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Sofia Philharmonic receives standing ovation at the Musikverein

Photo: facebook/sofiaphilharmonic

The Sofia Philharmonic's concert in the ˮGolden Hallˮ of the Musikverein last night was completely sold-out. It was a huge success, the organizers of the event have announced. The two Bulgarian compositions in the programme have aroused particular interest.

Grotesque Symphony Suite “Bai Ganyu” by renouned XX century Bulgarian composer Veselin Stoyanov, was a true surprise for the Vienna audience.

It should be noted that the choice of “Bai Ganyu” was very apt. In 1941, Vesselin Stoyanov created his suite based on Aleko Konstantinov's work, selecting episodes related to the protagonist's trip to Vienna, to the place where the ill-mannered but cunning and combinative Bai Ganyu had set out to do business. The character's uncouth, at times rude and even arrogant behaviour finds its antithesis in the slow movement ˮIn the Villageˮ, which is a celebration of the positive, healthy side of the Bulgarians' value system.

Whether it was the plot or (more likely) Veselin Stoyanov's cheerful, vibrant music that impressed the sophisticated audience, again according to the organizers of the event, the concert by the Bulgarian Philharmonic and Maestro Naiden Todorov won them powerful applause, and after the concert, representatives of one of the leading record companies expressed a desire to record this work with the same orchestra and conductor.

In the audience were directors of several of the world's elite music agencies, as well as the former ambassadors of Italy and Austria to Sofia, the Director General of the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Mr. Kiril Valchev, Austrian and Bulgarian music critics.
The concert ended with an encore, which the Philharmonic Orchestra performed after a long standing ovation - the brilliant ˮRachenitsaˮ from Petko Stainov's symphonic suite "Thrace", one of the brightest works in Bulgaria’s national musical treasury.

Editing: Albena Bezovska, Elena Karkalanova
English version: Elizabeth Radkova



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