site.btaUPDATED Winter Musical Evenings Puts Chamber Music Centre Stage in Pazardzhik

The second evening of the 51st Winter Musical Evenings – Prof. Ivan Spasov International Festival in Pazardzhik is devoted to chamber music, Pazardzhik Municipality said on Friday. Cellist Razvan Suma and pianist Josu Okinena performed works by Robert Schumann, Bela Bartok, Felix Lavilla, Bohuslav Martinu and Astor Piazzolla.

Josu Okinena holds a doctorate from the University of Valladolid and studied under Felix Lavilla. He graduated with distinction from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid and is a recipient of the Andres Segovia and Jose Miguel Ruiz Morales awards for the performance of Spanish music in Santiago de Compostela. He has taught postgraduate courses at universities in Spain, Argentina, Chile, Cuba and Bolivia, and has participated in music research seminars at the University of Florida, the University of Warsaw and the City University of New York.

Razvan Suma holds a Master's degree from the National University of Music in Bucharest and studied at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has attended masterclasses with Arto Noras, Miklos Perenyi and Frans Helmerson. Since 2010, he has been a soloist with the Romanian Radio Orchestras and a professor of cello at the National University of Music in Bucharest. He is the founder and artistic director of Romania's first cello festival, the CellEAST Festival. Together with Josu Okinena, he performs internationally as a duo.

The festival opened on Thursday. Before the start, the accompanying photo exhibition Moments in Frame by photographer Nikola Kolev was also inaugurated. The event runs from January 29 to February 1 and offers free admission for all visitors.

Over the years, the festival has established itself as one of the town's most important cultural events, helping to preserve local traditions and maintain Pazaradzhik's cultural identity, the municipality said.

The Winter Musical Evenings – Prof. Ivan Spasov International Festival is a long-running classical music event in Pazardzhik, staged at the Maestro Georgi Atanasov Hall and organized by Pazardzhik Municipality, with support from the Ministry of Culture. The festival traditionally opens with Pantcho Vladigueroff’s Rhapsody Vardar, features the Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra alongside guest soloists and ensembles, and offers free admission as part of an effort to broaden access to high-quality musical art. It is named after composer and conductor Ivan Spasov, founder and long-time director of the Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra and the creator of the festival.