Founded in 1926, the Varna Summer International Music Festival is Bulgaria’s primary music festival. Its opening followed the opening of the sea-side city’s first-ever Spa, which marked Varna’s starting point as a visitors’ attraction. The coastal pampers attracted Bulgaria’s cultural elite, including composers Pancho Vladigerov and Dobri Hristov, who started the music festival.
Working within the context of Classical Music, the festival has several strands that developed over the years, notably the Renaissance and Baroque Music, the Music Lab—Varna, and the Intermezzo program that runs together with the city’s International Theatre Festival. There are also programs for children, cross-genre events mixing with exhibitions, films, and dance.
The festival was honored in 2019 with the EFFE label, a European quality stamp, and was named one of the 24 best festivals in Europe, a testament to the ambitious programming. In 2020, the festival takes place in open-air venues and if the pandemic is still with us in 2021, we assume the festival will find a way to take place.
Over the years, the festival hosted some of the world’s best and most renowned musicians, conductors, and orchestras including the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, baritone Hugo Oliveira, and acclaimed pianist Toshiki Usui. The festival runs from July until October and is a must-go for classical music fans.
