain both personal and collective. My own family history—marked by opposing wartime experiences—provides a deeply intimate framework for exploring these broader themes. 

Rather than adopting a programmatic or narrative form, 1945– unfolds through a dynamic interplay of sound layers, articulated as evolving constellations of tension, space, and transformation. The orchestra is conceived as a living, breathing ecosystem: brass and percussion form driving poles of rhythmic force, while strings and winds inhabit a spectrum of fragile, shape-shifting gestures. These groups at times act in opposition, at times in dialogue— generating acoustic pressure zones, fields of dissonance, and sudden harmonies that emerge organically from within the chaos. 

Shifting textures shape a complex sonic architecture—at once sculptural and ephemeral. Every line, timbre, and resonance is treated as mutable, inviting the listener to navigate a dense yet porous sound space. 

The piece does not aim to reconstruct a specific history. Rather, it seeks to create an emotional topography in which memory can be felt rather than told. In this sense, 1945– is not only a reflection on the past but also a tribute to the role of artists in resisting erasure, offering new perspectives, and creating spaces for reconciliation and depth. 

It is, above all, a celebration of composers, thinkers, and artists—those whose voices have shaped understanding in times of division, those who continue to sound alarms when needed, and those who offer beauty, truth, and sustenance for the soul.