Initiated by the Italian Cultural Institute, the second annual festival ran on June 17-23. Visitors relished authentic Italian cuisine, music, fashion, and atmosphere. Each night the festival showcased different performances from Italy, and the sixth evening featured the mandolin, an instrument originally from Naples. It is one of Italy's most melodious and gentle instruments.
Just minutes before the concert, the conductor of the Prima Visione orchestra, Silvia Statkova, agreed to an interview with The Epoch Times.
With much love and pride, Statkova, also a pianist and composer, shared that the musical group had been established in 2000 by people of all ages and professions with a passion for the mandolin.
Its name came naturally: prima visione means “premiere” in Italian, and the orchestra had played many musical works in Bulgaria for the first time.
Its repertoire is mainly classical: Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Strauss, as well as Bulgarian composers Dobri Hristov, Asen Karastoyanov, Petko Staynov, and Georgi Zlatev-Cherkin. They also play tango, chardash, passo doble, and Bulgarian traditional dance music.
During the performance at the Summer Estrada in Sofia the orchestra played the unforgettable "Humoresque No. 7" by Antonin Dvorak, "Reverie" by Robert Schumann, and two of the most popular Italian canzonettas—"Santa Lucia" and "Torna a Sorrento" (Return to Sorrento). Young baritone Georgi Dimitrov sang the latter and received standing ovations.
The Charming Mandolin
Silvia Statkova revealed what makes the mandolin so compelling. “The mandolin is the most tender, the most melodious of musical instruments. It is a typical Italian instrument, associated with the sun, with the Mediterranean region, and with Southern cordiality. It is the best instrument for performing a serenade.”
The secret of mandolin’s highly emotional and delicate sound comes from the four pairs of identical strings, called courses. Touching the pair of strings produces a special jingling tremolo which can rarely be achieved with unpaired strings.
Extraordinary Orchestra
In addition to the mandolin, the orchestra also has a mandola (big mandolin), flute, bassoon, clarinet, piano, triangle, maracas, and tambourine. This non-traditional combination of instruments, along with the conductor's original orchestral arrangements, creates a unique sound and is the basis for the innovative character of the orchestra.
In addition, there is a secret for Prima Visione's success. “We have a very positive micro-climate in our orchestra. It is amazing to see youngsters and elderly people who understand and help each other so well. What is also interesting about the group is that none of the musicians are professional, but have learned to play the mandolin from their relatives or friends. During the last almost ten years many have come and gone from the orchestra, but the love for the mandolin always remains and is handed down to the newcomers.”
The orchestra plays in the most prestigious music halls in Bulgaria—Bulgarian Chamber Hall, the hall of the American University in Bulgaria, the hall of the Union of Bulgarian Composers, (of which Silvia Statkova is a member), and the Military Club Hall in Sofia.