site.btaOn Unification Day, Conductor Yordan Kamdzhalov Invites Audience to Musical Communion

"I am insanely inspired when I do meaningful things," conductor Yordan Kamdzhalov said in a BTA interview on the occasion of an upcoming Gala Concert of Bulgarian Talent. It will take place on Unification Day, September 6, on the open-air stage in the square in front of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

"We will begin with Bulgarian music performed by Idna, which truly makes our skin tingle and wonder how it is possible that right here, on this land, such deep and touching folklore is created. In the end, so that we are not merely people who perform to an audience, receive an applause and leave: we want to do something I call the mobilization of collective intelligence and collective sensitivity. I want this thousands-strong audience to enter into this communion because we believe that every person is an artist,” the Maestro says.

Participants in the event include the choir of the Musical Laboratory for the Human Self (whose creator and artistic director is Yordan Kamdzhalov), the Genesis Orchestra under the artistic direction and chief conducting of Yordan Kamdzhalov, and international prize-winning soloists: Viktor Vichev (piano), Maria Slavova (soprano), Diana Chausheva (violin), Atanas Marinov (clarinet), and the folklore vocal formation Idna.

Following is the full text of the interview with Yordan Kamdzhalov by BTA's Dahnyelle Dymytrov:

Mr. Kamdzhalov, in every project of yours there is always something new – an idea or a message. Would you share what is new this time?

What is new is that the children’s choir Smiling Stars who steps onto the stage in Carmina Burana, will inherit and continue the work of the choir of the Musical Laboratory for the Human Self. That in the Genesis orchestra we have placed young people in all sections. We call them academicians, who will eventually take the places of their older and more mature colleagues. This concept – 20 years ahead, 30 years ahead – will be absolutely demonstrated and communicated on stage – on the first layer.

On the second layer is that pan-European cultural embrace, which is hugely missing now, and is part of my education. I am a person with three master’s degrees, I have studied across Europe.

The greatest cultural schools in Europe are definitely the German, Russian, French, and Italian – through the prism of opera. We, by no means, can discriminate against any talent. Our struggle is for talents. We in no way can leave any nation outside the cultural educational board.

The great Prokofiev was a fighter against Stalin's regime; his music will sound on the stage. The great Rachmaninoff, who suffered under the same regime, will also be performed. We cannot do without French music; we cannot do without the greatest masterpieces of Southern Europe. That is regarding nations and cultures.

On the third layer, after the human (educational) and creative (national) layers, as you noted, there is always something additional with us. At the end of the concert, the audience will be invited into a creative-musical participation, where together we perform something very deep, very Bulgarian. Something that makes half of the Bulgarian people cry when they hear it…

We will begin with Bulgarian music performed by Idna, which truly gives us goosebumps and makes us wonder how it is possible that precisely here, on this territory, such shockingly deep and touching folklore arises. In the end, in order not to be merely spectators who receive an applause and leave, we want to do what I call mobilization of collective intelligence and collective sensitivity. I want this multi-thousand audience to enter this participation, because we believe that every person is an artist.

Have you ever doubted what you do?

You know, if it rains, we will continue in one form or another. We have ordered a special canopy. There are people who will stay under all conditions. We no longer fear the State abdicating from its responsibility for culture because it has already happened a long time ago. Working with the State is a torture. I often say that I dream of the day when the Yordan Kamdzhalov Foundation no longer needs to exist—just like the foundations of [football star Dimitar] Berbatov, [opera prima Raina] Kabaivanska, [renowned physics teacher] Teodosii Teodosiev, and others. All of them step in where the state has stepped back: supporting Bulgarian children who are overlooked, nurturing talents who are neglected, and helping young people who carry the Bulgarian flag to the top of international rankings—but receive no support at home. My hope is that one day, the state will reclaim its rightful role and responsibility.

We did not start all this to give up: we started it with the idea that the worse things get, the more mobilized we will be. We promised each other that no matter how many bombs fall, we will be on the square and work for the people. So we are here because conditions are difficult, not because they are easy. I cannot imagine something that can demotivate us, because the terrible conditions literally make us even more ambitious. It is simply madness that the people who elevate Bulgaria’s reputation and image internationally have to beg. You remember how it was with our chess team, when some people collected money for them, until the State remembered. Likewise with Teodosii Teodosiev’s students. The same in music. The same about whether the music school should exist, whether it should be renovated, whether its program should be reduced. Insane things done against young Bulgarian champions.

After what you have said, does that mean that you still feel inspired and supported, or things happen in spite of the lack of support?

Yes, on one hand, we do the most essential things on fumes, with no support. Our foundation exists without support from the State. Yet I have to say that the gala concert is happening with the astonishing and exceptional support of the Sofia City Hall. Otherwise this event - with the 150 people on stage producing an extremely high-level European, classy show - wouldn’t have been free for everyone.

Am I inspired? When I see a person, a rose, a talent blossom, I am inspired. When I see all these wonderful people…

Many don’t know that our foundation operates on a voluntary basis. A professor at London University came to write his doctoral paper on how this organization functions sustainably with volunteer work. So this thing is absolutely possible and unheard of in present-day culture.

I am insanely inspired when I do meaningful things. If we stay at home and are part of mass depression and nihilism, then one cannot be inspired. We go out on the frontline, fight for the human self, and are happy to see the fruits.  The event tomorrow this will be a manifesto, an emanation of Bulgarian fruits.