The Maribor Festival developed from the Festival of Baroque Music, organised for the first time in 1964 by the Concert Management Maribor.
Under the artistic directorship of the pianist and professor Janko Šetinc the festival was held in 1994 with its concept and name changed to Music September. It then expanded its venues to other places around Maribor (Ptuj, Slovenj Gradec, Dornava, etc.) and gradually became one of the major classical music festivals in Slovenia.
Janko Šetinc, the conceptual project leader of the Music September, was succeeded as the Festival’s artistic director by the horn player Radovan Vlatković, one of the most renowned chamber musicians in the world. The Music September distinguished itself with its refined selection of program, high-level performances (internationally acclaimed chamber musicians performing at the Festival) and, above all, its unique approach to organisation. With only a few exceptions, the invitations to the Festival were not sent to chamber ensembles with their pre-defined concert repertoire but rather to top musicians – soloists, who then created ensembles in Maribor according to the programme selected by the artistic director.
The year 2008 added a new dimension and a new name to the Festival, i.e. the Maribor Festival. Under the leadership of Richard Tognetti, an exceptional violinist, conductor and composer, the Festival retains its own production and festival-specific programmes and ensembles. The number of concerts increased and in addition to chamber music concerts, the programme also includes symphonies following the introduction of the Maribor Festival Orchestra.
Despite the troublesome financial situation in 2013, we have managed the keep the festival afloat. This, however, would not have been possible without making certain compromises in regards to the number of concerts and the festival’s in-house production capacities. In 2013 the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin acted as the residence orchestra of the Festival Maribor.