Closing of the 65th March Music Days International Festival with a concert by the Rousse State Opera

On March 29, the festival edition concludes with a symphonic concert by the Rousse State Opera, featuring the virtuoso Liya Petrova and Dimitar Kosev at the conductor’s podium.

The program includes Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and a suite from the ballet The Bolt.

120 years since the birth of Dmitri Shostakovich

Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 was created during a period of “ideological inquisition,” in the Stalinist era of “anti-formalism.”

Composed in an atmosphere of fear and in close collaboration with the violinist David Oistrakh, the work finally reached the public much later, in 1955, where it enjoyed extraordinary success.

With its vivid symphonic writing for violin and orchestra, the concerto surprises with its rich stylistic diversity—music forged under pressure, where grotesque dance, a funeral march, and an untamed Russian folk spirit collide.

In contrast, the second part of the evening features a suite from Shostakovich’s ballet The Bolt—a satirical, lively, and boldly experimental work. The ballet was banned immediately after its premiere in 1931 because of its innovative sound. A work that remained forgotten for 74 years will now be heard on the stage.