"This year’s playbill is more diverse based on the idea to demonstrate interaction between different genres. We have incorporated non-classical genres such as jazz, folklore, rock and pop music. Mind you that all this will be presented with the necessary sophistication and as a way to look into music genres and styles in a new way. Apart from Bulgarian musicians we have invited their colleagues from Russia, Turkey, Romania, South Korea, Switzerland and Canada. In the course of three nights they are going to perform classical music, jazz and folklore. Baroque & Jazz is the program that will be given by Antony Dontchev, piano, and Valentin Gerov, viola. For the first time the festival in Gabrovo welcomes the young Spectrum vocal group. The concert starring Yildiz Ibrahimova will pay homage to Manol Tsokov, jazz pianist and conductor of the Gabrovo Orchestra. It will feature pieces by avant-garde American composer, philosopher, poet and artist JohnCage. The Quasar saxophone quartet from Canada will offer a program with works by FrankZappa. By tradition we have mounted a festival exhibition. This time it is by young photographer Rosina Pencheva.”

Gabrovo-born violinist Devorina Gamalova who lives and works in London will give a concert at the festival.

"Devorina is an exceptional person who has for many years supported talented Bulgarian children”, Ivan Stoyanov explains. “She often makes appearances at the Gabrovo festival with very interesting projects. This year she will present Krasimir Taskov’s work Ballad for Piano, Viola and Violin. The concert is focused on 20 c. music.”

By tradition a major part of the repertoire range of the Gabrovo chamber music festival and the performing musicians is determined by the audience. At every concert the audience is asked to fill in questionnaires and point to its preferences. „As a result, we have guest-performers who often appear in Gabrovo, including violinist Prof. Mincho Minchev and the Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra,” Ivan Stoyanov explains. On 1 September the famous violinist teamed up for a concert with young star Evgeni Bozhanov, winner of top piano competitions. Prof. Minchev will hold a dedicated night to present the students in his master class in Gabrovo. The Days of Chamber Music 2014 Festival in Gabrovo end with a performance of the renowned Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra led by conductor Plamen Djouroff.

English Daniela Konstantinova

Audio file contains the following pieces:

1/ Georg Philipp Telemann, Second Movement with an Improvisation by Antony Dontchev and Valetin Gerov (a live recording)

2/ Sednalo e Dzhore in the rendition of the Spectrum vocal group

3/ Ballad for piano, viola and violin by Krasimir Taskov, performing Krasimir Taskov, Devorina Gamalova – a fragment

4/ Fourth Movement from Concerto for Quartet and String Orchestra by Marin Goleminov, performed by the Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra