On the 22nd of December, in the full to the brim Chamber hall at the Sofia Opera, the chamber ballet performance for piano and three ballerinas by Vasil Kazandzhiev took place.
“Composer Vasil Kazandzhiev needs no introduction, it’s obvious what a titan of Bulgarian composing he is. He’s gone through lots of challenges in those days when there were different fractions in the Bulgarian composing school. Vasil Kazandzhiev led the avant-garde composers together with Konstantin Iliev and Lazar Nikolov. This exceptional trio continues to be a prime example to this day.”
With these words, acad. Plamen Kartaloff, director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, expressed his respect for the great Bulgarian composer who sadly didn’t attend the event.
Princess Theodora von Auersperg made a special video address to the audience, the performers and personally to composer Vasil Kazandzhiev. She expressed her regret she couldn’t attend the performance and wished success to everyone involved and sent forward her best wishes regarding the upcoming holidays.
“Nadezhda za balet” was inspired by and idea by the pianist Nadezhda Tsanova: “I wanted to create something special using acad. Vasil Kazandzhiev’s score and our best ballerinas; something that would last and that the Bulgarian audience would enjoy.
Arsen Mehrabyan was especially invited to handle choreography and believes he has created an interesting contrast between the score and the script: “I wrote different solo parts and pas de trois for our three ballerinas to dance to. You discover something new every time you listen to the score.”
Among the three wonderful performers are Marta Petkova, Sofia Opera prima ballerina and Desislava Stoeva-Valev, head dancer of the Swedish royal ballet. Both of them took part in the piece’s world premiere in 2022. For the first performance at the Sofia Opera, Elena Petrova, Sofia Opera ballet lead dancer joined them.
According to Marta Petkova, acad. Kazandzhiev’s score is exceptional: “Hope is a part of each and every one of us. Without hope, there is nothing to live for.” Desislava Stoeva added that according to her, acad. Kazandzhiev’s score bears a deep meaning and that it takes a lot of thought to understand it: “Personally, I express my hope for a better future, more love and more meaning while performing.”
Composer Vasil Kazandzhiev is famous for his productivity. During the last few years alone, he created symphonies, an instrumental concert, a couple of chamber ensemble pieces and “Nadezhda za balet”.
“For me, writing is an instinct of sort, an urge. I regret wasting so much time on other things during my best years. I’ve been doing nothing but writing for the past six-seven years”, he shares, adding he’s a great fan of the art of ballet: “I’m always in awe by the boundless achievements in this artform.”
His career as a conductor began at the Sofia Opera, immediately after he graduated from the Music academy. From 1957 till 1964, he conducted operas and ballets such as “Hitar Petar” by Veselin Stoyanov, “The Boyana Master” by Konstantin Iliev, “Yana’s Nine Brothers” and “Antigone 43” by Lyubomir Pipkov, the ballets “Orpheus and Rhodope” by Tsvetan Tsvetanov, “The Wooden Prince” by Bela Bartok, “The Three-Pointed Hat” by Manuel de Falla etc.
“The pianist Nadezhda Tsanova called me and offered that she would play the piano, with three ballerinas performing”, Kazandhiev shares. “I was pleasantly surprised by this original idea; it had great potential as a concert recital and could be performed at various places so I gladly accepted the invitation. I quickly wrote the score and sent it to her.”
The performance is a symbiosis between written word, music and dance. The interludes to the dance scenes are special texts written by our great actor Itzhak Finzi: “Hope appears in the form of music pulling the strings of dance.”
Throughout the composition, solo ballet pieces, pas de deux and pas de trois as well as impressive piano interludes alternate. The choreographer also uses the grand piano itself as a décor.
In this anniversary year for acad. Vasil Kazandzhiev, it’s only natural that his only ballet be performed at the Sofia Opera and Ballet stage; the audience highly appraised his work and applauded the performers for a long time.
