Sofia Philharmonic welcomes Ivo Pogorelich back to Bulgaria Hall

Pianist Ivo Pogorelich returns to Sofia for a concert conducted by Nayden Todorov on June 11 at Bulgaria Hall, the Sofia Philharmonic said Monday.

The concert programme will bring together two works of different origin and aesthetic, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Veselin Stoyanov's Symphony No. 2 Veliki Preslav, CE Report quotes BTA.

Rachmaninoff’s composition has become one of the emblematic works of the Romantic concerto tradition. Pogorelich’s interpretations are known for their unconventional perspective, heightened attention to form, tempo and the inner logic of the music, far removed from established performance patterns, critics note. Veliki Preslav is a large-scale work of Bulgarian symphonic classicism.

With the concert, Nayden Todorov introduces the orchestra and the audience to major artists and music that offers fresh interpretation rather than a mechanical repetition of tradition, the Sofia Philharmonic added.

Ivo Pogorelich, born in Belgrade in 1958, started playing the piano at seven. He studied in Belgrade and Moscow, notably with Vera Gornostayeva and Alisa Kezeradze. He gained international recognition in the mid-1970s, winning competitions in Zagreb and Terni, and rose to worldwide fame after a controversial elimination from the 1980 Chopin Competition, with Martha Argerich calling him a "genius."

His breakthrough came with a 1981 solo recital at Carnegie Hall, launching a global career performing with leading orchestras in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan.

Pogorelich set up the Fund for Young Musicians in Zagreb in 1986, aimed at financing their professional education abroad, organized the Ivo Pogorelich international music festival in Bad Worishofen, Germany (1989–1997), and the Ivo Pogorelich International Solo Piano Competition in Pasadena, USA (1993). He became the first classical musician to be named UNESCO's Goodwill Ambassador in 1988 and became the Honorary President of the International Manhattan Music Competition in 2016.