Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

"Vanilla" – a new old song of Vladimir Ampov-Grafa

Photo: youtube.com

A few days ago, Vladimir Ampov aka Grafa presented his song "Vanilla", with the special participation of famous Bulgarian violinist Vesko Eshkenazi, concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The music, lyrics and arrangement are by Grafa. The song has quite a long history actually as the singer wrote the melody when he was only 17 and the lyrics – 9 years later. And it was when he decided to work on a joint project with Vesko Eskenazi that this song came back to him.

The song is about romantic, unforgettable love and the sadness of separation:  "How to forget all the words spoken… all sunny mornings… How to forget all the past months, how to forget the breath of vanilla with a white face?", the song lyrics go.

Romance also flows from the video for the song filmed in the Netherlands. Vesko Eshkenazi has a special role in it. 

We "played" a lot until we achieved the desired end result in the violin solo. Grafa had interwoven the instrumental part in a magnificent way into this emotional song of his, and for me the challenge was to recreate it as the author imagined it - to make the listener feel, dream and be transported to a world full of the fragrance of vanilla. The expressive and technical means that I use here are quite different from the usual ones," the violinist shared on social networks. 

The song was first performed live on November 14 in Amsterdam, at a concert by Vladimir Ampov-Grafa.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Highlights of Bulgarian Musical Culture: Marin Goleminov's dance drama Nestinarka

“Perhaps no other Bulgarian composer’s name is so completely bound to a single work as that of Marin Goleminov,” begins an article by eminent Bulgarian musicologist Venelin Krastev, dedicated to the longest-living representative of the second generation..

published on 11/7/25 3:35 PM

Plovdiv Jazz Fest brings together performers from Bulgaria and the world

The Boris Hristov House of Culture in Plovdiv hosts the annual Plovdiv Jazz Fest 2025. Starting today until November 9, the forum brings together jazz performers from Bulgaria and the world, offering a diverse program of concerts,..

published on 11/7/25 7:45 AM

Tonika SV celebrates 45 years on stage

One of the most popular vocal groups of the 1980s, Tonika SV, is celebrating its 45th anniversary on stage with a grand concert in Sofia. The group is to perform its greatest hits on November 8, in Hall No 1 of the National Palace of Culture. Their..

published on 11/6/25 12:30 PM