"Competitions are for horses, not artists" - this oft-quoted phrase belongs to the great Hungarian composer and pianist Béla Bartók. Many contemporary artists share his position, but music competitions are nonetheless multiplying. Their stage remains the main springboard to the world stage. Depending on the period and the measures adopted against the Covid-19 pandemic, this year even competitions, which are traditionally held live, had to choose the virtual space as an intermediary between competitors and jury. Fortunately, in the time interval between the stricter measures, some national forums were held. In 2020, many young Bulgarians won music awards, which was also a recognition for their lecturers and teachers.Here is what Professor Alexander Vasilenko, Head of the Piano Department of Theory and Composition of Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music and lecturer at the Lyubomir Pipkov National School of Music, whose students have won dozens of music awards, told Radio Bulgaria:

"I am impressed by my students. The coronavirus pandemic turned out to be very traumatic. The active young musicians are accustomed to being on stage, to constantly traveling for concerts, international competitions, etc. Suddenly they found themselves locked up at home, in front of their pianos and without any real opportunity to perform. This leads to inevitable loss of shape and incentive to work. But we gradually found the right rhythm and in the relatively short break at the end of the summer and the first months of autumn, we achieved success at the competitions in which the students managed to participate. The last prize in our pre-Covid life went to Filip Iliev at the music competition "Young Virtuosos" in Zagreb, Croatia. Filip is a very talented boy.  He is in the 6th grade and won few more awards this year. Zhana Koleva, Angel Yalachkov and Nikola Bogomilov, who are also my students, appeared and took first places at national and international competitions. Nikola and Angel participated in the online version of the prestigious competition "Jean Sibelius" - Finland and respectively took first and second prize. Other Bulgarian participants also won awards. Professor Borislava Taneva headed the jury,which is a great recognition for Bulgaria.

As we have already informed you, the Children's Choir of the Bulgarian National Radio conducted by Venetsia Karamanova won the first prize at the 8^th International Jean Sibelius International Choir Contest in the category “Children’s choirs up to 16 years of age”

“Every crisis provides opportunities for development, as long as one does not lose heart, but seeks ways to develop. We learned to make use of the Internet and also found some positive sides. I have many talented younger students who, if it were not for this crisis, I am absolutely convinced that by now they would have had their first success on the stage. That is why welook into the future with hope “- says Profesor Alexander Vasilenko. Blagorodna Taneva is among the most famous Bulgarian violin pedagogues. Her students have also had great success, despite online learning.

"We continued working. The children are developing and the facts speak for themselves. Many of my students including Kai Orlinov, Dalia Cholakova, Boryana Zheleva, Ralitsa Krasteva, Diana Chausheva and Elizabeth Gekova gave me a cause for pride and joy. Lora Markova won the prestigious first prize at the Leonid Kogan International Competition for Young Violinists in Brussels this year.

My students in all age groups received the maximum 100 points in a competition in Ohrid. 2020 has been very successful for us, although being a very unusual year. My students were soloists in symphony and chamber orchestras at big concerts.”

While we were preparing this review, violinist Zornitsa Ilarionova and pianist Martina Tabakova took first prizes in their categories at the International Online Competition for Musicians in Moscow. At the same competition, 17-year-old French horn player Victor Teodosiev was awarded first prize, and several other Bulgarian children performed wonderfully. Ilarionova-Tabakova duo also won first prize at the Leopold Bellan International Competition in Paris. On Beethoven's 250th birth anniversary, 15-year-old Marina Mravova who studies in Antonina Boneva's class won first prize at the Best Beethoven Composers Competition.

Blagorodna Taneva has more:

"If it was up to me, I would ban the competitions and leave the audience to decide for themselves who they want to listen to.This is more natural and normal. But in the current difficult situation, I must admit that the competitions have proved to be very useful for the young performers. "