site.btaSofia Philharmonic Returns to Bucharest's Athenaeum after 82 Years

The Sofia Philharmonic under the baton of Naiden Todorov had a concert together with pianist Elena Bashkirova at the Athenaeum in Bucharest on Sunday. They played in the most beautiful concert hall in the Romanian capital in front of an audience of 800 people. 

"This is one of the most beautiful music halls in Europe in general. The musicians who are here today, the members of the Sofia Philharmonic - none of them have played at the Athenaeum before and for them this is a great experience," Maestro Naiden Todorov told BTA just before the concert.

He added that it was on this very stage 82 years ago, in 1942, that Pancho Wladigeroff's orchestration "Horo staccato" (Dinika-Vladigerov) had its premiere.

The Sunday programme was entirely dedicated to Beethoven and included Piano Concerto No 4 and Symphony No 4 . The performances elicited sustained applause and shouts of "Bravo" even before the intermission.

At the end of the concert, Bulgarian Ambassador Radko Vlaykov, who was also part of the audience, went on stage to congratulate the musicians. After the official part, over a glass of Bulgarian wine, he addressed all the musicians: "Tonight there was not a single empty seat. There were many requests for extra tickets. 800 representatives of Romania's elite enjoyed your mastery under the baton of Maestro Nayden Todorov. Thank you very much! Tonight you made Bulgaria recognizable with brilliant culture and musical talent, and all these people in the audience will be even more attached to Bulgaria. I bow down to your talent and professionalism!"