Pavle Merku (1927, Slovenia) Composer of exquisite instrumental and vocal works, who uses to good effect a variety of contemporary compositional devices. He graduated at the Department of Slavic Philology at the Faculty of Art, University of Ljubljana, in 1950. He received his Ph.D in Literary Sciences at the Sapienza in Rome. From 1952 till 1964 Merkù worked as a teacher at the Humanist Grammar School in Trieste. He was a director of music programs, and also an editor of Slovene broadcasts at the Italian Radio and Television in Trieste.

His principal works are: Concertino for chamber orchestra (1954–57); Concerto for violin and orchestra (1970);  Concerto lirico for clarinet and orchestra (1959); Ali, sijaj, sijaj, sonce (Oh, do shine, do shine, our Sun), rhapsody for string orchestra (1977); Kačji pastir (The Dragon-fly) opera in two acts (1974-76); O detomorilki Mariji Farrar (About the Infanticide Maria Farrar) for baritone, mixed choir and orchestra (1957-58); Concerto for French horn and mixed choir (1962); Vojskin čas (A Time of War) for alto, violin, violoncello, clarinet in E flat, bassoon and drum (1974); Postavljam ti spomenik, romar (Pilgrim, I raise a monument to thee) for eight-voice mixed chori (2001); Remembering Martha for soprano, female choir, male choir, bells, glockenspiel, dobachi and crotales (2002).

“My creative process is initiated when an idea starts working within me – pertaining to music, literature or life. If the idea ‘catches fire’ with me, the continuation is just a mater of time. In contemporary music I search – just like my predecessors did in the past – for directness, experience and originality. What we termed ‘contemporary music’ or ‘avant-garde’ (or call it by any other name you like!) is in actual fact the expression of our times. Just like all past periods, the present yields weeds, degenerated crops and all kinds of speculation. However, it also produces many great and true works of art. The development of contemporary music can bestow on us absolutely nothing new under the Sun”.