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

The BNR Symphony Orchestra protests with concert silence

Photo: Ani Petrova, BNR

The Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra undertook effective protest action, as shown in videos of their June 6 concert at Bulgaria Hall, which were posted on social media. The BNR Symphony Orchestra refused to perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s ''Symphonic Dances''. This was one of the three pieces scheduled in their concert program. The guest conductor was Ekhart Wycik from Germany.

''Silence is our only weapon'', violinist Zvezdelina Haltakova told the audience, as quoted by dnevnik.bg. She added that for years they have been forced to create in inacceptable working conditions — lack of instruments, lack of concert clothing and insultingly-low pay. The concert hall supported the silent protest with applause.

On June 4, at a press conference held at BTA, young musicians from the BNR Symphony Orchestra stated that they receive a net monthly salary of 1,260 BGN (619 EUR). 

Edited by Ivo Ivanov

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photo: Ani Petrova, BNR



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

Three regulatory bodies will oversee the pricing of mobile services

During the adoption of the euro, the Communications Regulation Commission , the Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) and the Commission for Consumer Protection (CCP) signed an agreement on a common mechanism for controlling mobile..

published on 6/27/25 12:49 PM
Ahmed Dogan

Democracy, Rights and Freedoms – DPS has been renamed to Alliance for Rights and Freedoms

The parliamentary group "Democracy, Rights and Freedoms – DPS" has been renamed to "Alliance for Rights and Freedoms". The name of the group of MPs affiliated with Ahmed Dogan has now been officially updated on the National Assembly’s website...

published on 6/27/25 12:05 PM

Young doctors to go on protest again

Young doctors, interns and medical students are once again staging a national protest under the slogan "Future in Bulgaria". They are demanding better working conditions, higher pay, motivating conditions for postgraduate education and a long-term..

published on 6/27/25 8:56 AM