The now popular Quarto Quartet Ensemble, working in various formations and genres, will partner with piano player Hristo Kazakov, gaining more and more popularity in Switzerland and Bulgaria. The concert will take place on April 2 at Bulgaria Hall. Their new Jazz & Romantics project marks a rapprochement between jazz and classical music and they will perform works of American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, combining those with one of the brightest representatives of Romanticism – Cesar Franck and his beautiful quartet in Fm. Both authors are researchers of the light and darkness subject in music and perhaps that is what unites them, according to Ivan Penchev, the quartet’s leader.

“We kicked off on March 30 with a concert at the Bulgaria Hall, devoted to Vasko Abadjiev, aka the Paganini of the 20^th century”, Ivan Penchev explains. “However, our main project is scheduled for April 2, with the music of Keith Jarrett and Cesar Franck. The idea occurred over the past year when we toured in Switzerland with pianist Hristo Kazakov, where we received the scores of Jarrett’s Sonata for violin and piano. Hristo suggested that we played this sonata in Bulgaria. I decided to combine it with Cesar Franck, as both composers look for a relation between music and religion, they both have a romantic note. I think the combination is very good and untypical and in my opinion it will work. We will combine his sonata with Americana – another famous piece of his from the Dark Intervals album. The audience will listen to the best romantic quartet over the second part of the concert – the one of Cesar Franck in Fm. This is incredible music that needs no presentation.”

The Quarto Quartet received the Crystal Lyre statuette in 2014, in the Chamber Ensembles category, as public recognition for the best production in the sphere of music-and-stage arts. Yet at the award ceremony they promised to their fans a joint project with the Akaga popular band and in May this year a huge concert will follow as a result. Then there will be another concert with over 100 kids from the Vaya Dance Studio, devoted to June 1 – the International Children’s Day. The chamber formation consists of Ivan Penchev – violin, Darina Vasileva – piano, Tatyana Todorova – viola and Stoyan Bozhkov – cello.

“We have quite many concerts, I dare to say – over 60 in the course of the past 2 – 3 years only” Ivan Penchev goes on to say. “The mixing of genres is not an easy task, as the mind needs to be set in a specific manner for each of them. Our Jazz & Romantics concert is aimed at jazz, but Jarrett’s sonata sounds too classical, if I have to be honest. It only has the compulsory jazz elements. Our next concert with Akaga is an absolute pop dance and it will take place on May 17 at Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture /NPC/. We have prepared a combination of famous pieces from the past, along with new ones. Misho Shishkov will participate, with piano and keyboard, as well as DJ. This is a huge project that we hope to enter a different niche with. Our goal is to create something professional and new at the same time. We will also have a concert on June 2 with 100 children from the Vaya Dance Studio and we will present then the Legends of Water show with the music of Ravel, Faure and Satie and a ballet performance, again at the NPC. The name of our quartet comes from the quarto word, which besides from the term "quartet" is also often used refering to a person, looking for a place to live ("qvartira" in Bulgarian). We have many friends in Bulgaria and abroad, someone’s always our guest star and hence the name…”

English version: Zhivko Stanchev