On October 24, the Honorary Consulate of Bulgaria in Norway was opened with an official ceremony and a festive concert in the Norwegian city of Stavanger. The first honorary consul is pianist Kiril Kutin, who has established himself as an authoritative figure in Norwegian society.

The musician is the founder and director of the Stavanger International Piano Festival – the only one of its kind in Norway, featuring renowned pianists from all over Europe. Kutin has a rich career, having played in many European countries, the Middle East and China. He was born in Blagoevgrad and graduated with a gold medal from the National Music School "Lyubomir Pipkov" in Sofia. At the National Music Academy "Prof. Pancho Vladigerov" he studied in the class of one of the most renowned Bulgarian pianists – Prof. Stella Dimitrova-Maistorova. He also specialized in piano at the University of Stavanger. He is a laureate of Bulgarian and international competitions. Currently, Kutin is the artistic director of the Kutin Konsert Forening association, which organizes classical concerts in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Austria.

Specially for Radio Bulgaria, Kiril Kutin shared details about his election as honorary consul:

"This is the first Honorary Consulate in Norway. Her Excellency Ambassador Ivanova was invited to the festival that I am organizing. In the preliminary talks she mentioned that she needed my help to find an honorary consul for Bulgaria in Norway. This had to be a Norwegian citizen with high positions in society. I tried my best and I found several candidates, but after a few days she announced that she had already found an honorary consul and we had to cancel the meetings. This was a bit surprising to me because I worked a lot to arrange these meetings with important people from Stavanger. But she said: ‘Yes, I have found an honorary consul and this is you’. The whole idea came from the Bulgarian ambassador in Oslo – Desislava Ivanova."

Kiril Kutin ended up in Norway… absolutely by accident. He started from scratch. At first, he taught private piano lessons and played in churches. He had to practice other professions – a cook, hairdresser, while travelling and giving concerts throughout Norway. In 2016, he founded Kutin Konsert Forening – a non-profit organization to promote classical art in Stavanger. The main focus is presenting local musicians. The first edition was held in 2023.

"I had the great happiness and privilege to meet wonderful musicians who wanted to support the festival, to play. I received enormous support – not only as an artist, but also as a person – from Bulgarian pianist Plamena Mangova."

The Bulgarian piano school is very strong and there are wonderful pianists who have performed all over the world. Who of them have played and will play in Stavanger?

"Bulgaria is a treasure trove. And we, the musicians who are outside Bulgaria, cannot help but take advantage of this treasure trove. I would list names of people who have already played at the festival with incredible success. They made me extremely proud to be Bulgarian. These are Ivayla Tsacheva, Galin Ganchev, Martin Ivanov (he is in Vienna), Simeon Goshev, the incredible Kristina Sandulova from Amsterdam. I have very big ideas for the future. I have already spoken with Victoria Vassilenko, as I really want her to come and play at the festival. I have spoken with Georgi Cherkin, Evgeni Bozhanov, Nadezhda Tsanova, Lyudmil Angelov. These are people who represent Bulgaria in the best light – every single hour, every single moment".

The first honorary consul of Bulgaria in Norway also told us about the things he associates his homeland with: "First, I associate it with a treasure trove of culture. Second – this is the country that has shaped me as a person. My roots are there. And third – a country with incredible nature."

Author: Tsvetana Toncheva

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos: Facebook /Bulgarsk Kulturforening Rogaland, Embassy of Bulgaria in Oslo, Facebook/Kiril Kutin, Facebook /Hummeren Hotell, Stavanger International PIANO Festival