site.btaVienna's Schonbrunn Palace Orchestra Gives Two Concerts in Sofia, Dec. 16

The Schonbrunn Palace Orchestra of Vienna will give two concerts at Sofia's Bulgaria Hall on Monday, December 16, the organizers said. The world-famous chamber orchestra will play immortal compositions by the Strauss family.

The Schonbrunn Palace Orchestra is one of the brightest jewels on the music scene of Vienna, the world capital of classical music. One of its instruments is a violin crafted in 1697 by the renowned Italian luthier Carlo Giuseppe Testore.

The group was established in the 1990s. Its high professionalism and recognizable style have earned it international acclaim and have turned it into a trademark of Austria. It has amassed rich experience in the art of operetta, and for more than 25 years it has had the privilege of performing in one of the world's most beautiful and romantic palaces, Schonbrunn.

The orchestra members are from various countries and were either raised in Vienna or received musical education there. Bulgarian talent shines among them, including Tanja Seara Sallustio (concertmaster since 1999), Boris Lipov and Ventzislav Kandev (flute), Svetlosar Dimitrov (percussion), Plamena Ivanova (violin) and Dessislava Atanassova (piano).

The Sofia concerts follow shows in five other Bulgarian cities: Plovdiv, Varna, Shumen, Veliko Tarnovo and Ruse.