Spiritual, introspective, as if gazing into the infinity of Eternity – such is Johannes Brahms' concerto for orchestra, violin, and cello. This is the last symphonic work to emerge from the pen of the great composer - a masterpiece that will hold a significant place in the program of the concert opening the 64th edition of the International Festival “March Music Days.”
Nayden Todorov is one of the most talented contemporary Bulgarian musicians, distinguished by his remarkable interpretations across various genres.
He is an alumnus of the "D. Petkov" National School of Arts in Plovdiv. He studied orchestral conducting under Prof. Uroš Lajovic, choral conducting under Prof. Günter Theuring, and opera conducting under Prof. Konrad Leitner at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
In 1996, he traveled to Jerusalem at the invitation of the Leonard Bernstein Foundation to specialize under Mendi Rodan, conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
A year later, in Plovdiv, he founded the "Thracian Summer" festival. In 1998, he received his first permanent international engagement in Haifa, Israel, where he was selected from 150 candidates to become the principal conductor of the Northern Israel Symphony Orchestra. Over the following years, Naiden Todorov performed in some of the world's most significant cultural centers across Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. In 2000, at just 26 years old, he was invited to become the Music Director of the Plovdiv Opera and Philharmonic, making him the youngest conductor in Bulgaria to achieve such a position.
From 2005 to 2017, Naiden Todorov served as the director of the State Opera Ruse. With the Ruse Symphony Orchestra, he recorded several albums, the latest featuring works by P. Vladigerov, and released a DVD of a concert in Bucharest with the Ruse Philharmonic and Jon Lord. He toured with the Ruse Opera Ballet in Italy, South Korea, and Dubai. His production of Shostakovich’s Katerina Izmailova remains iconic. With the Ruse Opera, he staged numerous performances in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, collaborating with various Bulgarian and international opera singers. His work with the Ruse Opera earned him multiple awards, including several "Crystal Lyre" prizes, the "Golden Book" award, the "Emil Chakarov" award, and "Musician of the Year." He was also honored with the title of "Honorary Citizen" of Ruse.
Meanwhile, in 2006, he made his debut with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, conducting their tour across major cities in Japan.
In 2010, he debuted at the Vienna Volksoper, conducting performances of The Nutcracker with the Vienna State Ballet.
Nayden Todorov has worked with all Bulgarian orchestras and opera houses, as well as numerous international ensembles, including the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Bogotá Philharmonic in Colombia, the Romanian Radio and Television Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic, and many more.
Since 2018, as part of the Sofia Philharmonic’s educational initiatives, he has hosted the classical music program At a Concert with BNT 2.
A passionate fan of the fantasy genre and an avid gamer, in 2021, he published the book A Whisper of Angels. Stories.
Memorable performances for the Sofia Philharmonic and Naiden Todorov include concerts at the "Golden Hall" of the Musikverein in Vienna, the Lisinski Hall in Zagreb, and the Grand Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic. In just three days, on March 17, the Sofia Philharmonic, once again under the baton of Naiden Todorov, will take the stage of the Musikverein’s "Golden Hall" in Vienna.
Alexander Sitkovetsky
Violin / Conductor
Born in Moscow, Alexander comes from a family with a well-established musical tradition. At the age of eight, he made his concerto debut, and the same year, he moved to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School where he is now an Associate Artist. He went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London and later at the Kronberg Academy in Germany. Both as a soloist, a director, and a chamber musician, he has received several awards, including the 1st prize at the 2011 Trio di Trieste Duo Competition, performing with pianist Wu Qian with whom he regularly performs.
Alexander’s 2024/25 season begins with a concert with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer, promoting world peace by featuring performers from Russia, Ukraine, Israel, and Palestine. This is followed by a re-invitation with Camerata Salzburg to play- direct three concerts of an all-Mozart programme, followed by performances of Britten’s Violin Concerto with the Dessau Philharmonic Orchestra. In October 2024, he returns to direct the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra including a performance of Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Shortly after, he has his first of several performances with the renowned NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra Wrocław entering his second season as Artistic Director. Alexander has programmed a wide array of repertoire for the Leopoldinum from core classical to world premieres, both in Poland and on foreign tours.
In January 2025, Alexander will be directing an homage concert to Yehudi Menuhin with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta alongside James Cuddeford, playing music by Bach, Elgar, Bartók, and Panufik.
Following a three-year residency at the Lincoln Center in New York through the prestigious Bowers Program of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS), in 2016 Alexander received the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, and now retains a position on the CMS artist roster. He will be performing there in December 2024 and again in April 2025.
Other highlights of the season include a February tour with the Prague Symphony Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, performances around Hungary with the Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra alongside Maxim Rysanov playing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola, and not least a debut in the Bulgarian March Music Days Rousse Festival.
Last season included several performances with the Leopoldinum and the CMS, as well as returns to Brno Philharmonic, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, and English Symphony Orchestra as a soloist. As a director, he performed with Camerata Salzburg, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Novi Sad, and the Romanian Sinfonietta. Previous prominent concerto performances include appearances with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Detmold Chamber Orchestra, Tonkünstler Orchester Vienna , Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Camerata Zürich, Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra , Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, European Union Chamber Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin’s in the Fields, Moscow Symphony Orchestra, St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bolivia, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra, Russian Philharmonic Novosibirsk, Residentie Orkest Den Hague, Welsh National Opera Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Northern Sinfonia, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Players, and Chattanooga Symphony.
Alexander is a founding member of the award-winning Sitkovetsky Trio with whom he has performed worldwide. The Trio won the BBC Music Magazine award for Chamber Music in 2022. In September 2024, they will be premiering Lena Sierova’s trio, Bucha, which they commissioned. He is also a permanent member of the Julia Fischer String Quartet. As a chamber musician, he has performed at Verbier Festival, Storioni Festival, Stavanger Festival, Music for Galway, and Schubertiade Festival.
His recordings have won great critical acclaim, notably his 2018 Chandos recording of Philip Sawyers’s Violin Concerto with the English Symphony, and a CPO recording of Andrzej Panufnik's Violin Concerto with the Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin to commemorate the composer's 100th birthday, which won an ICMA Special Achievement Award.
Alexander plays the 1679 ‘Parera’ Antonio Stradivari violin, kindly loaned to him through the Beare’s International Violin Society by a generous sponsor.
Andrei Ioniță, Cello
For Andrei Ioniță, life, music and the arts are never direct, but pave their own way of expression. The Times of London calls him “one of the most exciting cellists to have emerged for a decade”; the British Gramophone “a cellist of superb skill and musical imagination and a commitment to music of our time.”
Andrei Ioniță has collaborated with an extensive network of European orchestras, among them the Munich Philharmonic, the Dresden Philharmonie, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the State Philharmonie of Nürnberg, the Czech Philharmonie and many others.
His musicianship led him on tours through the US, where he performs with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, San Diego and Grand Rapids.
He has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Lawrence Foster, Herbert Blomstedt, Paavo Järvi, Cristian Macelaru, Joanna Mallwitz, Sylvain Cambreling, Kent Nagano, Michael Sanderling, Sascha Goetzel and Jonathan Bloxham.
Andrei Ioniță’s exceptional talent makes of him a versatile and sought-after performer of chamber music. In his concerts, he joins forces with Martha Argerich, Christian Tetzlaff, Sergei Babayan, and Steven Isserlis among others. He is often invited to world- class concert venues and festivals within the world of classical music. “The music magically develops and flows out to the audience where it speaks directly to the soul”, says Ioniță.
Orchestral highlights of the 24/25 season include performances with the Orquesta Sinfonia Radio Television Espanola (RTVE), the Saarland State Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra both under the direction of Ruth Reinhardt, the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc with a tour lasting several days, the BBC Philharmonic under the direction of Ben Gernon, the Antalya State Orchestra under the direction of Marzena Diakun, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Geoffrey Robson and others.
As a sought-after chamber musician, Andrei will be a guest at the BBC in London in September 2024 with a residency lasting several days. In Germany, he will perform in an ensemble (Beethoven septet formation) with Franziska Hölscher, Sebastian Manz, Felix Klieser and other renowned partners in Grünwald, Nuremberg, Bamberg, the Schumann Saal Düsseldorf and the Brucknerhaus Linz. A new duo recital collaboration with pianist Nathalia Milstein will take him to Bamberg for the second time. Further invitations to the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Utah Chamber Music Festival and the Intonations Festival are also part of his current season.
On his highly acclaimed first solo CD "Oblique Strategies", Ioniță presents a world premiere by Brett Dean alongside pieces by Bach and Kodály. His interpretations create an immense range of timbres, registers and techniques that showcase the cello. These “Oblique Strategies” are necessary to make music and the arts shine.
Andrei himself remarks, “the instrument will eventually find the musician who is destined for it”. He plays a violincello by Filippo Fasser from Brescia, Italy.
More about 64. MF "MARCH MUSIC DAYS" - OPENING - HERE
Tickets at the box office "OPERA" and HERE
