A concert of compelling works is on at Bulgaria Hall tonight presented by several formations – the Pleven Philharmonic, the Svetoslav Obretenov National Philharmonic Choir and the Accent Percussion Ensemble from Pleven with soloists Maria Tsvetkova-Madjarova – soprano, and Lyubomir Dyakovski – tenor who will be performing in the second part of the concert.

The first part, dedicated to the 25^th anniversary of Accent, will be for percussionists living and working abroad who have come to Bulgaria expressly for the event – Vassilena Serafimova, Vladimir Petrov, Vladislav Varbanov, Evelin Genova, as well as students from the Panayot Pipkov National School of Arts, Pleven and students from the Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music. They will be performing together with their tutor and founder of Accent Simeon Serafimov.

The concert marks another important anniversary as well. Here is more from Slavil Dimitrov, conductor of the National Philharmonic Choir, who will be conducting the entire programme:

“This season we are marking 75 years since the founding of the Svetoslav Obretenov National Philharmonic Choir. We have a host of events lined up and have planned three concerts to mark the anniversary. Two are with the Sofia Philharmonic and one with the Pleven Philharmonic. On 21 October, with Catulli Carmina by Carl Orff we shall give the start to the series together with our colleagues from Pleven. Catulli Carmina (Songs of Catullus) is a work very rarely performed because it has somehow come to be overshadowed by Carmina Burana. They are, in fact, part of a trilogy that includes one more cantata - Trionfo di Afrodite. We shall be performing Orff’s work in the second part of the programme. In the first part, together with the string section of the Pleven Philharmonic and the Accent Percussion Ensemble, we shall be playing the Carmen suite by Bizet-Shchedrin. That is how we shall be celebrating their anniversary. The first concert with the Sofia Philharmonic, dedicated to our jubilee, is on 24 October. This concert features Giuseppe Verdi's Four Sacred Pieces – they too are very rarely played at concerts.

This season we shall also be performing Requiem by Verdi, Requiem by Gabriel Fauré (again with the Pleven Philharmonic). There will be a concert at the end of the season which we are looking forward to very much – the premiere of 7^th Symphony by Krzysztof Penderecki. It is called Seven Gates of Jerusalem and will be conducted by the composer himself.

As to our cooperation with the Pleven Philharmonic I would like to say that it is an orchestra of high standing with a remarkable history which incorporates the history of the Pleven opera house. We have already had several concerts together. We have prepared a very interesting programme with excerpts of operas which we shall be presenting at the beginning of November. The last concert from the cycle with the Pleven Philharmonic is in February 2020 with conductor Yordan Kamdzhalov. We shall be performing Mass No. 3 by Bruckner. That is the kind of orchestra we are talking about!”

Let us add that Accent also takes part in the performance of Catulli Carmina, and that besides the work byBizet-Shchedrin, the percussion portion of tonight’s concert also features works by Minoru Miki, David Mancini, while the musicians from Accent have got a surprise lined up for the audience.