The concert is going to be very loud. Please bring ear protection.

With his “Wedding Music”, a mix of Bulgarian folk music, jazz and contemporary elements, Ivo Papasov has made his mark on the Bulgarian music landscape as well as on the international music scene and has augmented both with new facets, long before the Balkan Bands stormed the charts in the 80s. Papasov was born in Kardschali, a town in the south of Bulgaria, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. Perhaps his passion for crossing boundaries also stems from these roots. The son of a Turkish Roma family his exceptional talent was recognizable at an early age when he started learning to play the clarinet at the age of nine. What makes him so unique, apart from his absolute mastery of his instrument, is his tireless curiosity and his ability to improvise. “I started improvising because I felt hemmed in by the boundaries of Bulgarian music,” said Papasov – and this although Bulgaria has one of the most complex musical traditions in the world, both in terms of its melodies and harmonies as well as its rhythms. The avant-garde rocker Frank Zappa counted Papasov among his most influential musical role-models.

There will be a concert by Romengo and Mònika Lakatos at the same day at 6.30 pm.