CANTUS FIRMUS AD

As concert promoter, as of August 2007 Cantus Firmus AD succeeds Classic FM Radio AD in the field of the production and the realisation of cultural events. This activity has been carried out since 1995 when Classic FM starts organising classical concerts and since 2001 with the establishment of the Jazz FM Radio the genre scope broadens further.

The European Music Festival and the Sofia Jazz Peak are the permanent forums at which Cantus Firmus presents stars of the classics and jazz.
During the regular season concerts are being organised with the participation of the Classic FM Orchestra, established in 2002 and renamed in the autumn of 2007 to Classic FM M-Tel Orchestra. Along with the classical programmes it presents a repertoire containing film music, tango, jazz and opera. The concert cycles Biohim Classic Jam (2003-2007) and The Bulgarian Primas (2004/2005) are indicative in this respect.

The Concertmasters cycle turned into the highest pinnacle of the contemporary concert life in Sofia that defines the leading trends in the Bulgarian music business in the field of classical music. The world-famous names as Nigel Kennedy, Pepe Romero, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Svetlin Roussev, Vesko Panteleev-Eschkenazy, Ludmil Angelov, Vasko Vassilev and Mila Georgieva have been soloists during the sixth season in 2007-2008, preceded by Maxim Vengerov, Pinchas Zukerman, Amanda Forsyth, Vanessa Mae, etc.

Since the establishment of the European Music Festival in 2000 till nowadays Sofia, Varna, Russe, Pleven and Plovdiv have hosted this prestigious forum which has presented performers and orchestras form more than 20 countries. Unforgettable remain the meetings of the audience with names like the violinist Shlomo Mintz, the violoncellist Mischa Maisky, the oboist David Walter, the singer Yildiz Ibrahimova, Laureate and the violinist Vasko Vassilev, the laureates of the first Genady Rozhdestvensky International Conductor’s Competition,
“I Solisti Veneti” conducted by Claudio Scimone, Moscow Virtuosi, etc. The daring mixing of the genres, the original ideas and music reveal new horizons and turn Sofia into a European music capital in the period March – April every year.

Since 2002, the spring and autumn edition of the Sofia Jazz Peak has been reviving the tradition of the past – the jazz meetings in Sofia. But nowadays this genre is more commercial, more ethno sounding, folk, pop … still it remains universal. Stars like Marcus Miller, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Eliane Elias, Mezzoforte, Kool & the Gang, De Phazz gather numerous admirers at their concerts in Bulgaria. Sofia Jazz Peak presents the term “jazz” from various viewpoints but always abreast of time.

The purpose of Cantus Firmus AD is to be a reliable partner of the world music agencies and to bring to the attention of the Bulgarian audience the highest achievements mainly in the field of classics and jazz.
By rendering the music accessible to the biggest number of listeners, also those outside of the capital city, the Cantus Firmus team applies an advanced management approach in Bulgaria focused on the young people while trying at the same time to meet the high criteria of the educated audience.

Juliana Karaatanasova