The Sofia Opera and Ballet greets everyone who carries love for music in their hearts!
“Music gives the Universe its soul, it bestows wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and breathes life into every single thing”
- Plato
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In the beginning of 1975, famous violinist Lord Yehudi Menuhin sent a letter the members of the International Music Council of UNESCO. In this letter, he announced his decision for an international music day to be instated. At the time, Menuhin had been the committee’s president for six years and was nearing the end of his mandate. He elaborated on why such a day should exist.
“Dear gentlemen! The reason for instating this holiday is popularizing the art of music amongst all layers of society; to uphold UNESCO’s ideals of peace and friendship between people; to popularize the International Music Council’s activity and its politics, in general.”
The international music day was first celebrated on October 1st, 1975, as bade the resolution of the XV General assembly in Losana from 1973.
For forty-six years, on this day special music events are organized all around the world. Holiday radio and TV shows are broadcast, lots of related materials get published by the press and on social media.
In 1978, Stefan Lazarov, Svoboda Bachvarova, Ivan Nichev, Emiliya Cherkozova and Tanya Doganova-Hristova proposed to UNESCO that John Koukouzeles should be officially honored. Not long after, it was announced that 1980 would be the year of John Koukouzeles, in honor of the 700th anniversary of his birth. This helped the 1st of October to be announced as the holiday of all Bulgarian musicians and singers.