The Symphony Orchestra of Vratsa – Simfonieta, has become a haven for violinist Alena Chekhova. She was born in the Russian city of Tyumen /Western Siberia/, raised in Ukrainian Crimea and lived in Moscow for more than 10 years, where she worked in the Radio Orchestra and met her husband. Today she says that it was not her who chose this country, but Bulgaria attracted her.

"I have always wanted to leave Russia because the political situation there is not good. That's why I decided that I should participate in competitions of various orchestras around the world, looking mainly for those in Asia, because I thought that no one in Europe would legalize my documents with which I could work in an orchestra. I accidentally came across an ad from Simfonieta-Vratsa and decided that I would send them one of my recordings. They invited me and now I am here," the violinist says in an interview with Radio Bulgaria.

However, her husband was sceptical that she would receive assistance with the necessary documents, until the moment they met the conductor of the orchestra, Assoc. Prof. Hristo Pavlov. According to Alena, "if he wants, he can do anything".

Warmly welcomed to the orchestra, the violinist is extremely grateful and says that they have everything they need to do their job well:

"There is good atmosphere, as well as nice new rooms in which we can rehearse. A great team of musicians, administration and stage workers who help us a lot with everything. We owe it to one person – Hristo Pavlov, who always tries to invite different and very interesting musicians to work with. The most important thing for us, as musicians, is that we get in touch with different schools and people from whom we can learn and share what we can."

Alena says that the Simfonieta-Vratsa is a phenomenon in the music life of the country, giving an example of the multinational composition of the orchestra, which is truly remarkable:

"We speak different languages. Some speak two, three, even five languages. We have people from Italy, Spain, USA, Moldova, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Norway, Japan and South Korea. In Russia, not only politics, but also the attitude towards musicians is not good enough. Here, in Bulgaria, I feel much better than at home," she says.

Her talent and dedication to music made one of her dreams come true - to have a concert written especially for her. Here is how the idea was born for musician and composer Ventsislav Mitsov:

"This happened in May 2024, when Simfonieta-Vratsa was on tour with Italian trio Soprano. After a soundcheck, I stayed to rehearse and Ventsi was in the hall. We talk a lot about music and different composers with him, and a few days earlier we discussed Philip Glass and his two violin concertos. While he was listening to me rehearsing, he stopped me and said: ‘I will write a concerto for you’. I could not believe it, but on the other hand, I know Ventsi and I know that he never says empty words. I do not know why he decided to write a concerto for me. Even if it is not me who performs it, but someone else, for me it is already a great happiness that I served as an inspiration for it to emerge. The concerto is the result of life, it has everything in it - pain, fear, tragedy, but the best for me is that everything ends in the major scale," Alena Chekhova says and expects the premiere of "Violin Concerto" in May 2026 in Bulgaria Hall in Sofia. Before that she hopes that peace will be achieved between Ukraine and Russia: "I am not a politician and I do not know if it is possible, but I really want just peace for Ukraine."

Publication in English: Al. Markov

Photos: Facebook/Alena Chekhova, vso.bg, Facebook/Venci Micoff