site.btaViolinist Desislava Cholakova: Playing at Winter Musical Evenings Fesival in Pazardzhik Is a Privilege

Interviewed by BTA, violinist Desislava Cholakova said playing at the Winter Musical Evenings - Prof Ivan Spasov International Festival is a privilege. It is one of the largest Bulgarian festivals, she said.

On the final evening of the festival, she performed Aram Khachaturian's Violin Concerto as a guest soloist with the Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jin Baek (Republic of Korea).

"To be able to return and play here is a privilege for me. It is very difficult during this season, which is bustling with music all over Bulgaria, to come back specifically for the Winter Musical Evenings," Cholakova added.

"It is a great opportunity to work with conductor Jin Baek on this challenging programme, and I had the great privilege of being a soloist today," said Cholakova. In her words, the Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra is "renewed, fresh and beautiful". "The level has been raised, and I am very pleased," she added.

The Pazardzhik-born violinist recounted her memories of Prof Ivan Spasov, after whom the festival is named: "He was giving autographs here [in front of the hall where Sunday's concert took place]. I was a very little girl with a ribbon in my hair; he asked me if I played and told me that I should continue playing," Cholakova recalled.

Born in Pazardzhik, Desislava Cholakova started studying violin in a community centre in her hometown. Her first teacher was her mother, Ira Cholakova. From 1992, she studied at the Plovdiv Music Academy. In 1994, she won a scholarship to study at the Violin Academy of Habib Kayaleh in Switzerland and later became his official assistant. She has won national and international competitions and has worked with orchestras in Pyongyang, Zurich, Caracas, Hamburg and Milan, among others. Currently, Desislava Cholakova is the concertmaster of the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra.