JULY 1-14, 2024
APPLICATION DEADLINE
FEBRUARY 1st
Bulgaria Hall
Sofia Symphonic Summit Rehearsal, Lecture, and Concert Location
Bulgaria Hall is the largest concert hall in the1937-built Bulgaria Concert Complex. The structure is considered exemplary of Bulgaria’s incipient modernism of the interwar period. Originally, the concert hall had 1470 seats arranged in three levels: ground floor, dress and upper circle. To achieve the
exceptional quality of the acoustics, it was furnished
with a special kind of paneling, in line with requirements
of the Hertz Institute for Acoustic Research in Berlin.
The hall sustained devastating damages in the May 1944
bombing raids, with the organ and the two Steinway concert
grand pianos destroyed beyond recovery.
In 1949, the Bulgaria Concert Complex was partially restored and became the home of the orchestra which had performed at its inauguration twelve years earlier and which is currently known as the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. The next 25 years saw the hall’s rise in popularity with art communities and in 1974 the chamber venue was rebuilt. In the same year, the Schuke company of Germany installed a new concert organ in the Great Hall, equipped with 3 manuals and 55 registers, which is the largest instrument of its kind to have ever been installed in this country. In 1978, the Bulgaria Architectural Complex was named a cultural landmark of national significance. The concert complex and the pertaining facilities have become a kind of central venue for Bulgaria’s classical music, hosting performances of the country’s leading musicians, as well as some of the greatest performers of the twentieth century worldwide.
