The winners of Musician of the Year – one of the most popular radio music contests in this country, created and kept alive over 28 whole years by the anchors of Allegro Vivace, the music show on the BNR’s  Horizont channel - were announced at a dazzling gala concert.

The winners are singled out by a listeners’ vote, and listeners’ vote only – the biggest reward for any musician. On 8 May, hundreds of classical music lovers and fans of Allegro Vivace flocked to Bulgaria hall in Sofia to applaud the musicians of their choice.

The gala concert opened with a performance by Mila Mihova – holder of the 2018 young musician of the year award, who played two early piano miniatures by Pancho Vladigerov.

The Olga Kamburova prize, named after the Allegro Vivace anchor over many years, was awarded for the third time. Young trumpet player Georgi Grozev earned the opportunity to make music recordings for the BNR’s audio library.

Youth, beauty and love is what the performance by Quarto Quartet and Vaya Dance Studio conveyed to the audience. Their impressive approach to classical works of different periods earned them the “Music project of the year” award.

One more category which “opens doors” to what is beautiful and worthwhile is “Classics in other genres”. This year the award in this category went to Nedyalko Nedyalkov – soloist of the BNR’s Folk Music Orchestra, composer, participant in major projects such as GloBalKan, in concerts and recording sessions organized by foremost European musician and conductor Jordi Savall. 

The lifetime achievement award this year went to conductor Georgi Dimitrov, the award for active creative work went to opera prima Gabriela Georgieva. Fortissimo from Bourgas, with conductor Milena Dobreva, was named ensemble of the year.

“There are only two people who have ever won the musician of the year grand prix twice - Raina Kabaivanska and Theodosii Spassov,” says radio anchor Irena Gudeleva who hosted the gala concert. “But this year’s winner also won the grand prix for the second time – Maestro Nayden Todorov.”

The renowned conductor has for several years been chief conductor of the Sofia Philharmonic – a time in which he transformed musical life in Bulgaria’s capital city, naturally, in conjunction with that prestigious orchestra.

Maestro Todorov thanked the BNR Symphony Orchestra, and the orchestra musicians he has worked with many times, for continuing their efforts to spread the fame of Bulgarian musical culture around the world, even though they are so underpaid. The statuette – the work of sculptor Hristo Iliev – was awarded to Maestro Nayden Todorov by the Director-General of the Bulgarian National Radio Alexander Velev.

Photos: Ani Petrova