“Red Mendelssohn” Stradivari Violin Owner Elisabeth Pitcairn To Join Music of America’s Fifth Season

Subscription ticket sales for the music series begin September 23

September 19, 2014, Sofia
Cantus Firmus and America for Bulgaria Foundation present the Fifth season of the Music of America concert series. Starting in November this year and running through May 2015, the series features five first-class concerts, showcasing music traditions in America. All concerts are to include the Classic FM Radio Orchestra, alongside guest soloists, who are famous American and Bulgarian classical music stars. This year, Music of America celebrates the 20th anniversary of the first Bulgarian radio station, dedicated to classical misic – Classic FM Radio, which is also the main media partner of the series.
Music of America opens on November 21, with a grand film music concert under the baton of Maxim Eshkenazy. Two virtuoso musicians – Svetlin Roussev and Georgii Cherkin – are invited as soloists for this program, which features film tunes from cult American and Bulgarian films, such as Star Wars, Osadeni Dushi, The Godfather, as well as favourite classical pieces, such as Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
A special guest artist this year is American violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn, one of the most popular soloists in North America. She owns the extraordinary Red Mendelssohn Stradivari violin, the instrument which is believed to have inspired the Oscar-winning film, The Red Violin. Elizabeth Pitcairn is to perform for our Bulgarian audience Max Bruch’s First Violin Concerto on January 30, 2015, accompanied by the Classic FM Radio Orchestra and conducted by Maxim Eshkenazy.
Following the remarkable success of The Magical Music of Disney from last season, on March 16, 2015 we are to witness yet another multimedia performance with Orlin Pavlov and Militsa Gladnishka as soloists, alongside the Classic FM Radio Orchestra and Choir. This time around, the show is planned to take place at the NDK Main Hall under the baton of Grigor Palikarov.
Two other major series highlights feature a musical and a jazz program. Prominent American conductor Rob Fisher will present a popular program including music by Leonard Bernstein and featuring two famous Broadway stars, while on May 13 Music of America will conclude this year’s edition with a concert titled Piano and Jazz, with Mario Parmisano as soloist (famous for being one of Al di Meola’s music partners). Francisco Noya is to conduct this concert.
Subscription tickets for Music of America go on sale September 23 at Cantus Firmus’s ticket office at Bulgaria Hall. All subscription ticket owners will be eligible to participate in a raffle for 10 VIP seats for a special concert featuring world-famous French pianist Richard Clayderman on December 15. Tune in to Classic FM Radio to listen to the drawing of the raffle and the announcement of the winners on the day of the first series concert – November 21.
Ticket office hours of operation: Monday through Friday, 9:30 to 1:30PM and 3PM to 7PM. You can also purchase tickets online at www.ticketsbg.com.