Klemen Leben

He studied at the University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar in the masterclass of Prof. Ivan Koval, and is currently a doctoral student at the Sibelius Academy of Music of the University of the Arts in Helsinki. He has participated in many competitions in Slovenia and abroad, typically achieving the highest places. Particular mention should be made of his first prizes in competitions in Castelfidardo, Pula and Klingenthal. His numerous awards and favourable reviews have opened the door to the concert stages of prominent venues and festivals in Europe and North America. He has performed at eminent festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, the Zagreb Biennale, the Slowind Festival, the Kragujevac International Festival of Accordion Artists and the Ljubljana Festival, appearing at prestigious venues such as the Slovenian Philharmonic, Cankarjev dom, Konzerthaus Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Waldbühne Berlin, the Helsinki Music Centre, and many others.

As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras such as the Berlin Chamber Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, the RTV Slovenia Symphony, the Slovenian Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra and so on, appearing with conductors such as Christian Thielemann, Marco Armilliato, Michael Sanderling, En Shao and others.

Klemen Leben strives to establish the accordion as a concert instrument and to that end collaborates with renowned Slovenian and foreign composers. These collaborations give rise to new works that become a regular part of his concert programmes, while at the same time expanding the classical accordion repertoire. In addition to original accordion works from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, his repertoire also includes works by masters from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. As well as performing, Klemen Leben is also active as a composer and arranger, writing for various ensembles and gaining performances in Slovenia and abroad. Klemen Leben has taught at the University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar and currently teaches innovative musical thinking at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet and the Ljubljana Academy of Music.