The festival will feature nine concerts, three courses run by acclaimed cello professors and a three-day workshop for young cellists from Slovenia, said the organisers.

The event is an occasion to celebrate cello and cellists, bringing together musicians from Slovenia and abroad, according to the festival's programme manager Karmen Pečar Koritnik.

As in the last two years, the Cellofest ensemble, including celebrated Slovenian cellists, will open the festival along with mezzo-soprano Drašček and Hatlak on the accordion, performing a "slightly French-tinged programme".

Pečar Koritnik told the STA that Cellofest aimed to present the cello as a very versatile instrument used in duets with the piano and orchestra or as a chamber instrument.

Visitors will be able to enjoy the baroque or jazz cello sounds as well, with the festival showcasing as many styles and generations of cellists as possible, she added.

The programme involves acclaimed cellists from Slovenia and abroad, including Croatian Asja Valčić, Slovenian Pečar Koritnik, who will perform a duet with Serbian pianist Aleksandar Serdar, as well as Italian Marco Testori and Slovenian Gregor Fele performing with harpsichordist Domen Marinčič.

Another highlight will be the closing concert by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and Italian cellist Enrico Dindo, the winner of the prestigious international Rostropovich competition in 1997.