Music and history meet again at Arbanassi Summer Music

On July 9, another edition of the boutique festival Arbanassi Summer Music begins. The festival has been held in the Arbanassi architectural reserve near Veliko Tarnovo since 2010. For the 16th time, the forum for classical chamber music will bring together established musicians from Western Europe and Bulgarian instrumentalists for several days. The creators of this event are Julita Fasseva and her husband Dimitri Mestdag. The two live in Belgium and have been part of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra for many years.

Julita Fasseva was born in Veliko Tarnovo into a family of musicians. At the age of nine, she went with her parents to Germany, where her mother was invited to play. As a child, Julita Fasseva played the piano, but in the new country she replaced the piano with the cello and at the age of 18 she decided that the instrument she wanted to express herself with was the double bass. She graduated from the music academy in Frankfurt and then her profession took her to Belgium. But wherever she played in the world, every summer Julita Fasseva returned to Bulgaria and her hometown of Veliko Tarnovo.

"On July 6, we meet with the musicians and start rehearsing. This year we have prepared three different programs. The first concert is on July 9. The theme is "Love greets us with a welcome." It will be a concert evening dedicated to vocal works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, which have been arranged by a young Belgian composer - for harp, soprano and three oboes. I think the program will be very interesting for the audience. We have invited Belgian soprano Lore Binon, harpist Anouk Sturtewagen and three oboists.

The second concert will be on July 11. We will play Borodin's String Quartet No. 2. Violinists are Viktor Trenev and Yorrick Troman. Viktor Trenev is a Bulgarian, a very promising young violinist, with whom we will play for the first time and I am very happy. Yorrick Troman is a concert master in Pamplona, ​​Spain. We have also invited violist Ilina Ilieva, known to the Bulgarian audience, as well as cellist Viktor Traykov. That evening the audience will have the opportunity to hear Arensky - a quartet for violin, cello and double bass. We will play it with Viktor Trenev, Ilina Ilieva, Viktor Traykov and me on the double bass.

"The third concert is on July 14. The program includes Mendelssohn's Quartet No. 2 and Alexander Glazunov's String Quintet," Julita Fasseva says.

The Arbanassi Summer Music Festival is held with the cooperation of the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo and the Regional History Museum. The event is awaited by the audience, who often travel specifically for the concerts, which are held in the remarkable medieval churches in the Arbanassi architectural reserve - "Saints Archangels Michael and Gabriel" and "Saint George". The festival is a symbiosis between music and history and this makes it unique, says Julita Fasseva and points out that the event is part of the annual cultural calendar of the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo.

"Without the financial and logistical support of the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo and the Regional History Museum, we would not have the opportunity to hold this festival. It is not just flights and a hotel. Such a festival has quite large financial needs and the municipality fully supports us. We can only enjoy the great trust and love from the municipality, the region and the audience that comes every year. We play in a very special place, which is unique for Bulgaria. Actually, in the Orthodox churches it is not allowed to play, only to sing, but because these temples are also museums, we have the opportunity to play there," Julita Fasseva says.

"We have a loyal audience that has been coming since the first concert, i.e. for 16 years now. We even have an audience that comes to every concert. And that's very nice, because when we come, I feel like I'm coming home - familiar faces, familiar people. This gives a very special feeling to the stage. Performing in front of such a thirsty, expectant audience conveys a very nice energy. It's a shared experience. We bring good musicians at a world level, the programs are sophisticated and thoughtful, and the reward is the love of the audience," Fasseva says.

How does she feel every year when she returns to Veliko Tarnovo?

"It's very special for me, even though I left Bulgaria when I was 9 years old. There is some connection and everything recharges me there. The feeling is very special, I can't describe it. When I come home to Tarnovo, there is calmness, kindness, warmth that surrounds me. And also, the people are very kind. I feel at home, as if I had never left," Fasseva says.

How has the Arbanassi Summer Music Festival changed over the years?

"The audience at the first concert was smaller, but when word got out, we filled the church. The capacity of the church is not large. There are people who ask why we don't do it somewhere else to gather a bigger audience, but that's not the idea of ​​this festival. The atmosphere itself will not be the same as in the church. Everything is so intimate. The setting is very special. The capacity is a maximum of 120 people", Julita Fasseva says.

The conversation ends with an invitation to the audience:

"We cordially invite you to the charming place of Arbanassi to experience a summer filled with good music, in a unique setting that you will rarely see anywhere else."