- Eight weeks of "Colourful Bulgaria" brought to Frankfurt by the European Central Bank in cooperation with Bulgarian National Bank.
- Grand Opening Concert conducted by Grigor Palikarov, featuring the pianist Ludmil Angelov and the opera singer Nadia Krasteva.
- The 12th edition of the EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS includes classical music, jazz, folk music, dance performances, lectures and exhibitions.
"Colourful Bulgaria" is the motto of this year's EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS of the European Central Bank (ECB). The EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS will be launched by an opening concert at the Alter Oper in Frankfurt am Main ‒ at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, 15 October 2014.
For the twelfth consecutive year, the ECB has organised a series of events presenting the cultural life of a Member State of the European Union to an audience largely from Frankfurt am Main and the Rhine-Main region. As in previous years, the programme was compiled in close cooperation with the respective national central bank ‒ this year with Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).
Under the joint patronage of Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, and Ivan Iskrov, Governor of BNB, a varied programme of concerts, exhibitions and lectures will be presented in the weeks until 12 December. “The EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS reflect the ECB’s commitment to our broader role as a European institution and as a member of the local community. Literature, music, performing arts and fine arts provide inspiration that helps to bring about economic prosperity”, said Mario Draghi.
The complete programme (including children’s events), as well as the preview trailer, is available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu/culturaldays.
Further information about the events can be requested by sending an e-mail to cultural-days@ecb.europa.eu or by calling the Cultural Days hotline on +49 69 1344 5555 (Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
For media inquiries, please contact Eszter Miltényi-Torstensson on +49 69 1344 8034.
Note to editors
“Colourful Bulgaria” ‒ programme highlights
Grand Opening Concert
The Grand Opening concert on 15 October 2014 will include works by some well-known composers as well as pieces that are representative of classical Bulgarian music. The Classic FM Radio Orchestra and the pianist Ludmil Angelov will be playing under the direction of Grigor Palikarov. In addition, the young Bulgarian opera singer Nadia Krusteva (mezzo-soprano) will delight the audience with some famous arias.
Charity concert
On 1 November, the Bulgarian National Radio Children’s Choir and soloist Maria Radoeva (soprano) will present a bright and vibrant musical collage of choral music in the Frankfurter Paulskirche. The programme spans several centuries of musical history and includes both sacred and secular music. The concert will be organised in cooperation with the City of Frankfurt am Main.
Jazz and pop
On two evenings in November, jazz lovers will marvel at jazz evergreens, romantic songs and some own compositions by the best Bulgarian jazz musicians.
Rock and ethnopop will be taken care of by StringS, a band comprised of four female musicians. The quartet’s members are trained in the classical repertoire, but their string instruments will be plugged into an electric amplifier, and thus they will fill the Brotfabrik with metallic sounds on 2 December.
Lectures and exhibitions
Since Bulgaria was founded more than 1,300 years ago, the name of the country has remained unchanged. The Bulgarians are very proud of this, and also of the fact that the Cyrillic script was invented in their country. The historical identity of Bulgaria will be discussed in the context of several exhibitions and lectures, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of modern Bulgaria.
Folklore and closing event
The focus will be on Balkan traditions during the concert with the “Dragostin Folk National” women’s choir on 11 December, featuring samples from the unique treasure chest of Bulgarian folk songs. This year’s EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS of the ECB will then end on Friday, 12 December with a fabulous show at the Schauspiel Frankfurt on Willy-Brandt-Platz.
Colourful Bulgaria