One of the musical highlights of the season is the upcoming concert of the Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra (BGKO). On October 22 in Plovdiv, the international ensemble of musicians will deliver a fiery performance that takes music beyond the boundaries of genres and cultures.

An exciting highlight is the presence of a Bulgarian instrumentalist as a guest performer — accordionist Kaloyan Kumanov. Although he lived and worked in Barcelona for years, it wasn’t until last year, after returning to Bulgaria, that he established a creative connection with the band.

Kaloyan first attended a BGKO concert nearly 15 years ago, when the group still performed under a different name — Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra. He met the musicians after the show. The band’s accordionist even showed interest in learning the intricacies of Balkan music from Kaloyan, with a focus on Bulgarian music. After that first encounter, they lost touch — until 2024, when Kaloyan received an invitation to join the band’s tour as a guest musician. BGKO interpret melodies and rhythms from the Balkans, the Middle East and the Mediterranean that, along with classical music, rock and even jazz, are also present in the music of the Bulgarian accordionist.

Asked what his participation in BGKO’s tour has given him — and what he, in turn, has given to them — Kaloyan Kumanov replies:

"In a project of this scale, a musician always learns a lot. At the very least, you meet different musicians who have their own way of seeing and interpreting certain types of music. It gave me the opportunity to perform on some major stages — we toured Germany, France, Spain, Liechtenstein and many other places. As for what I contributed — they’ve consulted me on certain songs and during the rehearsal process, asking how we play them in Bulgaria, because they perform our music and use our ornamentation."

Although BGKO is an international ensemble, Kaloyan is the first and so far the only Bulgarian musician to perform on stage with them. The group told him that after years of exploring Balkan music, they’ve come to see Bulgaria as its very heart. As a special gesture to the Bulgarian audience, the forthcoming concert will feature several well-known Bulgarian folk songs, personally selected by Kaloyan, which will be performed exclusively at this event.

Photos: Dani Carbonell