An exciting meeting with the Austrian conductor Sascha Gоеtzel, principal guest conductor of the Sofia Philharmonic since the 2019-2020 season, on his arrival in Sofia for the upcoming concerts this month.

The Vienna-born conductor knows how to make every musician in the orchestra special. Istanbul, Florida, Quebec, Tokyo, Nantes, Sofia - wherever he is in the world, he works with the belief that every emotionally played note is the result of shared respect. And to the audience, Sascha has a simple message - classical music is for everyone! ‎

Conductor Sascha Goetzel meets with the team of Radio Sofia on the stage of the legendary Bulgaria Concert Hall in Sofia to talk about the new world and the place of classical music in it.

He casually shares that he likes spring because it is a special transitional moment in the cycle of seasons.‎

• What is the energy you usually feel when you arrive in Sofia?

"Sofia for me has, from the beginning, a special chemistry. I always say it's probably because in my student time, when I was studying in New York, I has very close friends from Bulgaria. We hanged out together, we did everything together..."‎

When he first came to Sofia:

"I was incredibly happy and grateful to feel that the Sofia Philharmonic has kept a tradition of playing. We are talking about that specific sound that you can imagine with the Sofia Philharmonic, which you cannot imagine with another orchestra, with all the articulation and phrasing . I think that coming here now since a couple of years always brings me joy and pleasure", adds Sasha Goetzel.‎

"We are all not perfect, but the beauty is when we accept each other but we grow together and create something beautiful together - this is our goal," the conductor points out.‎

Boian Bochev talks to Sascha Goetzel on the stage of Bulgaria Concert Hall

Sascha Goetzel shared warm words about his joint work with the Bulgarian soprano‎ Svetlina Stoyanova: ‎

"Svetlina is very dear to me because together with me she performed at the Wiener Staatsoper in Figaro,  it was her first Cherubino... I have so much respect for her work as an artist, she is also enjoys very much being with me on stage. So finally being here in the culture where her roots are, it is beautiful, I was very happy for this concert".‎

• Why did he accept the invitation to become the principal guest conductor of the Sofia Philharmonic?

"The orchestra is like a body of sound, almost like a living organism. So, when I feel there is a good chemistry with an orchestra and the orchestra asks me if I could think of a closer relationship, then I try to make it work, as both sides learn so much from the relationship," says Goetzel.‎

‎"It's a mutually beneficial situation of growing together and I'm very happy that we have this time," the conductor admits.‎

This year the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates 130 years since its establishment. Among the rich and diverse playbill for this anniversary year there are two concerts this month where Sascha Goetzel will hold the baton on the podium of Bulgaria Concert hall in Sofia. The first concert will be on April 9 with soloist Russian-Israeli virtuoso ‎trumpeter Sergey Nakariakov and the next one on April 30 when the soloist will be South ‎Korean violinist  Soyoung Yoon.‎

Read more about Sascha Goetzel HERE.‎