site.btaBTA Presents New LIK Magazine Issue Dedicated to Jazz in Bulgaria

The October issue of BTA's LIK magazine, dedicated to jazz music and the jazz festivals held in Bulgaria, was presented across the Agency's press clubs in Bulgaria and abroad on Friday. The launch was organized on the day of the opening of the 48th Jazz Fest Ruse.

The event was hosted by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev from the Agency's national press club in the Danube city. Interlocutors from the MaxiM Hall in the capital and from the BTA press clubs joined the presentation via video link.

The two key messages of the LIK magazine's latest issue, “Bulgaria in Jazz”, are that Bulgarians have always been free in spirit and part of the modern culture of the world, said the BTA Director General. Valchev noted that Ruse is the city that hosts the oldest jazz festival in Bulgaria, which opens on Friday for the 48th time. “In the October issue of LIK, which we are presenting across all BTA national press clubs in the country and abroad, there is a map of jazz festivals in Bulgaria. From it we see that over the past 50 years, Bulgaria has had at least 65 jazz festivals", Valchev pointed out.

When one says Ruse, everyone immediately knows that there has always been a jazz festival here, and with international participation at that, kaval player Theodosii Spassov said. He was the programme director of the Ruse Jazz Festival in 2025. "I am happy to be in Ruse with my friends and kindred spirits who are in the programme of the Ruse Jazz Festival," he emphasized, thanking Ruse Municipality for the support and the creator of the festival, Petar "Parcheto" Petrov, who Spassov called the embodiment of jazz spirit in Ruse, a person who educated generations in jazz aesthetics.

The Ruse Jazz Festival is not just a cultural event, it is a symbol of the spirit, modernity and creative energy of Ruse, Deputy Mayor Zlatomira Stefanova said. "Ruse tonight [Friday] once again becomes the scene of one of the most significant musical events in the country," she emphasized, adding that such initiatives have real benefits for Ruse. They attract guests, support the local economy, give life to the tourism sector and create a strong positive image. "But even more importantly, they inspire our children and young talents, develop the cultural environment and show that Ruse is a city that thinks and acts in the direction of culture, quality and the future," Stefanova pointed out.

Ruse is a city of music, said Marian Savov, Director of the Ruse Art Municipal Enterprise. He pointed out that Friday evening another edition of the Ruse Jazz festival will open, which is the oldest jazz festival in Bulgaria.

In Sofia, the LIK Editor-in-Chief, Assoc. Prof. Georgi Lozanov said that contemporary art, in a sense, is all about jazz. He pointed out that jazz is an aesthetic territory of constant improvisation and that improvisation is actually freedom of interpretation. "Since the 1960s, interpretation has become freer and more multidirectional", Lozanov recalled, adding that since Umberto Eco, it has been perceived for a work of art that the more readings and the more interpretations it manages to provoke and the more different they are, even quarreling with each other, the more significant this work is. This formula has been in jazz since its very beginning, he noted.

Plovdiv Jazz Fest organizer Miroslava Katsarova noted that this issue of LIK magazine sends a very strong message that it is time to create a jazz association in Bulgaria. She emphasized that jazz in Bulgaria has existed despite everything: “Looking back in time, purely historically, jazz has appeared at different stages of development and our socio-cultural environment, regardless of prohibitions and attempts to be pushed aside by those in power during communism,” she recalled. “Today, jazz has its own different face, as it is a multifaceted music. It cannot be generalized,” Katsarova stated.

"November 15, unfortunately, marks five years since the death of Dr. Emil Iliev, the main driving force in the creation and development of the festival in Bansko from 1998 until his death," recalled music journalist and Borovets International Jazz Festival Director Nikolay Zahariev. He spoke about the work, which was continued by Dr. Iliev's wife. "Dr. Tatyana Ilieva decided to continue his work with the same idea, namely how a mountain resort can become an attractive centre gathering fans of this great art, jazz," he said. "I hope, since this year was the fourth edition of the festival in Borovets, it will expand its scope every year," he noted.

Iliyana Shtereva, one of the organizers of the Bansko Jazz Fest and chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Festivals in Bulgaria Association, also participated online from Thessaloniki and emphasized that they are following the tradition of presenting both Bulgarian musicians and foreign performers from the world stage. "We are upgrading the programme with several new modules aimed at the development of the audience, the Bulgarian music scene and young jazz musicians,” she pointed out, adding that a jazz academy has been established in Bansko, which provides an opportunity for young talents to meet big names from the world stage.

"The important thing is that the art is of a high level, that it is sincere and that it is close to the people," said Veronika Todorova, the creator of Jam on the River in the Troyan village of Debnevo. "The reason I created Jam on the River in Troyan is the fact that I have always put the love for my hometown at the forefront, even before that for music and art," she emphasized.

 Kamen Hasamski, creator of the Jazz and Art Festival in the Troyan village of Oreshak, pointed out that the idea behind the festival is to be a little different from the usual ones. "Jazz is more intimate, more intelligent in terms of presence, and different people go to such events. Art is also perceived better by people who have achieved something in their lives and have a need to satisfy their inner world," he noted.

“More and more young people are starting to listen to and play jazz,” commented Darin Sotirov, the organizer of the Q-Jazz Festival in Varna. He said that young people are turning to jazz for several reasons, one of which is that it brings freedom and allows for emotional creativity. “This is music that, unlike other styles, can be listened to at any time of the day,” he pointed out.

“The audience of the Haskovo Jazz Festival has been increasing over the years, and more and more young people are attending the concerts,” said the festival's founder Dimitar "Mutata" Rusev, who is the creator and main organizer of another musical festival, Youth Jazz Festival in Dimitrovgrad. His own Acoustic Jazz Trio is a municipal structure in Dimitrovgrad, which he noted is something that is rare in Bulgaria.

Bessarabian Bulgarians from the Bolhrad Region visited the BTA Press Club in Odesa to perform a live jazz composition. They thanked BTA for the opportunity to present themselves and expressed desire to participate in one of the many jazz festivals organized in Bulgaria in 2026.

At the BTA Press Club in Taraclia, students of the Ruse University branch also took part in the presentation of LIK magazine's new issue, together with the head of the Culture and Tourism Department of the Taraclia Regional Council, Tatyana Papurova. Second-year student Bogdan Kusa said he gained a lot of information from today's event. "I was very impressed by the ensemble of saxophonists who played at the BTA press club in Odesa. I really wanted to be part of such a band. I love jazz and, I admit, during breaks at the university, my teacher and I improvise, which gives me great pleasure," Kusa emphasized.