Followed by Audience Party
The National Bulgarian Youth Orchestra, better known at home as the Pioneer Youth Philharmonic, looks back upon a long and successful tradition. Founded in 1952, it quickly rose to be the cultural ambassador of the state of Bulgaria; tours took the youth orchestra through all of Europe and the world. In 1982 the young musicians also performed at the festival “Young Musicians from Around the World” at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. Further highlights were a one-month tour of the USA and Mexico in 1979 which also included a performance at the UN in New York, and a 45-day tour of Brazil in 1984. Until his death in 1989, the orchestra was conducted by its founder Vladi Simeonov. Since 2010 Lyubomir Denev Jr. has headed the National Bulgarian Youth Orchestra, which is made up of young musicians aged 14 to 24.
Konzerthaus, Berlin
Actor
Audiences and the press celebrate Samuel Finzi’s intensive images of human motivation that almost crave transformation, and his effortless precision when performing. The actor shapes his figures as smart, associative character studies, which bear witness to a detailed and intelligent acting strategy. Alongside his theater engagements at all of the important German language theaters, Samuel Finzi has performed in many film and television productions. Very early on, he came into contact with directors who have had a major influence on European theater and film, such as Benno Besson, Dimiter Gotscheff, Frank Castorf, Jürgen Gosch and Robert Wilson. In film, his collaborations with Michael Glawogger, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Peter Popzlatev, Sönke Wortmann and Til Schweiger have extended his popularity to a wider audience. He has captivated audiences in popular successes such as Das Wunder von Bern and Kokowääh, as well as Die Erfindung der Liebe, Marie Curie or Tod den Hippies!! Es lebe der Punk!. He has been honored many times for his brilliant, versatile performances, including being named “Actor of the Year 2015” by the renowned theatre journal “Theater heute” and the German Actors Award 2016. At present, he can be seen in eight leading roles at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin as well as at the Théâtre National du Luxembourg.
The Bulgarian conductor and composer Lyubomir Denev Jr., born in 1988, is the son of the well-known jazz pianist and composer of the same name. He studied conducting at the National Music Academy Pancho Vladigerov in Sofia. In the meantime, the 28-year-old has already conducted all the important symphonic orchestras of his country, including on tours to neighbouring countries such as Hungary, Serbia, Greece and Turkey. At the Ruse State Opera, he has conducted operas by Verdi and Donizetti and was also musical assistant during a production of Wagner’s Twilight of the Gods. Denev works regularly with the Sofia Session Orchestra, with which he records film soundtracks for producers in the USA, Great Britain, France and India. The conductor also devotes much of his time to educating young musicians: he is one of the founders of the Balkan Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has been chief conductor of the National Bulgarian Youth Orchestra “Pioneer Youth Philharmonic” since 2010.
The French-Bulgarian violinist Svetlin Roussev was born in Ruse, Bulgaria, in 1976, and lives in Paris today, where he is concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France and professor of violin at the Conservatory. At the same time, he is an active soloist and chamber musician; Roussev has also recorded a multitude of CDs, including works by the most important Bulgarian composer, Pancho Vladigerov. In Bulgaria he was honoured as “Musician of the Year” in 2006. Svetlin Roussev plays the Stradivarius 1710 “Camposelice” violin kindly loaned by the Nippon Music Foundation.
The French-Bulgarian cellist Emilia Baranowska, born in Sofia in 1948, studied in her hometown and in Paris as well as the Juilliard School in New York. From there, she launched her international career, which has taken her to the USA, Mexico and Canada, Israel and China, among others. In Paris, Baranowska worked with renowned composers such as George Zamfir, Vahtang Kachidze and William Bolcom, performing numerous world premieres. At the same time, the cellist is a pedagogue teaching in France, in Bulgaria and at numerous master courses. Since 2010 Emilia Baranowska has lived in Berlin.
Bulgarian Rhapsody “Vardar” for Violin and Orchestra Op. 16 (1922/orch. 1928)
Song for Violin Op. 21 (1951)
“Rachenica” from “Thracian Dances” (1925-26)
Song for Cello and Orchestra Op. 19 (1884)
Allegro Appassionato for Cello and Orchestra Op. 43 (1876)
“Fire Dance“ from the Ballet “The Fire-Dancer” (1942)
Symphony No. 9 in E-Minor Op. 95 “From the New World” (1893)
followed by
We´re celebrating. Celebrate with us! At the traditional AUDIENCE PARTY after the concert.
PROGRAMME
Do you know any classical Bulgarian music? Or have you always wanted to fill that blank space on your musical map? Then you should not miss the concert of the National Bulgarian Youth Orchestra, the “Pioneer Youth Philharmonic”. Of course the young musicians bring works by their most important composer Pancho Vladigerov with them – a composer who also lived and worked in Berlin during the 1920s; the French-Bulgarian violinist Svetlin Roussev will perform two of his violin compositions. Two late-romantic cello delicacies by Vincent d’Indy and Camille Saint-Saëns add to the concert’s French inflection. The highlight after the intermission, however, is a symphonic classic which never fails to enchant with its wealth of melodies and freshness: Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony “From the New World”.
Broadcast
The concert will be recorded and broadcast nationally by Deutschlandradio Kultur. The date of the broadcast is August 30, 2016, 20:03-22:00. In Berlin via UKW 89.6, DAB+ and cable.