The Bulgarian National Radio Folk Orchestra opens its new season on October 10 with a concert at Studio 1 of the BNR. As usual, the music programme is a combination of traditional and new motifs.

We begin our 76th concert season, the Head Conductor of the Bulgarian National Radio Folk Orchestra Dimitar Hristov says. In the beginning we are to perform Thracian Buenetsi piece by Kosta Kolev – an emblematic piece in our repertoire. We play this piece on our first concert each year, because we do not want to forget the good traditions. We also have several premieres this season. One of them is called Pateshestvie (Journey) and was written by our colleague –mandolin and guitar virtuoso Angel Dimitrov. The author of the piece is a soloist at the BNR Folk Orchestra together with another virtuoso from this orchestra – piper Nedyalko Nedyalkov. The piece is exceptional. It was written nearly 20 years ago, but Angel changed it and now it sounds extremely contemporary. Another colleague – bagpipe player Petyo Kostadinov created wonderful Merakliiski Melodies under my arrangement. I have to mention another title – the Flight of the Bumblebee. The famous piece by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov will be played by a xylophone to the rendition of Ivan Tsonkov. The programme includes the most memorable pieces of our music repertoire – The Old Town and Shopska Suite by Dimitar Trifonov, Eastern Ballad by Kostadin Genchev, my piece Komitski Melodii, etc. Nadya Petrova who is one of the most beloved Thracian singers, will be special guest in our concert. She will perform the latest pieces she recorded for us.

The beginning of the 2019/2020 season is interesting. Let us remind that since 2011, when Dimitar Hristov headed the BNR Folk Orchestra, he marked the beginning of several concert cycles. Their number increased over the years and the latest one is called the Secret of Bulgarian Folk Instruments.

On December 19 we will present the second part of the series dedicated to the Bulgarian folk instruments, Maestro Hristov went on to say.We are to tell the story of the rebec with the help of some of the most-famous players of this music instrument, including Dimitar Lavchev, Rosen Genkov, Peyo Peev, Hristina Beleva, Darina Tsekova, etc. Later, we are planning to present other music instruments such as bag pipe, mandolin, etc. In February, we will continue our project Folk Tales for Adults and Children where we invite children from Bulgarian music schools to demonstrate their talent. Music is a huge asset and we must take care of the young, encourage and inspire them. We will present our top project The Rhythm of the Balkans in April next year. I will not tell the names of the guests, but all of them are very interesting. We will finish the season together with accordionist Petar Ralchev – a true virtuoso and innovator. We have prepared a very special programme which entirely consists of new pieces. Colleagues from the BNR Symphony Orchestra and Spectrum Ensemble will take part in it. It is a difficult, yet a very valuable project.

Several days ago, while the BNR Folk Orchestra and its conductor were rehearsing for the new season, the traditional competition for symphonic composition based on traditional motifs in 7/8 was held in Sofia. Dimitar Hristov took part at this competition and he placed second with his piece.

I swam in different waters for a while, composer Dimitar Hristov said. I am happy that my piece Rachenitsa Tale which combines dance melodies from different ethnographic regions was assessed highly. I would like to thank the jury, the audience and Maestro Grigor Palikarov and the colleagues from the Sofia Philharmonic who performed the pieces wonderfully.

Since the means of expression used in the Rachenitsa Tale are completely different, the piece cannot be included in the repertoire of the BNR Folk Orchestra, but its author has prepared other compositions for some of the forthcoming concerts. They are always held in crowded halls and conductor Dimitar Hristov is confident that the upcoming projects will be enjoyed by even more music fans.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov