The oldest secular songs date back to the 9th century; the Reformation period also has a special place in the history of Slovenian music, thanks to the songbooks published by the Protestant authors Primož Trubar  and Adam Bohorič.

The greatest Slovenian composers of the period were Jurij Slatkonja, who was also the first Bishop of Vienna, and Jacobus Gallus Carniolus.

The first opera in Slovenian was written in 1780, and in the second half of the 19th century, music – like the other arts – was strongly influenced by nationalism, as this period saw the emergence of Slovenian language choirs and reading societies, with the mass participation of amateurs. The number of composers increased considerably: Davorin Jenko, the Ipavec brothers, Anton Foerster, Stanko Premrl, Emil Adamič, Marij Kogoj, Slavko Osterc; and later on, the partisan composers Radovan Gobec, Karol Pahor, Rado Simoniti and Marjan Kozina are the most notable names from a great succession of composers spanning the years between the national awakening of 1868 and the present.

Twentieth century composers such as Pavel Merku, Uroš Krek, Primož Ramovš, and the next generation, Alojz Srebotnjak, Lojze Lebič, Marjan Gabrijelčič, Vinko Globokar, Aldo Kumar and Uroš Rojko, and the members of the youngest generation Ambrož Čop, Rok Golob, Borut Smrekar and Damijan Močnik, were and remain extremely prolific. Thanks to their works, Slovenian music is held in high esteem in international classical music circles.

In addition to the two opera orchestras which are part of the Slovenian National Theatre Companies in Ljubljana and Maribor, there are two other professional symphonic orchestras, the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra.