Култура

For the third consecutive year, Velingrad hosted a Balkan Festival and Classical Guitar Competition, which took place between 1 and 4 April in the hall of the Art Gallery. This year the musical event was realized with the help of New Bulgarian University, South-West University "Neofit Rilski", company "Rollman", company "Savares" and municipality of Velingrad.
Hours before the opening, a special press conference was given by Prof. Dimitar Doychinov from New Bulgarian University, whose are the main merits for the festival. He appreciated the event, giving it great importance not only because of the participants of the highest class in it, but also because of the fact that it is the only one of its kind not only in Bulgaria but also on the Balkan Peninsula. Again, in his words, the aim of the festival is not so much its competitive nature as the meeting, rapprochement and exchange of experience from different cultures between young people.
The competition part of the festival was divided into two age groups: up to 16 years old. and over 16 years of age, the ranking was carried out by a jury consisting of: Eva Fampas (Greece), Dimitar Doychinov (Bulgaria), Dimitris Reginos (Cyprus), Vlado Stankovski (Macedonia) and Gerhard Reichenbach (Germany). In the first category, the winner was David Dyakov aged 10, Petar Yotov ranked second, and the third prize was awarded to three participants: Alexander Slaveev, Martina Ivanova and Kalin Yanchev. In the upper category first place plus the Grand Prix of the festival grabbed Georgi Milchev, second ranked Svetoslav Kostov, and third place remained Nikos Papadopoulou and Martin Dzhunev with an equal number of points. The special prize of the municipality of Velingrad was received by Dimitris Reginos (its participation is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of Cyprus), and an honorary diploma for contribution to guitar art was also awarded to Mayor Fidel Beev.
Shortly before the start of the event, the number of participants was not yet specified, but performers from Macedonia, Greece, Cyprus, Serbia and Montenegro and Germany subsequently appeared. For the third consecutive time at the competition as a special guest appeared one of the luminaries of the European classical guitar - Gerhard Reichenbach, whose presence, as Prof. Doychinov announced, "it is a particularly great honor, as he for less than 2000 euros does not open his case." Reichenbach himself performed during his presentation for the first time in front of an audience extremely difficult sonata of the composer Rosen Balkanski and received unceasing applause. The festival was opened by the mayor of the municipality of Velingrad Fidel Beev, who welcomed the guests and participants and wished them success. Despite the official invitation for the beginning of the festival failed to come the Minister of Culture prof. Abrashev. During the opening the guests were entertained by Chepino Folk Song and Dance Ensemble, the most successful couple for the past year of Impulse Dance Club Evgeni Popov - Gergana Kasapska and by Georgi Atanasov Mandolin Orchestra from Pazardzhik.
At the end of the festival it was understood that in August a summer academy for acoustic guitar will be organized in our city, and the two winners Georgi Milchev and David Dyakov will perform in Greece with the help of Eva Fampas.
Nikolay Stoynov