Leon Firšt

He has composed more than a hundred symphonic, chamber and solo compositions, which are often performed at concerts in Slovenia and around the world. His operetta Usanjano življenje (Dreamy Life) was presented within the framework of the project JUMUM (Youth, Music and Museum) in Bad Ischl (Austria), and subsequently performed in Eggenfelden (Germany) and Celje. He is the recipient of the audience award at the Keuris Compos ers Contest in the Netherlands for the composition Romantične duše (Roman tic Souls) for symphony orchestra, the third prize in the senior category at the 2015 “Artistes en Herbe” International Composition Competition for a collection of compositions for violin and piano entitled Čarobni gozd (Magical Forest), and the Student Prešeren Prize of the Ljubljana Academy of Music for a portrait concert organised by Jeunesses Musicales Ljubljana. His compositions for young musicians are often set as mandatory compositions at national competitions, and his chamber and orchestral compositions are regularly performed by notable ensembles such as the the RTV Slovenian Symphony Orchestra, the Slowind Quintet, the Slovenian Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra, and so on.

In 2016, Leon Firšt wrote the music for the musical Veronika of Desenice, which is considered one of the most successful music theatre performances of that year and was seen by more than 25,000 people. A composition from the musical was subsequently recorded by the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and the musical received the Celje Star cultural award. In 2016, at the invitation of Prof. Uroš Rojko, he participated in the project Leicht über Linz, where the contemporary music ensemble from the Basel Academy performed his composition Point of awareness. In June 2017, the composition Concert Tango, written for the Riveria Trio and the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, was performed at the opening concert of the festival Imago Slovenian in Ljubljana’s Congress Square. In addition to a range of stage and film music, Leon Firšt’s oeuvre includes the chamber opera V imenu ljubezni (In the Name of Love), which was performed at the Ljubljana Opera House and the Liszt Academy in Buda pest. In 2017, the Municipality of Celje awarded him the Crystal Coat of Arms for exceptional academic success, and he is also the recipient of the Student Prešeren Prize of the University of Ljubljana and the main prize of the Banaue International Music Composition Competition in the Philippines. His composition Symphonic Waltz was performed at the Berlin Konzerthaus in 2018, and the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned the composition Refleksije (Reflections) from him for one of its concert subscription series concerts. On the occasion of the centenary of the University of Ljubljana, Leon Firšt composed the seven-movement suite Septem Artes Liberales for soprano, three actresses, piano, percussion ensemble, big band and symphony orchestra, which was performed at the main celebratory academy. He also wrote the music for the musical Kure (Chickens) based on motifs by children’s author Lila Prap, as well as the music for the internationally successful documentary film Wild Slovenia.

Leon Firšt is also an active jazz pianist and a member of the band Funk fact.