BGNES – Acad. Plamen Kartaloff: The 180^th Anniversary of the Apostle – with the almost forgotten “Oratorio-Requiem “Vasil Levski” by Boyan Ikonomov

I set myself a task to discover one work from Bulgarian composer, who wrote about Levski – everybody told me that there is no such, but it turned out that in Radio Sofia there is a recording and scores of one forgotten work of the wonderful composer Boyan Ikonomov “Oratorio – Requiem “Vasil Levski” after text by Dimitar Tochev.

This declared Acad. Plamen Kartaloff, Director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, communicated a reporter of BGNES.

Acad. Kartaloff presented the joint project of the Sofia Opera, the Military Academy, the Vasil Levski All-Bulgarian Committee, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Culture and the Sofia Municipality for the celebration of the 180^th Anniversary of Vasil Levski. The concert will be on 17 July, Monday, at 20 h in the park of the G.S. Rakovski Military Academy.

There will be presented two more works “Zhertva Vechernyaya” in the performance of Boris Christoff, one chant, one psalm, exceptionally spiritual and suiting for the event, as well as a fragment of “Improvisation” by Pancho Vladigerov with the participation of our ballet. There the audience will see the characters of Saint Sofia with her three daughters, explained the Director of the Sofia Opera.

Together with Acad. Plamen Kartaloff the event presented gen. Grudi Angelov, Head of the G.S. Rakovski Military Academy, Corr. Member Prof. Kostadin Ganev, Vice President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Vasil Vasilev, President of the Vasil Levski All-Bulgarian Committee, the conductor Boris Spasov and others. The initiative is under the patronage of the President Rumen Radev.

This concert I have planned in the square between the exposition area “Quadrat 500” and the Botanic Garden, by the monument of Levski, but because of upcoming repairs it was decided the concert to be in the park of  the  G.S. Rakovski Military Academy, where there is also quite recently a monument of the Apostle, pointed out Acad. Kartaloff. The oratorio will be broadcasted the next day and the audience form the entire country will receive this present, which will be the only event in the capital, which organizes the Sofia Opera and with which ends the season, after which we move onto the summer stages, added he.

“The idea is of Acad. Kartaloff, he started seeking and found this work of art, he took it from the dust and started studying it – this is why we shall have the joy to hear this wonderful almost forgotten work”, declared Vasil Vasilev. I am convinced that this celebration with the concert will stay in history, as well is also indicative the place of the celebration at the Military Academy, which supports the patriotic initiatives, it will be more majestic, considers he. “O, God, save Bulgaria…” is the moto of the solemn concert, added Vasilev.

The monument of the Apostle at the Military Academy was opened in the end of 2016 and few people know about it, and the concert is a good occasion about it to learn more citizens of the capital, pointed out gen. Grudi Angelov. With the colleagues we understood that we share the same views in one common deed and by that in the park, which is a national value, in which there are over 10 000 trees rare species, delivered at that time from Kavkaz, pointed out the General.

There are causes, in which the people have to unite – such cause is Bulgaria, marked Corr. Member Prof. Kostadin Ganev, Vice President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Our Academy is not only a research centre, but also a spiritual one, explained he. Boyan Ikonomov gave concerts at that time with many Bulgarian symphonic works in Europe, and coming back to Bulgaria, he left a huge work, he wrote also film music including, declared the conductor Boris Spasov. The “Oratorio-Requiem “Vasil Levski” is steeped in with much sorrow, while in the third part pierces with emotion the optimism, at that the whole work is exalted with very moving text”, explained he. /BGNES