The great Bulgarian composer Marin Goleminov was born 111 years ago on September 28th. This is also the date on which for four consecutive years an award in his name is presented in his hometown of Kyustendil, as well as the Golden Quartet Prize. Organizers of the ceremony, which is always accompanied by an interesting concert program, are the city's municipality, the “Acad. Marin Goleminov” association and the heirs of the distinguished Bulgarian composer represented by Lilia Goleminova – host in BNR’s Radio Sofia. The mayor of the city Mr. Peter Paunov said that he was pleased to give the great prize provided by the municipality to the winners - famous violin duo Angel Stankov and Yosif Radionov.

“It is exciting as this award shows that we have touched the feelings of the audience just as Goleminov touched people’s hearts and time,” Prof. Radionov, who was present at the ceremony, said. “A remarkable fact from our biography is that the composer (back then 89-years-old) dedicated a work to us. At the call of Angel Stankov he created the Sonata for Violin and Viola - the last work written in Bulgaria. We know that he then left for Portugal, where, after a few years, he passed away. We have performed this work many times. Goleminov was an extremely warm-hearted and highly cultured man. He was a good friend of my father, with whom they studied together in France. Before the first performance, he would come to our home to listen to the rehearsals. I remember him sitting with a cup of cognac and a cigar in hand. He used to say, ‘Let's see now, if the baby was not prematurely born.’ I also remember his 90th anniversary, celebrated in the "Vladimir Dimitrov - the Master" Gallery, when I performed his solo suite. I keep many memories of an exceptional person…”

The Golden Quartet Award, provided by the sponsor, this year went to the Goleminov Quartet.

“Honor and a huge respect for Goleminov's personality and creativity have been leading us in our work,” Prof. Ognian Konstantinov, a violinist in the formation says. “I knew the composer from his last years when he came to our rehearsals with the Sofia Soloists Chamber Ensemble. We performed his ‘Concerto for String Quartet and String Orchestra’ - one of the most interesting works not only in Bulgaria but in the world. Despite the fact that the first Bulgarian string quartet was created by Lubomir Pipkov, in my opinion and many of my colleagues, the genre was established by Goleminov. He tends to be very different in his various creative periods. His first and eighth quartets sound very different in terms of expression and style presence. Most often we perform quartets No. 3, No. 4 and Quartet No. 8, as well as the Concerto for String Quartet and String Orchestra. I can say without any exaggeration that Goleminov's music is often performed at concerts abroad. It is part of every concert tour we have around the world.”

For the first time this year, a prize was presented for promoting the composer's work.

“I accept this prize as a recognition of my efforts to preserve the memory of the great composer by contributing to the European cultural treasury. I was taught to work for young people, for my people, without expecting anything in return. I would like to wish everyone new meetings with the art of Marin Goleminov,” Dimitar Bozhilov, founder of the “Acad. Marin Goleminov" association, said. He received the Nestinarka statuette (named after Goleminov's famous dance drama), as well as "Dokosvane” award created by Milko Dobrev. Both works of art are a personal gift from Marin Goleminov’s heirs.

English: Alexander Markov