The European Music Festival in Sofia launches its 2026 spring edition

One of Bulgaria’s most significant classical music events - the European Music Festival - launches its spring edition at the end of March 2026 with an ambitious program featuring distinguished international and Bulgarian performers. The Sofia Philharmonic and renowned pianist Mikhail Pletnev will open the forum on March 26 at Bulgaria Hall with works by Beethoven and Schubert under the baton of Mikhail Shekhtman

During the spring season, the festival will host the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, soloists from Bulgaria, Denmark, and Norway, prominent Bulgarian conductors, as well as the virtuoso klezmer ensemble Sirba Octet from Paris.

Highlights of the autumn program include two concerts by the celebrated Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Semper Trio from Spain, a concert by the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Konstantin Ilievsky with soloist Atanas Krastev, and a recital by pianist Lyudmil Angelov.

Master violins and their unique sound will once again delight audiences. Following the great success of the “Stradivarius Collection” series, first presented in 2025, the team is preparing a second season featuring outstanding Bulgarian instrumentalists.

On March 29, audiences can look forward to an exciting performance by Albena Danailova - the first female concertmaster in the history of the Vienna Philharmonic. At the end of last year, she received one of Austria’s highest cultural honors - the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, awarded on behalf of the Austrian president for exceptional contributions to culture.

In Sofia, Albena Danailova will perform on the valuable Stradivarius violin “ex Hämmerle,” crafted in 1709. The instrument is part of the Austrian National Bank’s collection and is traditionally entrusted to the concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic. The violin is named after the renowned textile industrialist and patron Theodor Hämmerle - one of the founders of the Wiener Concert-Verein.

Among the participants in the series is also Vesko Eshkenazy, long-time concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, who will perform on a unique 1742 Guarneri instrument.

The charming Mila Georgieva - concertmaster of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR) - will perform on her Stradivarius “Montbel” alongside cellist Atanas Krastev under the baton of Grigor Palikarov.

The soloists will appear with the Cantus Firmus Orchestra, and on April 15 a chamber concert by Lia Petrova and Lyudmil Angelov is planned.

In 2026, the European Music Festival continues its support for young musicians. As part of the program, the fifth edition of the National Competition for Young Instrumentalists “Cantus Firmus” will take place.

At the end of 2025, the European Music Festival received the new quality label “Remarkable Arts Festival 2026/2027,” awarded by the platform Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe. The distinction is an international recognition of the festival’s high artistic standards and its clearly expressed European dimension.

Edited by Tsvetana Toncheva

English: R. Petkova