A Platform for Arts Institute of Art Studies, BAS

DEUTSCHES THEATER’S WAITING FOR GODOT IN SOFIA Kamelia Nikolova page: 26

IF PROFESSORS WERE GAMERS Emmanuel Moutafov page: 31

A LETTER TO GOD Tereza Bacheva page: 11 SYMPHONY AND CHAMBER MUSIC AT VARNA SUMMER Milena Bozhikova page: 13 1 Content

FESTIVAL PRACTICES AND SPATIAL, TIME AND 04 HISTORICAL DISTANCES THE SIXTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TYPOGRAPHY 17 & VISUAL COMMUNICATION (ICTVC)

FESTIVALS MUSIC FESTIVAL PRACTICES AND SPATIAL, TIME AND HISTORICAL DISTANCES Milena Bozhikova page: 04

TOPICAL A LETTER TO GOD Tereza Bacheva page: 11

FESTIVALS MUSIC SYMPHONY AND CHAMBER MUSIC AT VARNA SUMMER Milena Bozhikova page: 13 DEUTSCHES THEATER’S 26 WAITING FOR GODOT IN SOFIA DEUTSCHESIF PROFESSORS THEATER’S WERE 2631 WAITINGGAMERS FOR GODOT IN SOFIA

ARCHITECTURE THE SIXTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TYPOGRAPHY & VISUAL COMMUNICATION (ICTVC) Stela Tasheva, Sasha Lozanova page: 17

FESTIVALS MUSIC VARNA SUMMER Milena Bozhikova page: 22

THEATRE DEUTSCHES THEATER’S WAITING FOR GODOT IN SOFIA Kamelia Nikolova page: 26

TOPICAL IF PROFESSORS WERE GAMERS Emmanuel Moutafov page: 31 FESTIVALS MUSIC Festival Practices and Spatial, Time and Historical Distances Milena Bozhikova

of social control. According to Bakhtin’s concept of ‘the carni- valesque’, such events are so- cially induced and determined, ‘suspending social hierarchies’, ‘linking’ and uniting people. The practice shows though that festival policies impose restrictions, establishing social, spatial, time Festivals as a strategic tool are a and artistic distances. In his book much-discussed subject by many on urban festivals, Australian researchers varying from philos- Professor of Human Geography ophers to anthropologists to so- Gordon Waitt (Waitt G. Urban Fes- ciologists to historians to tourism tivals: Geographies of Hype, Help- and political analysts to urban lessness and Hope // Geography developers. Varna Summer In- Compass. 2008. Vol. 2. No. 2. pp. ternational Music Festival, which 513-537) has described the above traditionally and historically may ‘as a contemporary urban regen- well be bracketed with Europe’s eration tool of neoliberal govern- earliest festivals such as that held ance through the conjunction of in Bayreuth, opened in 1876, and business, play and fantasy’. All that in Salzburg (1920), is closer authors, quoted by Gordon Waitt, to Bakhtin’s idea (Mikhail Bakhtin. share the view that art festivals Rabelais and His World. Indiana demonstrate predominantly af- University Press. Bloomington) of fluence, nationalistic, military or ‘consolidation’ and ‘universalism’, monarchic mindsets (Bob Jarvis), retaining though the triumph of striving that the European social the elites and the mechanisms elites should draw distinct social

4 lines using high art (Kate Bassett). its historical role, structures and Comparing the festivals held in public response. The book is a East and West Europe in terms of record of the festival, featuring concepts and purposes, the differ- events and facts, made and en- ences become apparent and the riched by the author’s remarkable inferences drawn by our Western experience in fieldwork, in cover- colleagues would prove typical ing mass and popular melodizing only of certain geographical and in her capacity of an anthropolo- economic structures. These dif- gist and sociologist of music and ferences stem from social stere- culture. She was embedded in otypes, economic standards and the festival’s atmosphere for dec- to a large extent, from the educa- ades, being its living partner ever tional traditions shaped including since the 1960s as a profession- under Socialism: East-European ally engaged audience, an author music festivals are not commer- of reviews of current events and a cially oriented being intended for competent selector of factual ma- audiences belonging to a wider terial. range of social groups; Western Rosemary Statelova’s book pre- festivals, even though adhering to sents Varna Summer as a logo- the same artistic standards, are type, as a brand changing over meant for affluent elitist audienc- the years, as a set of notions, es. A fleeting comparison between suggesting values, standards and the music festivals in Lucerne and ideas. The book contains histori- George Enescu in Bucharest, for cal information, characteristics of instance, featuring identical per- the popular mentality; it features formers agree with what was ear- figures that have shaped the form lier said and is far from being an of the Festival and have been isolated case either. identified with it in certain peri- The presentation of the second ods as well as various stages in enlarged edition of Rosemary professional music activities. The Statelova’s book, The Summer of book is an invaluable record of Bulgarian Culture, in the auditori- the sociocultural changes in this um of the University of Econom- country and in Varna respective- ics, Varna brought festival forms ly. In this sense, Milko Dimitrov’s up for discussion and particularly metaphor that Varna Summer is that of Varna Summer in its his- a branch of life rather than of cul- torical mobility and analyses of ture has been proved right. And

5 the second edition of the book rey County, where he was born, occasioned by the Festival’s 90th intending initially to present new anniversary is rather well-timed, music. Later his festival evolved as it covers the biological frontier into a major summer event in the of a living and adaptive ‘spectacle UK. Edinburgh International Fes- form’ (after Bakhtin). tival was also put into a context, The festival identity of Varna i.e. the post-war situation. Unlike Summer was in fact prompted by such festival centres as Salzburg Bulgarian existentialists’ quest and Munich, Edinburgh remained for national identity in the 1920s, intact in WW2. Since its first edi- by the transformation of ama- tion in 1947, the festival has set teurism into professionalism, by on the path towards high culture the establishment and the de- in defiance of the post-war cul- velopment of Bulgaria’s institu- ture. tions and the striving for making International Summer Music art. The festival was launched to Academy and Varna Summer Mu- champion the national authori- sic Lab have been developed also al music. It is worth mentioning as a form of distancing from the that Benjamin Britten launched festival practices, ‘distancing’ in in 1948 Aldeburgh Festival in Sur- terms both of time and space:

6 the former bridges a genera- post-totalitarian period, in the of- tion gap, imparting and bringing fered free opportunity to migrate knowledge up to date, while the in a quest for a successful career. latter overcomes the spatial dif- Careers differ from performer ferences, synchronising to an ex- to performer of those included tent the parallel processes in glo- in the programme and the same balisation and the dispora. Varna holds true for their responsibility Summer Music Lab presents the for their particular performance. Bulgarian music dispora; most In the chamber music duo Ves- of them come from Varna. The selin Stanev (piano) and Ekaterina Lab has its historical roots in the Frolova (violin), Stanev definitely

7 evinces brighter individuality and the symbolism, tonal semantics, artistry, fine expressivity, perfect structure and texture is a marked pianism, attesting to his active trend in contemporary musician- international concert career. It ship. Stambolov develops the tra- has been Vesko Stambolov’s (pi- ditions of Bachian interpreters of ano) fourth participation at Var- the past: unadorned and unclut- na Summer since 2003, follow- tered, without pretence or false- ing the recital of Bulgarian music hood, paying special attention to as the Bulgarian National Radio note subtext. The recital of Swiss- Symphony Orchestra’s soloist un- based Plamena Nikitassova, a vio- der Emil Tabakov and in a cham- linist exuding an air of congenial- ber concert with Tsvetana Ban- ity, claiming authenticity of the dalovska. The interpretation of baroque richness of sound, per- Bachian music through reading forming true to her capacity, also

8 Photos by Rosen Donev dealt with Bachian music and the contributed to the above the Bul- reflections of time. garian premiere of The American Varna Summer Music Lab is im- Four Seasons, concerto for violin, portant to Varna Summer Festival synthesizer and string orchestra for its tradition to stage premieres No. 2 by Philip Glass performed of pieces by Bulgarian and foreign by Dimitar Burov (violin) Yana composers: particularly mem- Burova (violin) and the Festival orable were the two pieces by Chamber Orchestra under the Nicolas Bacri, Krassimir Taskov’s baton of Plamen Djurov. Dream for Cello and Piano; Geor- Milko Kolarov’s latest Para- gi Arnaudov’s song cycle Whisper- phrase, concertante for piano ing Along (lyrics by Peyo Yavorov); and orchestra having its world Martin Georgiev’s London Songs; premiere at the festival, sound- Kiril Lambov’s three pieces for ed as a recapitulation, an intel- four pianos and string orchestra lectual anthology, and a journey among others. This year’s edition across time. The piece was quite 9 affective, bringing intimacy, mel- championship, through the en- ancholy, narrative, and memories lightening mission and the inces- into focus; perfect in terms of sant effort to draw a distinction the course of time, of aesthetics, between high art and claptrap. being a symbiosis of styles, tech- The initially proclaimed identity niques and contrasts. ‘Harmoni- of the festivities to present and ously’ and un-clichéd moments support Bulgarian professional of tonal, atonal and aleatoric al- art constructing a national social ternated, proving Jolivet’s ingen- domain has been upheld over the ious definition of ‘tonal’ composi- decades as a Festival’s cause. tion as ‘free of any routine’, which Kolarov would quote now and then. The music flew as an absolute revelation distanced from age or the need for pretension: ‘A tear-drop has much more truth to it’, the composer said. After the end of the concert occasioned by his yet another anniversary, he gave a key to the piece, quoting the words of Ivo Andrić that ‘a man, growing older, would hark back to his or her childhood hop- ing against hope that it all would begin at the beginning. /.../ It’s more important that art helps us see the stars without a telescope. /.../ It is the mentality of the Bul- garians what I care about, it is the emanation of this mentality what I care about’. Milko Kolarov has his reserved participation in the festival as a conductor and composer. He is a living binding link with the founding fathers of Varna Music Festivities through their creative devotedness, professional music

10 TOPICAL A LETTER TO GOD Tereza Bacheva

ular justifications: the priest was a man like all those killed in terror at- tacks. But then again, was his killing a symbolic act or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Ei- ther way, our minds, squeezed into political, social, economic or some awareness-raising or whatever they are models, would go just to the A story about Sly Peter, a wily Bul- point of becoming mutually exclu- garian folk hero, has it that he wrote sive. a letter to God, leaving it at the altar We are good at comfort and yet, of the church. He asked for simple we are concerned. things, for some money for his fami- If eating, who are we: culinary ly, struggling to make ends meet. connoisseurs? But why writing a letter? Why not If researching, who are we: just presenting himself to God upon learned explorers of an art that has entering the church and uttering a to be classified, indexed, and ready prayer as usually? For fear or caution to use? or anonymity or something else? If we are Christians, who are we: Comfort at a distance, easily in- tourists entering a church just to ventible. ‘sightsee’ and then proceed in rap- Recently, a priest was killed in tures to the next site? France while officiating at mass. Are we marginalizing the essence Certainly everyone was shocked by to come to know it (or to come to the atrocity upon hearing the news. now something around it? Fortunately, we, of course, were not Do we damage the relations es- there and then to witness the vio- tablished by our civilisation by con- lent incident. We are experiencing it sulting elsewhere or parrying reac- keeping our already trained compo- tions? We’d say that we were fond of sure of remote inertia, finding sec-

11 Memorial and museum “Auschwitz-Birkenau” Poland our civilisation, proud proprietors: Peter? It didn’t get lost. It was de- we belong to it and it belongs to livered to the right addressee, be- us, seeking justification in it. Yet the cause the priest was there for him, façade of our pride masks a ‘take it doing his duty. Though the charac- easy’ approach, departing from its ter of the story is said to not have main etymology. been exactly happy with the ‘servic- In fact, the ‘justification’ seems es rendered’, in any case there was to be at an arm’s length: is it wrong someone to get his message across to eat when you are hungry; do we to God. indulge from time to time in experiencing culture; is it appalling to go to church to pray or talk to the priest evidencing in body and mind that we have not after all lost the connection to our Christian self? What about the letter left by Sly

12 FESTIVALS MUSIC Symphony and Chamber Music at Varna Summer Milena Bozhikova

Twelve years following their first concerts on Bulgarian stage in Sofia and Ruse on the Danube, and for the sixth time at Varna Summer, they are again partici- pating in the programme of the festival and though the quartet members have slightly changed over these two decades ago, the core members are recogniza- ble, while their repertory includes both The following concerts given by: Yuri new and familiar opuses and adapta- Bashmet and Moscow Soloists; Kele- tions: Sviridov, Britten, Prokofiev и Schu- men String Quartet; Ludmil Angelov bert. Sviridov’s Chamber Symphony, Op. and Concertgebouw Chamber Soloists, 14 was initially intended for chamber or- Amsterdam; Piano Duo Aglika Genova chestra. Of their programme, Lachrymae and Liuben Dimitrov as well as by three is Britten’s string version for viola and foreign orchestras: Ural Youth Sympho- piano of a composition that has already ny Orchestra under the baton of Enkhe been performed in Bulgaria. Prokofiev’s (Enkhbaatar Baatarjav), soloist Liya Pet- Seven Vision Fugitives, Op. 22 are an or- rova (violin); Hamburger Camerata Or- chestral composition composed as piano chestra, concertmaster Gustav Frieling- pieces in 1917, months prior to the Oc- haus, soloist Yoanna Kamenarska (violin) tober Revolution 1917. Barshai arranged and the Romanian National Symphony these ca. 1960 for chamber orchestra; Orchestra conducted by Cristian Man- in 1968 these were turned into a ballet deal, soloist Stefan Cazacu (violoncello) score; in 1975 the pieces were used in an marked the culmination of ensemble animated movie and Roman Balashov melodising at the festival. had a hand in the present orchestration. Bashmet with his chamber ensemble The interpretation of Schubert’s Sinfonia is loyal to the Bulgarian concert staging. in G Major for Strings (orchestration of

13 string quartet No. 15 by Vladimir Kissin), particular ensemble, which Bashmet de- defined as a ‘sinfonia’ in terms of its gen- cided to play almost prima vista with the re was of importance to the professional orchestra. Premieres are significant to audiences for several reasons: to eval- all festivals and performance of Bulgar- uated the complex form and scoring of ian pieces is an achievement. In a sense, Schubert’s quartet; to compare the more performing Tabakov’s new work was a compact and weighted texture in the or- great occasion, a gift given by Bashmet chestral version; to raise objections to with the generosity and calibre of a great the claim for a baroque reference by the artist. The music is a spiral of alternating orchestrator through the term ‘sinfonia’ orchestral sections grouped around the as against the romantically tensed and melodised core performed by a viola. expressively liberated music; to com- Hamburger Camerata Orchestra is of pare the baroque and romantic cycli- the same ‘generation’, formed in 1989 by cism. As to the latter, Kissin has probably friends with the hybrid idea to play a wide drawn courage from the revived in the range of styles. The orchestra’s stand- twentieth century genre term ‘sinfonia’ ards met that mixed calling. Beside two in Britten and Beriot. Bashmet is not, of early symphonies by Haydn и Mozart in course, striving for the delicate tracery, the concert of Hamburger Camerata Or- the intimacy, or the set of characters in chestra, a Bulgarian piece was performed, Schubert’s quartet, working with more Michael Pekov’s Nocturne for Two Violins compact sounds and colours and re- and String Orchestra, the Second Part of taining the scope of the orchestra and his Concerto for Two Violins and String the flow of the musical narrative. The Orchestra. Apart from that, soloist Yoan- initial enthusiasm for Moscow Soloists na Kamenarska (violin) soloed in Mozart’s aroused by their first visit two decades Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D ago to Ruse and Sofia due to their exqui- major, KV 218. Having a surfeit of it, the site professionalism, ensemble, culture audience would hardly praise highly the of sound, intensity and passionate mel- concert due to the sluggish, though dili- odising, has now turned into an antici- gent orchestral presence. pated and significant meeting between Two more ensembles deserved their the audiences and Bashmet and his or- participation in the festival: the Ural chestra, which energizes, encourages Youth Symphony Orchestra under the and wakes up thought. baton of Enkhe (Enkhbaatar Baatarjav) Along with the official programme, and soloist Liya Petrova (violin) and the the world premiere Vocalise for viola the Romanian National Symphony Or- and stings by Emil Tabakov was held chestra led by Cristian Mandeal, soloist as giving an encore, composed for this Stefan Cazacu (violoncello).

14 Liya Petrova stirred up interest inter- harmonic Orchestra performing Bartók, nationally by winning a joint first prize Enescu and Mahler in Bucharest. He is with Ji Yoon Lee from South Korea at an efficient conductor, working in excel- Carl Nielsen International Music Compe- lent partnership with the soloists, having tition, Odense, Denmark in April 2016. vast experience in working with national She is a performer having delicate, fine and foreign orchestras and a wide-rang- ideas, especially good for the melanchol- ing repertory. In Romania the Romanian ic episodes of Tchaikovsky’s Concerto National Symphony Orchestra, formed for Violin and Orchestra. Still, the skills from the Romanian Youth Orchestra, of the orchestra of mostly young people, an artistic and educational 2008 pro- pulled together, with remarkable en- ject, is deemed to be a leading world semble culture and highly professional orchestra and opened the elitist George instrumentally came as a surprise: they Enescu Festival ‘15 with the participation were brilliant in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony of Sarah Chang under the baton of Kris- No. 4 in spite of the conductor’s conserv- tjan Järvi. Traditionally, Romanians are atism. The impression of the orchestra, known for their brilliant instrumentalists the ensemble cohesion, perfection and with international careers, which fact marvellous sound was a flashback to was evidenced by that concert. other remarkably professionally well- Against such a backdrop, the last of the versed youth ensembles visiting Bulgar- symphony and chamber music concerts ia: the China National Youth Orchestra (17 July 2016) of Pioneer Philharmonic for Traditional Music playing traditional Orchestra conducted by Lyubomir Denev instruments, prototypes of those of a Jr can only draw motivation and ideas of classical symphony orchestra (23 July stage presence and interpretations. 2013), and guest London Youth Sym- Three chamber music concerts of this phony Orchestra at March Music Days, period of Varna Summer are worth com- Ruse (26 March 1996). menting: Kelemen String Quartet, Hunga- Cristian Mandeal, together with Horia ry; Piano Duo: Aglika Genova, Liuben Dim- Andreescu, has been guest conductor itrov; Ludmil Angelov and Concertgebouw to Bulgaria on more than one occasion Chamber Soloists: Vesko Panteleev-Es- back in the 1990s, while the Romanian chkenazy (violin), Henk Rubingh (violin and National Symphony Orchestra is among viola) and Fred Edelen (violoncello). the leading ones along with George Kelemen String Quartet, Hungary Enescu Symphony Orchestra and the brought a brilliant experience at the festi- Romanian Radio National Orchestra. val through the musicians of successful in- The last concert I listened to conducted dividual national and international careers, by Mandeal was of the Monte-Carlo Phil- playing the best instruments: Guarnieri,

15 Testore, Fabris, Galliano, Goffriller. nheim sonatas, Sonata for Piano and The quarter, though founded mere six Violin in G major KV301/293a; the early years ago, is firmly established in the elite Beethoven’s Variations on Dittersdorf of the world’s string quartets: very well for Piano, Violin and Cello in E-flat major, knit, artistically pronounced, inherently Op. 44, intriguing both in terms of their flexible, reactive, versatile, instrumental- form and technique; Five Pieces for Two ly perfect. Of the musicians, László Fenyö Violins and Piano by Shostakovich and (violoncello) is popular in Bulgaria as he an early Brahms’s work: Piano Quartet has been a guest performer on more in G minor, Op. 25. than one occasion with Sofia Philhar- Henk Rubingh, principal of the second monic Orchestra, and at Varna Summer violin section of the Royal Concertge- ‘06 he performed Cello Concerto No. 1 bouw Orchestra, and Fred Edelen, as- in E flat major, Op. 107 by Shostakovich sistant principal cellist of the Royal Con- under the baton of Dian Tchobanov. He certgebouw Orchestra, who excelled won the 2004 International Pablo Casals in musician’s invention and artistry, are Contest in Kronberg, Germany; the In- among the musicians, who have never ternational Pierre Fournier Music Con- before played at the festival. test in Geneva; received the Franz Liszt It was Lev Atovmyan, who arranged Prize awarded by the Hungarian Minis- Shostakovich’s Five Pieces for Two Vi- try of Culture and after being principal olins and Piano, more popular in the cellist of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony West than in Russia. The latter dabbled Orchestra, László Fenyö joined Kelemen in composing just to gain prestige rather String Quartet. than having a vocation. By virtue of the Piano Duo: Aglika Genova, Liuben fact that he was a member of the Sovi- Dimitrov is a regular at the festival, but et system of nomenklatura in the days this time they marked the twentieth an- of Shostakovich, Atovmyan managed to niversary since the beginning of their class with the composer as a compiler of concert activity. Their style and perform- collections of his works and an arranger. ative taste stood the test of time; they In his Five Pieces, Shostakovich appar- have attracted their own audiences ac- ently had fun composing such elemen- tively following their performances. tary à la pub exercises. The good practice to melodise with friends was followed by Ludmil Angelov and Concertgebouw Chamber Soloists, Amsterdam offering a programme more intriguing than the result achieved afterwards: one of Mozart’s two-part Man-

16 ARCHITECTURE The Sixth International Conference on Typography & Visual Communication (ICTVC) Stela Tasheva, Sasha Lozanova

tions in architectural exteriors in the 20th century; style, image, semantics, functions and symbolic features. Each academic get-together has its own, one of a kind ambiance of quest, sharing and trail-blazing ideas, impos- sible to be boiled down to just a few words. The event held in Thessalon- iki offered a highly topical work pro- The Sixth International Conference gramme in the fields of design and on Typography & Visual Communica- typography running the whole gamut tion (ICTVC) themed Discussing Pri- of exhibitions, screenings and work- orities / Developing a Field was held shops. Here, we’d dwell upon the in July 2016, in Thessaloniki, by the three most striking presentations. Institute for the Study of Typography The closing speech was delivered & Visual Communication. The event by Neville Brody, Dean of the School was organised in collaboration with of Communication, Royal College of the Thessaloniki State Museum of Art, UK and one of the most celebrat- Contemporary Art and the Graphic ed contemporary graphic designers. Communication programme of the (More on him, see in the two-volume Department of Design & Multime- monograph The Graphic Language dia, University of Nicosia. We, Assoc. of Neville Brody, accompanied by an Prof. Arch. Stela Tasheva, PhD; As- exhibition at the Victoria and Albert soc. Prof. Sasha Lozanova, DSc par- Museum.) His speech demonstrated ticipated in the conference delivering elegant, unconventional projects fo- a co-authored paper on the Inscrip- cusing on the feeling of the right to

17 err and the need to meet challenges artists are expected mainly to pro- especially in what is now believed to vide entertainment. Now, however, be ‘success’ and ‘successfulness’ as a it’s time to get back to thinking that value orientation. I was most deeply art and design should no longer be impressed with his story about the only boiled down to making money, mounting of the Anti Design Festival, but just be out there doing great job held in London. The 2,500 partici- and making their best for the devel- pants in the festival in various ven- opment of our world. ues, used dismantling and restruc- No less impressive, though of turing of existing objects, elements quite a different nature, was Da- and materials, to create new prod- vid Hunter’s Data Walking project. ucts, not necessarily subject to the Roughly speaking, this is a pilot study utilitarian or the commercial. Brody on gathering, analysis and presenta- believes that the society has been tion, of complex, and to a certain expecting for quite a while now from extent unconventional in terms of researchers and thinkers to be strict- comparison, ephemeral data of our ly specialised in making money, and environment. The gathered infor-

18 mation takes the forms of 3D ob- the used forms and degrees of cod- jects and other artworks. The cylin- ing and deciphering, give a certain der on the figure has been made via look to the final 3D product. 3D printing and maps out a route of The third presentation I’d like to a walk through London. It combines broach here, was the exhibition by precise cartographic information; Stergios Delialis: Designer, 1960–2015 degrees of noise emissions; values | 55 Years Graphics, Spaces, Objects, of the composition and the humidity and a Design Museum, which opened of the air as well as regular shots of with a documentary by Konstantinos the views surrounding the ‘walk’. The Kambouroglou, How to Steal a Chair. data of the environment in the pro- The retrospective traced the career of cess of motion are gathered using over five decades of one of Greece’s an Arduino UNO prototyping board, most significant designers, showing portable cameras, a GPS module his sketches, drafts, drawings and and sensors. Thus, the different var- graphic design commissions. iations of the recording, the prevail- Stergios Delialis’s career path had ing colours and accretions same as a lot of varied specifics, still a key idea

20 he devoted himself to, was his col- itive emotions, active student par- lection of furniture, furnishing and ticipation and discussions. Some di- design environment as well as the versities and discrepancies between foundation of the Thessaloniki State the quests and the interests of the Museum of Industrial Design. Ironi- artists and researchers from the Bal- cally, his retrospective was mounted kans (widely represented by Greek in the initial venue, once proposed and Cypriot colleagues) and the top- by the government to host this mu- ics treated by the Western partici- seum. His rich museum collection pants in the event were discernible. went a long way over the decades to Our impressions were shared in the be eventually packed up and stored closing words by the organizer, Prof. until, hopefully, better days. The au- Klimis Mastoridis from the University dience was thrilled to see Mr. Delialis of Nicosia. He underscored the need attending the screening of the docu- of bridging the gaps between the re- mentary about the museum and his gional cultural differences so that to unstinting devotion to the cause. be able to create a high-quality and The conference was full of life, pos- human-oriented environment.

21 FESTIVALS MUSIC Varna Summer Milena Bozhikova

and exuberance and flexible and in- novative changes over the last two decades. Over time, it has retained its symbolism of an event of mean- ing and values, featuring the Inter- national Ballet Competition. Some of the ideas of the opening concerts added to the specifics of the event. In recent years the festi- This year’s edition of Varna Sum- val opener, Vladigerov’s Bulgarian mer International Music Festival cel- rhapsody Vardar has been accom- ebrates three anniversaries: nine panied by pieces by Vladigerov’s decades have elapsed since the ear- students: in 2011, Milko Kolarov’s liest music festivities described as Symphony No. 1 was premiered at ‘Bulgarian popular’ in 1926; five dec- the Festival, while this year Vasil Ka- ades since those evolved into and zandjiev’s Trumpet Concerto, com- established themselves as the an- posed during the author’s studies nual Varna Summer Festival and the under Vladigerov, has proved a real seventieth anniversary of the Varna godsend. The Concerto is far from Symphony Orchestra, a main per- being frequently performed: it was former in the programmes of the conducted by Konstantin Iliev in the Festival, adding to these the equally 1980s (soloists Vasil Kostov, Rumen important to the general air events Gurov); recorded for the Bulgarian such as 29 years since Varna Sum- National Radio and Balkanton state- mer was associated with the Euro- run record company and there is a pean Festivals Association and 31 version by Georgi Dimitrov of the years after Varna hosted the earli- concerto for a wind orchestra. Ka- est International Ballet Competition zandjiev’s student piece, composed in 1964. Rethought now as almost in 1954, when Kolarov was 20, in- centennial, the Festival could boast terpreted at the Festival by Miro- both periods of full-bloodedness

22 slav Petkov (27), brought up in the al filed, that of June 19 was gener- musical traditions of Varna, is a rare ated by the Slovenian clarinettist chance for the spirit of music: it Darko Brlek, visiting the Festival in sounded easily and freely, evincing his capacity of both the President of the author’s sense of humour, both the European Festivals Association authentically and contemporarily, and a performer of Mozart’s Clari- adequate to the syncretism of the net quintet in A major, KV 581 with piece through a musician well versed Dobri Hristov String Quartet, Varna. in classical music, jazz and folk. Pet- Darko Brlek is definitely a good mu- kov made his debut at the age of 14 sician, though making for himself with the Varna Symphony Orchestra a successful administrative career to continue his career as a student from the Ljubljana Opera Director in Germany winning international to incumbent President of the Euro- competitions in Finland, Italy, South pean Festivals Association. Korea and Germany. After his stint Of the concert given by Camerata as the Nationaltheater Mannheim’s Orphica and Mario Hossen, Gérard principal trumpet, he won a com- Caussé, Wladimir Kossjanenko on petition for Season 2016/17 and as 24 June, Gérard Caussé;s perfor- of this autumn will be appointed mance was remarkable and worth- the internationally acclaimed Royal while. Caussé, visiting Bulgaria for Concertgebouw Orchestra’s princi- the second time, is a violist of an pal trumpet, in Amsterdam. exceptional professionalism, tech- During the press conference prior nical proficiency, concept, flair for to the Festival’s opening, in the pres- the style of and experience in the ence of Ludmil Angelov, the Festi- twentieth-century music. In the mid- val’s Art Adviser, of representatives 1970s, he was co-founder and a per- of the European Festivals Associa- former of Ensemble Intercontempo- tion, of local cultural structures as rain, institutionally presenting the well as of the performers, Kazand- latest music and conducted for sev- jiev’s music, in Conductor Giancarlo eral decades by Pierre Boulez. De Lorenzo’s view, was surprisingly Of the musicians of Brahms Pi- seen and defined as similar to Nino ano Trio, Russia, I had known Kirill Rota’s suite La Strada, probably due Rodin (violoncello) since he was a to the comprehensibility of the turn student in the classes led by Nata- of phrase. lia Shakhovskaya, and was known for his bright musicality. Together If every concert had a gravitation- with Shakhovskaya’s School he won

23 the Jeunesses musicales competi- In terms of his spiritual and reli- tion, Belgrade (1984) and the Inter- gious focus, Tavener could be only national Tchaikovsky Competition classed with such East-European in Moscow (1986). Nikolai Sachenko authors as Arvo Pärt, Vladimir Mar- (violin), also a winner in the Inter- tynov and Galina Ustvolskaya, but national Tchaikovsky Competition then again his ecumenism draws a (1998) and Natalia Rubinstein (pi- categorical distinction between him ano), a prizewinner in Germany and and them, establishing nevertheless Italy, are typical representatives of the secular nature of his music. His the Russian school of instrumental recessional hymn Song For Athene playing, combining their skills some- achieved fame and significance af- where between high professional- ter being performed at the funeral ism and artistic ingeniousness. of Diana, Princess of Wales not by The Bulgarian premiere of John chance either. Tavener’s Schuon Lieder, a relatively Varna Summer has always been recent composition (2003), was defi- more of an elitist rather than of nitely the highlight of the first five a summer festival. The season of concerts at the Festival; that said, holding the event as well as its hopefully the audience was also broad range of genres (jazz, folk, aware of this fact. Soprano Tsvet- crossover, etc., in certain periods of ana Bandalovska; Zachary Mechkov its existence) have never faced its (piano); Sofia Soloists String Quartet production with the temptation to and Markar Mardirossian (Tibetan escalate the mainstream dimension temple bowls) deserve applause for to the festival. This latter type of their missionary pioneering the hot- ‘festivalism’ is definitely a stratagem test musical ideas. Tavener is defi- of summer or peripheral events, nitely a hermit among the contem- wielding the power of entertain- porary compositional elite in terms ment. Varna Summer as a concept of his ideas of English music, though has ever since the beginning been nationally, Britons hold him in high an image-building, rather than a esteem: an article in The Guardi- commercial festival project. Cultural an described the composer as ‘the studies are actively dealing with the musical discovery of the year’; The issues of the festive and the mun- Times said he was ‘among the very dane, the cultural and communica- best creative talents of his genera- tive domains. The task to promote tion’. He was knighted by the Queen a cultural product is a matter of in 2000 for his services to music. long-time planning. Pierre Bourdieu

24 in his theory of cultural production the contemporary festive forms of speaks of ‘production’ though ‘artis- high art. tic’ not by chance either. He points I have conversed recently with at four major requirements for the the Rector of the National Univer- field of artistic production, ranking sity of Music, Bucharest, composer first, with good reason too, availa- Dan Dediu and with representatives bility of historians and researchers of Artexim, an artists management of culture; second come the institu- company. Dan Dediu bore witness tions for presentation (academies, to the fact that all Romanian music salons, awards); the institutions of institutions make common cause production and reproduction of art- with each other for holding George ists and audiences (schools) come Enescu International Competition only third and the last are the spe- on a regular basis and as an im- cialised agents of artistic products age-building, rather than a commer- (evaluators, producers), as opposed cial one too, as a postmodern ema- to common consumers, owing to nation of high art, which comes at which values are established. a correspondingly high price. They Apropos of the market pressure would address the top public insti- on cultural products and the ma- tutions, arguing on a yearly basis nipulative potential of the context, the professional indispensability of Georgina Born, Professor of Mu- the competition. In terms of social sic and Anthropology, Oxford Uni- anthropology, ‘festival communica- versity Faculty of Music, speaks of tion’ is vital for its ‘living sustainable the erosion of the legitimacy of art rhythm’. It is festival communication and science in the face of growing that is interpreted as a ‘bifurcation commercial and political pressures, point’ of maintaining a general com- revealing the contradictory effects municative domain, integrity, and of institutionalising culture and sustainability of culture. Varna Sum- avant-garde in particular. Contrary mer holds fast to a similar role. to those who see postmodernism representing an accord between high and popular culture, Born stresses the continuities between modernism and postmodernism and how postmodernism itself em- bodies an implicit antagonism to- ward popular culture as attested by

25 THEATRE Deutsches Theater’s Waiting for Godot in Sofia Kamelia Nikolova

up amid bare grey metallic terrain. Then the shapeless pink heap that has piled up in the hole begins to stir and slides down, unveiling two human beings: Es- tragon and Vladimir. They come out of the hole and start moving uncertainly around the stage and speaking haltingly while waiting for Godot. This is how the remarkable staging* The emblem of human existence by Ivan Panteleev and Deutsches The- The stage has a rectangular ramp on atre Berlin opens. The production was it, covered with a large pink cloth, in- invited to be performed on 15–16 at the clined at an angle of about 30 degrees in National Theatre, Sofia as part of the se- the black space of the stage and direct- lection of the tenth edition of the World ly facing the audience. There is a small Theatre in Sofia festival that has estab- hole-like dent in the middle of the ramp. lished itself as the most prestigious the- The performance begins with gradu- atrical event held in Bulgaria’s capital ally intensifying lighting of the smooth city. Before being shown to the Bulgar- surface, and a picture increasingly re- ian audiences, the production has al- sembling a cosmic landscape comes ready been highly acclaimed as a major into spectators’ view: an unreal bright achievement of German theatrical life pink plane with perfectly straight lines, 2015. Following its premiere on 28 Sep- hurled somewhere out there in the un- tember 2014, it was selected as one of known and infinite darkness of the uni- the 10 top productions of that season at verse. The pink cloth begins very slowly the Theatertreffen Berlin ‘2015 festival to crumple and is pulled into the dent in of German-speaking theatre. Samuel the middle of the ramp until it is com- Finzi and Wolfram Koch received the an- pletely swallowed and a deep hole opens nual Gertrud-Eysoldt-Ring 2014 award

26 Waiting for Godot, director Ivan Panteleev; Deutsches Theater Berlin; photo by Arno Declair for their parts of Vladimir и Estragon re- drama historians, directors, actors, stu- spectively, and the Theater Heute mag- dents and reporters at a meeting held azine named Samuel Finzi Germany’s at Goethe-Institut, Sofia on 16 June af- Top Actor ‘2015. ter its first show in Bulgaria. A year lat- There is hardly a better epitome of er, Ivan Panteleev and the actors of the Beckett’s most celebrated play, brilliant- renowned director decided to bring the ly resuming the existence of the human production to the stage as an affection- condition, than the above described ate homage, deeming Mark Lammert’s laconic visual solution by the stage design to be the closest and the most and costume designer Mark Lammert. relevant to their reading of Beckett’s Lammert proposed this setting for the play. This absurdist drama and especial- entire performance to director Dimit- ly its emblematic title, Waiting for Godot er Gotscheff, who died in 2013, during synthesises to the utmost the existen- preliminary work on his production of tialist view of the human condition. Man Waiting for Godot and he approved it is born and spends one’s life waiting for immediately, the designer himself told death. In one’s short mortal life, one is

27 Wolfram Koch (Estragon) and Samuel Finzi (Vladimir), photo by Arno Declair cast in an unknown, unknowable and text of Waiting for Godot tells everything threatening universe, where what one about man and man’s existence and this knows of oneself and of one’s role in it is why it is always extremely soulful and more or less certainly, if anything, is that contemporary, even now. This is why they have to die. Man with Sisyphean it not only needs not to be super-inter- indefatigability and tragicomic inven- preted and surrounded by references to tiveness fills day after day this waiting a particular social, political or other con- with insignificant chatter, minor actions text, but also it would be too self-con- and small plays so that to put up with ceited and unnecessary to scrupulously the absurdity of the efforts to live in a highlight all its boundless associations. world devoid of stable reference points The director and the actors have in- waiting for one’s death. Mark Lammert stead enthusiastically given themselves condenses powerfully, with expres- to the moment of their own reading on- sionist verve and the contemporary re- stage of the great Beckett’s play (defined flection of an early-twenty-first-century as The Twentieth-Century Hamlet by a artist, the philosophical content of the number of researchers), of their present piece into a formidable and unforgetta- unique experience of roaming across its ble emblematic image: man’s earth is a enigmatic and tragicomic universe. This stranded desolate island in the vast out- turns each of the performances of the er space, while his life is just a moment production into and immediate person- in a small empty space around a crater al experience both to the four actors gaping towards the unknown and the and to each of the spectators. non-being. In his production, Ivan Panteleev is Living on the edge skilfully putting two strategies of read- To Ivan Panteleev and his team, the ing the dramaturgical text. He, on the

28 one hand, traces with philosophical en- figure. In the long run, the only thing thusiasm and professional proficiency man meets while spending their life in the main direct and metaphysical con- waiting to leave it, is this (still going on nections and figures in Beckett’s narra- and on now) problematic attempt at a tion about man and man’s being. Man human organisation, at a social system. is a roamer and a clown in the desert of The director, on the other hand, is strictly life, facing the necessity to endure exist- focused on the strongly emanated from ence, burning with fear of and longing the text obsessing metaphor for man’s for death. Estragon and Vladimir are the existence as ‘living on the edge’, as an in- two sides of human existence: the body cessant going round and leaping across and the mind, while the master, Pozzo the edge of the abyss, from which we and the servant, Lucky are the social have come, over which we would lean transformation of this dualism. The cou- with curiosity or despair and where we’d ple Pozzo-Lucky is a compressed parodic return. Ivan Panteleev concentrates the image of each (social, psychological, etc.) action of the performance entirely on system based on the power-obedience the visual image of this metaphor in

Wolfram Koch (Estragon), Andreas Döhler (Lucky), Samuel Finzi (Vladimir) and Christian Grashof (Pozzo), photo by Arno Declair 29 the stage design solution by Mark Lam- performance: Andreas Döhler as Lucky, mert. Samuel Finzi (Vladimir) and Wolf- who as a new Sisyphus rolls into a ball, ram Koch (Estragon) appear/come to endlessly raises and drops the large pink life onstage/on the Earth, jumping over cloth (instead of the picnic basket and the edge of the round hole in the mid- the stool), which in the beginning covers dle of the metal ramp, and afterwards the metal ramp, and the unbelievable everything they do or that happens to play with finger-snapping of Samuel them, is while they walk, stand or sit near Finzi as Vladimir and Wolfram Koch that edge, unable to walk away from it, as Estragon instead of exchanging their and in the moments, when they want to hats in Act II. ‘hear’ or ‘understand’ things better, they An event of a production, the closer simply lie on it in weird positions or fran- to the very strong tenth edition of World tically run on the steep walls of the dent. Theatre in Sofia. Andreas Döhler (Lucky) and Christian Grashof (Pozzo) appear, are present, * Warten auf Godot (Waiting for and disappear in the same manner. Godot) by Samuel Beckett, directed by Ivan The unbearable (silken pink) heav- Panteleev; stage and costume design by iness of being Mark Lammert; lighting design by Rob- Traditionally, the stagings of Waiting ert Grauel; sound design by Martin Per- For Godot have particular props, metic- son; dramaturgy by Claus Caesar; Ger- ulously described in Beckett’s stage di- man translation by Elmar Tophoven rections: a folding stool; a picnic basket Cast: Wolfram Koch, Samuel Finzi, An- carried by Lucky; a rope passed round dreas Döhler, Christian Grashof Lucky’s neck for Pozzo to drive his slave; Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen / hats; Estragon’s boots. There are no Deutsches Theater, Berlin props at all in Deutsches Theater’s production. Even the famous dead tree is June 15–16: World Theatre in Sofia replaced with a street-style lamppost. (National Theatre) The stunning Samuel Finzi, Wolfram The visiting performance was sup- Koch, Andreas Döhler and Christian ported by Goethe-Institut, Sofia, and Grashof need not the described objects Theatrical Spaces programme. to express, play, show Beckett’s charac- World Theatre in Sofia is on the Cal- ters’ insecurity, fear, fatigue, pretended endar of Cultural Events 2016 of Sofia optimism and desperate inventiveness Municipality.. and indefatigability. Emblematic accents on their virtuosity are two scenes in the

30 TOPICAL If Professors Were Gamers Emmanuel Moutafov

ough revision, specifying, and a discussion involving researchers from all areas of study. The wording ‘Better Research for a Better Bulgaria–2025’ de- serves praise and it is our belief that it has been formulated by the authors of the Strategy by reason of their absolute confidence that Researchers from the Institute of science and knowledge in general Art Studies have voiced their opin- are not just a means to preserve ions concerning the Draft Nation- our national and intellectual al Strategy for Development of identity, but a matter of national Research 2016-2025. We are offer- security and independence. ing herein an excerpt of the letter Taking into account the fact containing the Institute’s stance. that such a document and its ad- denda are being mapped out for ‘Reaching a nationwide political the first time, commonplaces and consensus’ on the development bureaucratic clichés or too gener- of science is a must. The efforts al terms such as ‘innovations’ and of the Ministry of Education and R&D that fail to take into consid- Science to draw up such a set of eration the specifics of particular documents and to bring such a fully-fledged branches of science, draft strategy up for public dis- which require more precise defi- cussion are highly commenda- nitions, are hardly avoidable. ble; still the tight deadlines es- Still, the aspiration for setting tablished for institutions such as aside 0.45 % of the GDP for pub- our Institute for expressing their lic-funded research in the future opinions in writing seem impossi- is too modest, to say the least, ble to meet. This ‘vision’ is a real falling to keep in mind the rele- challenge, which requires a thor-

32 vant rates across the EU Member makes them seem both very mod- States, we’d measure up to or est and utopian in the Strategy. rather strive to catch up with. The We appreciate the aspirations for Strategy is vague, for instance, as ‘transition to performance-based to why public funding earmarked funding’ and modernisation. for R&D in 2025 is expected to These are feasible all right, but amount to 0.67 %. An explanation only if public funding for research is needed in this regard about the would triple at the least. discrepancies between the Strat- It is right to ‘redirect increases egy’s action plan and the indica- in the budget to sectors that have tive table therein. undergone international evalua- There is hardly a researcher tion’; still, there are branches of in Bulgaria who is not in favour science dealing with and estab- of increased investment in publishing the national identity in lic-funded research though no such areas as history, language, ways have been specified as to culture, arts, and faith, which, how it would be achieved, which owing to their national mission,

33 traditionally are not rated high- a great extent by Bulgarian eth- ly when making international as- nographers and folklorists who, sessments. These though have following 1989, began dealing to be prioritised by all Bulgarian with ethnology. Indeed, methods cabinets upholding the interests of cultural/social anthropology, of this country. The suggested unlike the theory of evolution, ‘collaboration between research are applied in history of art (art and industry’ is irrelevant either, criticism) and that is why such a when it comes to our role in Bul- phrasing is both inaccurate and garian humanities. misleading. We’d suggest in this Art researchers are particular- regard the word anthropology ly embarrassed over the use in to be replaced with cultural and the Strategy of the term anthro- historical heritage in the above- pology, which is in fact identi- mentioned sixth priority. On the cal to a science too, rather than other hand, it is worthy of note over the fact that the National that the correspondence be- Identity and Anthropology. Social tween the priority area National and Economic Development and Identity and Anthropology. Social Management is placed at the bot- and Economic Development and tom of the priorities of R&D&I, or Management and the thematic the fact that the Roadmap for the field New Technologies in Crea- Implementation of the National tive and Recreational Industries Strategy for Development of Re- under the Innovation Strategy for search 2025 fails to consider this Smart Specialisation (IS3) is un- priority area. Anthropology is the derestimating. study of humans and humankind Bulgarian humanities can in in a theological sense solely, as no case be limited to producing opposed to theology (the study of video games or digitisation of the nature of God). This passage cultural monuments to be eligi- has apparently been translated ble to receive funds for research. from a foreign language, English Bulgarian humanities need com- in all probability, but there is a mitment to be displayed and strict division between cultural strong support to be provided by and physical anthropology even the government for the studying, overseas. In France it is called so- preserving and standing up for a cial anthropology and this branch centuries-old culture that iden- of knowledge has been used to tifies us as Europeans. The EU

34 programmes are providing glo- compensation for loss of earnings balising and high-tech guidelines, before a court of law and were which should in no way restrict financially compensated for the the EU Member States from hav- use of representations of the cul- ing their own thematic fields per- tural monument in a kitschy rec- taining to the development and reational product. This triumph enhancement of the individual of jurisprudence has recently nations emboldened the same clerics A ‘strategically oriented’ com- to ban or tarnish the reputation pany has already released a vid- of worthy studies that are using eo game, Monks Beating Pigs, photos of the cloister. There is played against the backdrop of no such thing as anthropology in the Rila Monastery, i.e. both an this case, but rather we are deal- entertainment and familiarisa- ing here with anthropogeny, and tion with a historical site of cul- in its earliest stage too. tural significance are offered. The monks though brought a case of

35 Our writers

Emmanuel Moutafov PhD, Assoc. Prof., Director 0887612448; [email protected] Department of Fine Arts; Arts of the Medieval and the National Re- vival Periods research group Main areas of research interests: Byzantine Studies; Greek epigraphy; palaeography; Christian iconogra- phy; cults of saints; works on painting; cryptograms; Athonite art; Constantinople; Jerusalem; history of Bal- kan culture; lexicography, etc.

Kamelia Nikolova DSc, Professor +359 886742406 [email protected] Department of Drama Main areas of research interests: history of European and Bulgarian theatre; theory of performance; stage di- recting; contemporary theatre practices; new European drama; comparative cultural studies.

Milena Bozhikova DSc, Professor +359 899 109535; [email protected] Department of Music Musical Contemporaneity research group Main areas of research interests: the twentieth- and the twenty-first centuries music; theory and history of music; theoretical systems; compositional techniques; Schenkerian analysis; forms of cultural interplays; identity; interdisciplinarity; composers’ personalia; work with archives; performing arts.

36 Stela Tasheva Assoc. Prof., Architect, PhD [email protected] Department of Architecture Main areas of research interests: Theory and history of architecture; architectural graphics; CAD and BIM, design and planning; Bulgarian architecture; contemporary architecture; visual semiotics; theory of composition; visual and graphic communication.

Tereza Bacheva Editor, Head of the Informational and Publishing Centre; Institute of Art Studies, BAS +359 885 35 30 38 [email protected] Tereza Bacheva is a scientific editor at the Institute of Art Studies, BAS; a member of the team of Bulgarian Art- ists for Children project. She translated Roland Barthes’ La Chambre claire : Note sur la photographie; Jacques Le Goff’s La civilisation de l’Occident médiéval, and contributed articles for Homo Ludens journal.