This year's 21st edition of the Salon of Arts offers an array of music events. One of the upcoming events that has generated an enormous amount of interest is the concert by the string Quarto Quartet together with the funk formation Akaga. On May 17, Hall No. 1 of the National Palace of Culture in Sofia will be the venue for a special blend of classical music and fusion.

More about the concert from Krasimir Kurtev, Akaga frontman and vocals:

“The Libidoprojectwas my idea. During Akaga's European tour we had a concert at a theatre house, where there were different words written on a wall. One of them was “libido”. That word gave me the idea, and when I met with Ivan Penchev to discuss the project, I suggested we write a piece by that name. Hence the title of the concert - Libido project. I wanted it to convey the passion of strings - Quarto Quartet - and the dance quality of funk - Akaga. The concert features some young performers, as yet unknown to audiences in Bulgaria, though they are really talented. One of them is singer Nelly Solakova who will perform this song. We shall also have some Bulgarian stars on stage, but for now I would not like to disclose their names. With this project we made a dream of ours come true - to be able to perform on stage alongside a talented orchestra like the string Quarto Quartet. I went to one of their concerts and heard some really fantastic renditions of classical works. We went to the Sofia music school together and that too made a difference because our views of the project and of the music in it converge. It took us a while to decide how to make the arrangements so as to avoid having a concert that is half funk, half classical. The news is that we shall present several brand new pieces written jointly by Quarto Quartet and Akaga. The audience will also be able to hear pieces by Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Earth, Wind & Fire, Prince and Bruno Mars. The programme we shall be offering will be most diverse.”

There will be extravagant and unorthodox combinations of funk, fusion, jazz and classical music with a pinch of beat music by DJ Borche and the multi-instrumental performances by Misho Shishkov.

“If anyone is actually able to recognize a favourite song of theirs, it is sure to be well disguised in a new arrangement, making it a breezy summer piece, in unison with the overall ambiance of the project. As summer is almost upon us with the sun it brings,we believe people will feel more and more like listening to the colour and energy of our Libido Project,” says Krassi from Akaga.

“The real challenge for us will be to break the boundaries of a classical concert and offer a brand new pop-dance product, together with a super-professional team of musicians and friends,” says on his part Ivan Penchev from Quarto Quartet.

Audio contains the following tracks:

- We sing for Cuba, performed by Akaga;

- Cuba Libre, performed by Akaga with Quarto Quartet;

- City Tango by Astor Piazzolla, performed by Quarto Quartet;

- Moving on the way, performed by Akaga.

English version: Milena Daynova