site.btaSofia Launches Capital Day Celebrations With Sofia Sinfonietta Concert

Celebrations marking 147 years since Sofia was declared Bulgaria’s capital began with a concert by Sofia Sinfonietta under conductor Georgi Andreev at the Central Military Club in Sofia on Thursday.

The event featured four soloists from the Filip Kutev National Folklore Ensemble, Darina Dzhambazova, Milena Andreeva, Nina Arnaudova and Tanya Nedeva.

“For me, it is a huge privilege, honour and pleasure to be here with you and with this incredible orchestra,” Andreev said before the start of the nearly two-hour concert. “This concert will take place with absolutely no involvement of artificial intelligence. On the contrary, there will be entirely natural emotion here,” he added.

The composer, performer, conductor and head of the ensemble also appeared three times as a gadulka soloist. Speaking about the instrument, he said it dated back to ancient times and that one theory held that Orpheus had played the gadulka rather than the harp, and that, “In short, cockroaches, sharks, and the gadulka have undergone no evolution for 65 million years, yet they have not disappeared.”

“For variety, the programme is built like this, fast, slow, fast, slow, so that we do not fall asleep and also do not get too startled by the alternation of crazy pieces,” Andreev said with a smile. It opened with what he described as a racket called Asparuh. It was followed by Harpii, Kraidunavska, Katerino Mome, Aria na Rodopa, Nepristapnite, Vyatarnat na Yuzhnoto More, Smilyana Mi Se Armasa, Mari Mariyko Karagyozliiko, V Pamet, Pirinska Kitka and Tanets sas Sopi, among others.

Solo performances were also given by Ivan Peychev on kaval, Kostadin Atanasov on bagpipe, Denitsa Hristova on gadulka, Georgi Stoychev on tambura and guitar, and Genadiy Rashkov on tupan and tarambuka.

“Thank you very much, and I am very happy to see so many of you here.” With these words, Culture Directorate of Sofia Municipality Director Bilyana Genova addressed the audience and invited people to the remaining events in the festive programme on Friday, exhibitions at the Sofia City Art Gallery and Sofia History Museum, concerts at Crystal Garden and in front of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, in Zaimov Park, initiatives for children, open-air galleries, an action by students from the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts Kr. Sarafov (NATFA), and others.

The concert was organized by the Nadezhda Municipal Institute of Culture and the Culture Directorate of Sofia Municipality.