Moni’s first report from Bulgaria

In May of 2011, Midori and Moni spent several days in Moni’s home country of Bulgaria. During their trip, they sought to reproduce many of the engagement activities from residencies that have occurred in the United States, with a special interest in making them as appropriate and beneficial for the people of Bulgaria as possible. Moni offers the following report from the first two days of the residency:

 

May 15, 2011

 

My cousin Emi, her husband Ivo and I arrived at the New Terminal of the Sofia Airport at about 10pm. I’m sure there is a proper name for it but it’s only been three years since it opened so it’s still known as the New Terminal. Inside the building, we met Daniela Handjieva and Ceco Rainov from Cantus Firmus, our management, who were also waiting to greet Midori. Daniela is the Artistic Director and the brain behind the whole operation, and Ceco’s unique set of skills and contacts makes him indispensable when it comes to getting the artists around Bulgaria, arranging 24-hour practice space and getting locked buildings open with a phone call. Midori’s flight was scheduled to land in a few minutes, so all five of us approached the arrival gate. It was not easy to spot Midori in a room full of anxious people, all anticipating the arrival of a friend or family member, but soon I was introducing her to our party.

The drive back to Plovdiv took about 2 hours and Ivo was driving. He’s gone that route hundreds of times as he went to med school in Sofia. My mother was waiting at home to serve us a late dinner. We caught the last half an hour of a “Jazz in Europe” documentary on TV and then everyone went to bed in order to rest up for an early morning the next day.

 

May 16, 2011

Midori learns about the Gadulka, a traditional Bulgarian instrument

6:30am

No one likes getting up after four hours of sleep but some people mind it more than others. Midori doesn’t mind at all! Small breakfast – yogurt, fruit and some pastries, and then we were off to the Plovdiv Music Conservatory where my mother used her faculty ID to get us practice rooms. The Conservatory is at the top of the “Old City” hill and right next door to a Roman Amphitheater. The 7000 seat structure was built in the second century AD but wasn’t discovered until a landslide revealed part of it in the 1970’s. Before Midori began to warm up, I introduced her to the father of an old classmate of mine. He is a teacher in the folk department of the conservatory and was happy to give Midori a lesson on Gadulka – a traditional instrument, much like the violin, but it’s many strings are played with a baroque-looking bow.

During the masterclass at the Balabanov House in Plovdiv

9.15am

When our practice time was over, we headed to the Balabanov House. More than 200 years old, this house is now a fully functional art gallery and occasionally hosts musical events. It was also the place where Plovdiv Music School and Conservatory students were scheduled to play for Midori. We showed up a few minutes early but the space seemed to already be full of excited youngsters and their teachers. School gave them the morning off! The dedicated concertgoers were also present. Once everyone was seated, my old violin teacher made a beautiful introduction and the class began. When the first girl was done playing, Midori took her own violin out of its case and started commenting while I tried to keep up with the Bulgarian translation. The students ranged in age from 10 to 22 and were all very well prepared. They responded quickly and Midori was able to hear an extra student as well. After the class was over, the director of the school, Neli Popova, had us sign the music school’s “book of notable guests” and we saw a long line of students and teachers who were waiting to take pictures, ask questions, and simply congratulate Midori.

1:30pm

Ceco and Irena had acquired permission from the city of Plovdiv to take the company car into the no-car zone of this historic neighborhood and we were off to my grandparents’ house for a quick lunch. Midori was very excited to meet them and equally so to try her first traditional meal.

Midori and Radka!

2:15pm

We said quick goodbyes (I won’t see my family until the final concert), and we were off to Sofia. In the meantime, my cousin Emi arranged for us to stop in a small village outside Plovdiv. The Mayor, who was waiting for us on the main square, greeted Midori and quickly took us to a cow named Radka. This was Emi’s surprise – Midori is going to milk a cow for the first time in her life. The Bulgarian yogurt, which is really famous in Japan, has been a part of Midori’s breakfast until she moved to the States, and she’s always been curious about what makes it different. Radka is a very mild-tempered cow and her owner showed Midori how to milk her. She caught on quickly and got lost in the process, so much so that we had to remind her we were on a tight schedule! We thanked the mayor and Radka’s family and went on to Sofia.

4.30pm

We skipped checking in to the hotel and went straight to the Sofia Music School. I found a practice room and Midori completed three radio and two TV interviews. I met with the conductor of the school’s symphony orchestra – Maestro Dean Pavlov, and went over the pieces I will be playing with them later in the week. Midori, who also discussed tempos with the Maestro, decided to practice until our next activity.

8.00pm

Midori will be playing second violin in a student string quartet for a few presentations and their first rehearsal was about to begin. The chamber music teacher who had prepared the three youngsters recognized my family name. She went to high school and conservatory with my mother and late father, and she tells me some moving stories from their past. Such a small world.

She’s done a great job with the students and since they spoke English fairly well, I was not needed until the end of their rehearsal. I went back to my practice room. Once the playing part of the rehearsal is over, it was my turn to work with them on the logistics of the presentation. They were all so open and communicative that it was difficult to choose a spokesperson, but finally we decided on Georgi, the cellist. Organized musical presentations for non-musicians are not common here, so I felt that it would be right to give them a general outline. They decided to take the evening to think of cool ways to introduce themselves and choose passages which best demonstrate their instruments.

This will be a lot of fun!

10.30pm

After a short dinner, Ceco took me and Midori to the Kempinsky hotel. Considered the highest ranking hotel in Sofia, Kempinsky took an older building with a beautiful Japanese garden and modified it just enough to fit the world standards. Since we were on top of a hill, I could see all of Sofia and the snow on top of the Vitosha mountain. Unfortunately, I knew that it would be dark every time I looked out that window. They kept us very busy!

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