AmBul Festival

On 4PM on Sunday, October 2, at Studio 5 of the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, the AmBul Festival opens with a marathon concert, “7.5 Hours for Steve Reich at 75”. This multi-faceted portrait of one of America’s greatest living composers includes interviews with Reich, a visualization of his “Music for 18 Musicians” by Spartak Yordanov and Ralitsa Toneva, and live performances by well-known Bulgarian musicians such as Bobby Yotsov, Mila Pavlova, Angela Tosheva, the Valtchev Guitar Duo, and the Frosh Quartet. Music by John Adams, Demetrius Spaneas, and Mihail Goleminov, is also on the program of AmBul’s first marathon-length concert.

“This isn’t America,” as Bulgarians often explain to cellist and AmBul artistic director Geoffrey Dean. His experiences in Bulgaria over the last 20 years are the subject of an evening of provocative instrumental theater at Studio 5 on Tuesday, October 4, at 7PM. On the program are the first performances of works for cello alone by Georgi Arnaudov, Roumen Balyozov, Ventzislav Dikov, Mihail Goleminov, and Tsenko Minkin, and the special participation of “Astor 4 4” (Ventzi Blagoev, Jivko Petrov, Eko, and Hristo Yotsov) promises additional musical surprises.

On October 5 at 7PM AmBul presents “Piano Preview” at Kutev Hall of the Union of Bulgarian Composers. Honoring the centenary of American composer Alan Hovhaness, pianists Evgenia Simeonova and Anahid Akopian pair works by Hovhaness with pieces specially-composed for the occasion by Bulgarian composer Artin Potourlian. The repertoire for this concert has been chosen for the second edition of the VIVAPIANO competition, to be held in Sofia in April 2012.

The juxtaposition of music by American and Bulgarian composers continues on the October 8^th AmBul concert at the Sofia City Art Gallery, also starting at 7PM.

“Vocal Visions,” this year’s AmBul Anniversaries event, pairs two composers both born in 1901: Ruth Crawford-Seeger and Dimiter Nenov. On this concert pianist Daniela Dikova and U.S. guest artists Aaron Engebreth (baritone), Susan Brownfield (soprano), and Alison d’Amato (piano) also give the premieres of song cycles by Libby Larsen (“The Strange Case of H. H. Holmes,” about the notorious late 19^th-century serial killer) and Stefania de Kenessey (“Mirages”, on love poetry by Virginia Atanassova-Lialios).