SOFIA SOLOISTS

Sofia Soloists is one of the oldest European Chamber Orchestras. It was founded in 1962 by a group of young musicians from the Sofia Opera in Bulgaria. Their first concert in 1962, conducted by Michail Angelov, attracted the immediate interest and sympathy of the Sofia audience and critics. Soon afterwards they began touring abroad.

Conductors, who have played an important part in the orchestra’s history, have each left their own imprint in its unique sound – Vassil Kazandjiev (1964-1978), Emil Tabakov (1979-1988), Plamen Djouroff (1988-2022) and the current conductor, Konstantin Dobroykov, who has been the orchestra’s Chief Conductor and Artistic Director since 2022. These long-term musical relationships have been a significant factor in the orchestra’s growth and development throughout its long history.

In the span of 62 years, the Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra has performed over 3500 concerts all over the world. They began by delighting audiences at major festivals in Germany and France, and in more recent years they have been celebrated at many European festivals such as San Sebastian and Santander (Spain), Zagreb and Dubrovnik (Croatia), Città di Castello (Italy), Louvain (Belgium), Bergen (Norway), among others.

The ensemble has toured numerous countries in Europe, as well as the United States – 3 tours in South America, 14 tours in Japan, 7 tours in South Korea, India, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and 1 in Australia.

Sofia Soloists have performed in many prestigious venues: New York’s Carnegie Hall; London’s Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Herkulessaal in Munchen, the Salle Gaveau in Paris, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, Seoul Art Centre, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Bunkakaikan and Art Space Centre, as well as the Osaka Symphony Hall among numerous others.

In 2011 Sofia Soloists performed in the Middle-East for the first time. The orchestra had the honor to perform the opening concert of the most prestigious festival in the Middle-East: “Al Bustan Festival” in Beirut, Lebanon. Later, Sofia Soloists participated in a festival in Alger, Algeria.

Among the names of the internationally renowned musicians that have performed alongside with the Sofia Soloists so far are those of Henryk Szeryng, Daniil Shafran and Nicanor Zabaleta. In more recent times, they have worked with Emmanuel Pahud, Nigel Kennedy, Heinz Holliger, Patrick Gallois, Albrecht Breuninger, David Walter, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Sergei Nakariakov, Radek Baborák, among others.

The orchestra has more than 600 works in its repertoire, ranging from Baroque to Contemporary music. Sofia Soloists have premiered over 100 works, many of them written specifically for the orchestra. Their discography comprises over 60 CDs, many of them available online through Spotify, Amazon, Naxos and ArkivMusic. Some of their most brilliant repertoire has been published by major labels such as Sony Classical-BMG, Harmonia Mundi, Columbia, Denon, Decca, Centaur Records, SABA, Victor and Gega New.

In 2003, the Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra recorded a CD, named ”Bulgarian soul” with famous Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova, produced by Sony Classical-BMG, which won the grand prize of ECHO Klassik (today Opus Klassik).