On 27 March, her birthday, Hilda Kazasyan will be performing songs from Bulgarian films generations of viewers know and love. And as usual, the singer will be performing with some remarkable instrumentalists – Jivko Petrov (piano), Hristo Yotsov (drums), Dimitar Karamfilov (double bass) and Rosen Zahariev (trumpet).

“This is a dream I have had for a very long time – to do a concert of the most beautiful music from old Bulgarian movies. Years ago, together with Hristo Yotsov we released an album of such songs. But it somehow came and went and I did not follow up on it. Now, with brand new arrangements – most of them by Hristo Yotsov, some by Jivko Petrov – I shall be presenting songs included in the album, but also other songs we selected later. Hearing just one phrase from these songs seems to push a button and memories begin to flow. Because these are songs that are connected with certain periods in our lives. I have often performed with the Rousse Philharmonic and have presented the best of my father’s work – Villy Kazasyan. We recently gave five concerts in different towns across Bulgaria. But I decided to present this next project with a jazz quartet. When you are working with musicians who are so good the stage can be “filled” with great music even if there are just a few people on stage. I decided to take this risk and I think this will be something very different, very beautiful, something worth its while. We shall have two incredible guest musicians whom I really love – Vassil Petrov and Theodosii Spassov. Each with their own style and disposition, they blend naturally into the programme we have drawn up. The multimedia is in the hands of Vassil Kurkelanov – we have worked together many times in recent years. I think it will be a gratifying show.”

But why on her birthday, a day that is very personal? Hilda Kazasyan:

“When I was choosing the date for the concert, I called up a very close friend, an astrologer, because a concert in a hall so big is to a certain extent a risky venture. My friend took a long time, and when she finally called me back she gave me this date – she had been making such complicated calculations for so long that she hadn’t even noticed it was my birthday. I didn’t know what to say, I haven’t celebrated my birthday for years. Well, this time I will be celebrating, I hope, together with 4,000 people at the National Palace of Culture. When you have been true to what you do for years you have a loyal audience. I think that I owe this singleness of purpose to Hristo Yotsov whom I have been working with from the very beginning. He never allowed me to stray from the “straight and narrow”, not even by a milimetre. When you are getting ready for a concert like this it is important to be able to fully express who you are, your inner comfort, your intelligence, to do a show that is absolutely sincere. That is the only way if you want people to believe in you, and it really does not matter whether you are performing at a music club or to an audience of thousands.

In July we shall be taking the show to Varna, Bourgas, Rousse, we are also planning a European tour. This is a very professional kind of music, very genuine and very gratifying to perform. On the other hand the songs are already really popular, so I think the programme will have a long life.”

English version: Milena Daynova