Apollonia Arts Festival celebrates 40 years since its creation

A few years before we, Bulgarians, felt the breath of freedom that reached us with the fall of the Berlin Wall, musicians, artists, writers, theater artists performed for the first time on the stages of the Apollonia Arts Festival in Sozopol. The so-called "The Sofia Bohemians" at the time turned the courtyards of houses into exhibition spaces, classical music and poetic stanzas could be heard under the church domes, above the amphitheater soared the divine voice of the world-famous bass player Nikola Ghiuselev, artistic ideas conquered even the streets of the seaside town. Forty years later, Apollonia means only one thing – art of the highest value, enveloped in a dose of romanticism by the last glimmers of the sun and the whispering of the sea breeze.

Margarita Dimitrova, artistic director of Apollonia festival, talks to Radio Bulgaria with a smile, and turns back the clock:

"Prof. Dimo Dimov, who is the founder of the Apollonia Arts Festival, gathered outstanding personalities around him. Pavel Vasev - a wonderful film director, director of the National and Satirical Theaters, then came from the Vreme Studio and managed to activate all people of the cinema. Zdravko Mavrodiev - known for his plastic experiments, organized the artists, and the director Krikor Azaryan took care of the theatergoers. Unfortunately, all three of them are no longer with us. I must also mention the journalists from BTA, Asen Agov, who revolutionized the information environment with their news bulletins."

It is no coincidence that this year's Apollonia festival will be opened with a concert by the Symphony Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio.

"It's wonderful that during these 40 years the Bulgarian National Radio has been our media partner irrevocably", points out Margarita Dimitrova. "That's why it's natural to start the festival on August 29 with its orchestra led by conductor Konstantin Ilievsky and soloist Svetlina Stoyanova, who is a superb mezzo-soprano with a worldwide career in the major opera houses. There will be excerpts from Carmen, Il Trovatore and Bulgarian music. This concert is dedicated to opera."

A day before the official start of the Arts Festival, however, the artists and sculptor Pavel Koychev will be in the spotlight, as he has prepared a surprise that stands out from afar.

"These are two fantastic figures of a man and a woman", reveals Margarita Dimitrova. "'They are futuristic, shiny, all made of silver. We will place them on the promenade in Sozopol so that people can see these huge figures, who will be present during the festival. Gredi Assa will show new paintings painted especially for the exhibition - there will be a lot of blue, a lot of sea, a lot of rising sun and it will be beautiful. The Art Academy will also be present here with an exhibition. The famous photographer Asen Shopov will present photos exclusively of Sozopol."

One of the world events will be created by the winner of the Booker literary prize, Georgi Gospodinov, with the premiere of his new novel "The Gardener and Death" - a story, in his words, about departing fathers in a departing world.

"The book is really his personal confession about the events surrounding his father, but it is not of a minor tonality", adds Margarita Dimitrova. "In it I read a sentence: "He was a gardener, and now he is a garden."

The writer will be in the company of the actor Vladimir Penev, who called me saying: "I don't know how I will bear it. Everything is very sentimental, very sad and I cry while reading it." The trumpeter Mikhail Yosifov will also appear on stage - he always participates in Georgi's book presentations. I know from the author himself that there is a lot of optimism in his book - it is not for death, and for what lies ahead, and with a lot of faith in the future. Georgi Gospodinov will also hold a master class in creative writing. Having a mentor in him is really great."

The appearance of thirteen Bulgarian concertmasters and concert musicians around the world will also be great, among them Albena Danailova, Svetlin Rusev, Lia Petrova.

"Thinking about the surprise to prepare for this year's festival, the decision was made at the last Apollonia in a conversation with the musicians", says Margarita Dimitrova. "I shared my idea with them and they burst into incredible delight. I am absolutely convinced that this will be an extraordinary event - not only for musicians, but also for everyone in Sozopol. The program of this chamber ensemble without a conductor includes works by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Vladigerov. There will also be surprises."

The idea of the artistic director of the festival is for the performance of the Bulgarian musicians to cross our border and for the performances to reach the European audience. The concert will be filmed and offered to major classical music broadcasters such as Arte and Mezzo.

Ekaterina, Pancho, Alexander and Konstantin Vladigerov

Apollonia will shine with many more cultural events worthy of the most demanding audience of any major festival. The four grandchldren of Pancho Vladigerov - Pancho, Ekaterina, Konstantin and Alexander, will honor the 125th anniversary of the great composer with a performance of his works, but also adding something of their own, given their tendency to improvise. Women survivors, as they call themselves, will send a strong message at the evening of the Bulgarian poets. "They will show the strength of the woman's spirit, who fights for her rights and can overcome everything - both as an obstacle and as a misfortune in the life around us," explains Margarita Dimitrova.

We cannot miss the evening in memory of the writer Alek Popov, who left us prematurely.

"Unfortunately, a very young and talented man passed away", says Margarita Dimitrova. "We loved each other very much - he lived very close to me and we often met. I knew that he was seriously ill, but nevertheless, like Georgi Gospodinov, he promised me that he would write a book, the premiere of which would take place at Apollonia. He could not do it, but that was not the worst thing - the worst thing is that he is gone. In his memory, we will present his stories that came out In December of this year, his wife will be here - also a writer, as well as his publisher Zahari Karabashliev, who will talk about his latest novel "Rana".

During its long existence, Apollonia managed to raise generations of artists, some of whom will create a kind of bridge between the first and last edition of the festival. The harpist Suzana Klincharova will give her recital, the jazzmen Antoni Donchev, Hristo Yotsov and Petar Slavov, who arrived especially for the event from the United States, will appear on stage as an "Acoustic version", the sculptor Pavel Koychev will surprise the audience with his avant-garde work.

"Father Paisius Community Centre, the Archaeological Museum, the Art Gallery, the Apollonia amphitheater, the summer cinema from August 28 to September 7 will once again become scenes for the art of people from all walks of life. But Margarita Dimitrova is looking at an even bigger one - the island of Saint Kirik.

"If it ever happens in our lifetime, it will be the most magical place in Bulgaria - an exceptional cultural island, saturated with exhibition and concert halls, with galleries, with a cinema. There will also be an archeology museum, because the island is the most natural place for that."

And while another seemingly impossible dream finds its "adoptors" - like the former bohemians who laid the foundations of Apollonia festival, Margarita Dimitrova wishes young people in the next 40 years to continue what the previous artists have done.

Photos: Diana Tsankova, Facebook/Apollonia Arts Festivals, Ciela publishing house, BNR, Master of Art, Facebook/Symphony Orchestra of the BNR, Ani Petrova, BNR (archive)

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From August 28 to September 7

Apollonia Arts Festival celebrates 40 years since its creation

The BNR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Konstantin Ilievsky will open the festival

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