The Katya Popova Laureate Days are among the most remarkable cultural events in Bulgaria. The first edition took place in 1966, initiated by the great opera singer whose name the event bears. According to the organizers, this is the first festival in the world, which provides a stage just for young artists who received prestigious awards. The 29th edition of the festival which ended days ago included singers and musicians from Bulgaria, Belgium, Ukraine and Serbia. The program included two symphony concerts featuring the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Jordan Dafov and Deyan Pavlov and two chamber music evenings. At the opening of the festival the audience enjoyed the performance of two young singers - Dorothea Doroteeva (soprano) and Peter Dimov (baritone), who performed arias from works by Verdi and Tchaikovsky.

The audience had the chance to hear young Ukrainian Sasha Grynyuk. He is a graduate of the Guildhall School, winner of more than ten major music competitions. For Radio Bulgaria he presented his debut album and we are to listen to part of “Play Piano Play" by Austrian composer Friedrich Gulda.

The audience in Pleven had also the unique chance to listen to several young musicians with impressive international careers. One of them is violinist Marc Bouchkov from Belgium, who is the son and grandson of famous Russian musicians. Listen to him performing Berceuse by Gabriel Faure. Peter Laul plays the grand piano.

Contemporary music for harmonica is not something often performed on stage but it was part of the Katya Popova Laureate Days. The audience enjoyed the performance of master of this instrument Nikola Peković from Serbia. He is the winner of awards from festivals in Canada, Spain, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine.

"I am in Bulgaria for the first time," Nikola Peković said. "This is a precious experience for me as I met a great number of musicians and listened to interesting concerts. I was worried about the way audience would meet music of contemporary authors that I perform, but I received a very warm reception. I also had the time to see the city of Pleven. I like it but I'm most impressed by the hospitality of people. I'd love to perform here again."

Flute player Nadia Stoilova has a number of music awards, among them the second prize of "Concertino - Prague" and the first of the "Jeunesses musicales" - Bucharest.

"I had the opportunity to work with Maestro Dafov and the Pleven Philharmonic. For me it was a true chance and I felt good on stage. I received valuable advice from the conductor and thanks to him I was confident during the concert. I am glad that I am part of Laureate days."

Pianist Stanislav Khristenko was also part of this year’s festival. He has had concerts in the most prestigious music halls worldwide with renowned orchestras. He says he has friends from Bulgaria who told him a lot about this country.

"Unfortunately, I never have the time to see the cities where I perform. My work requires concentration. Sometimes I go back to these places as a tourist. I would like to come back to Bulgaria. I am from Kharkov, Ukraine, but I have been living for six years in the United States. In Bulgaria there is something in the air that makes me feel almost like home. I listened to other musicians and saw how warmly they were welcomed. I also felt great on stage. I watched how people listen to the music and applaud. Such audience always gives me happiness and hope for the future."

Many things have changed since the first editions, when the festival was supported by all state institutions and cultural circles of Pleven. Today the municipality needs to organize a procurement procedure for part of the festivals’s organization and hope that winners of prestigious awards would have time to come to this country. The main organizer of the last two editions is Martin Karnolski and his team of "NeoArtZona." "I am very happy that foreign partners know well the Laureate Days and have great respect towards the festival", he said.

"Everything is the result of the efforts of all those who worked over the years,” he added. “We also gave our contribution for the development of the festival. This year the atmosphere was wonderful and many new friendships were born. Stanislav and Nikola have already agreed to play together. The young accordionist met students from the local School of Music and gave them valuable advice. Moreover - in November the first group of young Bulgarian accordionists would go to participate in a master class in the University in Nis in Serbia. Our goal is young talents from Bulgaria to have room for professional progress.”

English: Alexander Markov