Musical diplomacy: Sofia and Belgrade Philharmonics to exchange concert visits

On 24 October, the National Philharmonic Orchestra will perform at the Kolarac Foundation Concert Hall in Belgrade, with a programme featuring works by Veselin Stoyanov, Felix Mendelssohn and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Russian violinist Sergei Krylov will perform as soloist, with Sofia Philharmonic Music Director Nayden Todorov will conduct the orchestra.

A few days later, on 28 October, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra will return the favour with a concert at Bulgaria Hall in Sofia as part of the World Orchestras series. One of the Balkans’ leading ensembles will perform in the Bulgarian capital under the baton of Uroš Lajovic, former chief conductor and now honorary conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic. The soloist will be Czech pianist Lukáš Vondráček, winner of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2016 and the first Czech pianist to win its top prize.

The programme brings together a much-loved instrumental concerto and a work rarely heard outside Serbia: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Petar Konjović’s Symphony in C minor, regarded as the first Serbian symphony. Konjović’s music blends late Romanticism with modernist influences and Serbian folk traditions. Performed by the Belgrade Philharmonic in Sofia, his symphony will resonate as a living part of the Balkans’ musical heritage.

Edited by Tsvetana Toncheva

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov