site.btaAllegra Brings Different Aesthetic, New Way of Thinking and Working, Says Founder and Director Petar Naydenov

The Allegra festival does not merely invite international artists; it fosters genuine exchange through joint projects, master classes, and long-term partnerships, double bassist Petar Naydenov told BTA. He is the founder and artistic director of the festival and academy of the same name, whose winter edition opens on February 8.

The name “Allegra” itself carries symbolic meaning for Naydenov. Inspired by the traditional Swiss greeting Allegra, which he encountered years ago in an article in Neue Zurcher Zeitung, he envisioned the festival as a meeting point for generations of musicians. The association with the musical term allegro, meaning lively and joyful, felt natural: “A way of saying, ‘Hello—this is a place where music, energy, and shared joy come together.’”

Allegra was originally rooted in Ruse, a city Naydenov describes as culturally hungry at the time. “The region truly needed an event like this,” he recalls, noting that within just three years the festival grew to include ten concerts across Ruse, Razgrad, and Silistra. One concert in Silistra, where residents said they had not heard a symphonic performance in decades, remains especially memorable for him: an evening marked by improvised logistics, standing ovations, and a deep sense of shared purpose.

Despite the strong local response, Naydenov eventually made the difficult decision to move the festival to Sofia, citing a lack of long-term vision and support from local authorities. “I realized I was losing time in empty conversations,” he says.

“Over the years, we have worked with exceptional musicians and teachers from leading European academies who have brought not only a different aesthetic, but also a different way of thinking and working. This inevitably influences the Bulgarian music scene—above all through the academy’s young participants,” Naydenov notes. He adds that Allegra’s greatest strength lies in the fact that colleagues they have already collaborated with recommend the festival wholeheartedly.

“One such example is the visit of Dmytro Udovychenko—a virtuoso violinist and winner of some of the world’s most prestigious competitions in Singapore, Montreal, and the Queen Elisabeth Competition. For years, Allegra has worked successfully with his teacher, the legendary Prof. Boris Garlitsky. I told him how much I wanted Dmytro to be our guest, and within the same day I received two emails. In the first, Garlitsky wrote to Dmytro: ‘Dima, please say yes to Petar—he is my friend.’ Half an hour later, the reply came: ‘Of course,’” Naydenov recalls.

According to Naydenov, the academy is the true engine of Allegra. Each year, nearly a hundred young musicians come to Bulgaria to study with established professors from leading European music academies, creating what he describes as a “living, constantly renewing environment” that sustains the festival’s artistic vitality.

The musician describes Allegra not simply as a project, but as a personal mission. “It’s what I fall asleep thinking about and wake up thinking about,” he says with a smile—adding that friends jokingly call him “Petar Allegra,” a nickname he feels captures his devotion perfectly.

Reflecting on new formats, partnerships, and experimental projects, he says: “I have always looked for new elements and new opportunities for development. This is how I continue to learn. A few years ago, I organized a highly successful international string competition; on another occasion - unusual for Allegra - a jazz project. I have also organized an amateur orchestra of Swiss musicians who came to Ruse to rehearse and perform a concert under the mentorship of colleagues from the Zurich Opera. We never stop seeking new horizons and new audiences.”

The winter edition of Allegra is titled The Romantic Project. Alongside violinist Dmytro Udovychenko, participants include pianist Emanuil Ivanov, a laureate of the Ferruccio Busoni Competition; violinist Valeriy Sokolov, Grand Prix winner of the George Enescu Competition; violinist Laura Markova, first-prize winner of the Tibor Varga Junior Competition in Switzerland; violist Paul Zientara, recipient of the Safran Foundation for Music Prize; and cellist Barna Károly, winner of the David Popper International Cello Competition.