Festival Piano Extravaganza
The Festival, organized by the Piano Extravaganza Foundation, was held for the first time in October 2011, thus fulfilling an old dream of Maestro Ludmil Angelov, Founder and Artistic Director of Piano Extravaganza. The main purpose of the Festival is to restore the world’s musical heritage by promoting works of high artistic value by composers who are little known or who have been overshadowed by the most famous and universally acclaimed geniuses of classical music.
The ambition of the organizers is to turn the festival into an annual event in Sofia that will attract a Bulgarian and international audience of classical music lovers looking for something different, offering them a truly unique program of concerts. The main emphasis in the Festival’s program policy is on music for piano, the most universal musical instrument, which will appear in all concerts. Over the course of a week, music lovers will be able to enjoy piano recitals, chamber concerts and song evenings, thanks also to the excellent acoustics of the elegant hall at the Military Club in Sofia.
The musicians invited to perform at the Festival are internationally acclaimed artists with recognized craftsmanship in the field of rarely performed repertoire, or just innovative performers that wish to explore such a repertoire. The selection of the artistic team for each edition of the festival is done by Ludmil Angelov, who has got an important experience as an Artistic Director of Toledo International Music Festival since 1994 up to the present time. Amongst the artists that have been contacted and expressed their consent to take part in the future editions of the Festival are some of the best Bulgarian and foreign musicians with strong affinity towards the unusual repertoire.
A cultural tourism program is also organized for the international audience of the Festival. This will give visitors a unique opportunity to enjoy a week of musical treats and, at the same time, to discover Bulgaria’s fascinating cultural and historical heritage, natural sites, food and wine.
Last, but not least, Piano Extravaganza supports the candidature of Sofia for European Capital of Culture 2019, joining our Festival’s creative forces to the ones of the city of Sofia with an aim to celebrate the cultural ties that link Bulgaria to Europe and bring people from different countries into contact with each other’s culture, promoting mutual understanding and giving new vitality to European cultural life.