ECB European Cultural Days - Bulgaria 2014
Channel: European Central Bank
Date: 2015-03-16

Further information about the Cultural Days of the ECB can be found on:
http://www.ecb.europa.eu/events/cultural/cultdays/html/index.en.html

The culture of Europe is as diverse as the peoples and regions of the continent. However, all European countries have the same cultural roots and share common values. In addition, the universal language of the arts, which have continued to develop in Europe from antiquity to modern times, is understood everywhere on the continent.

The aim of the annual EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS of the ECB is to highlight that culture is the foundation for the "European House" and also that it takes different forms in the individual Member States of the European Union (EU). Each year, Frankfurt am Main, which is home to the ECB, hosts a different country, enabling it to showcase outstanding examples of its cultural heritage.

In 2014, the country was Bulgaria. The opening concert was held at the Alte Oper showcasing classical music by Bulgarian and other European composers. A few days later young Bulgarian musicians demonstrated their talent. The choral tradition of the country was presented at the Charity Concert in the Frankfurter Paulskirche, and jazz lovers discovered, at two events, that this music genre is cultivated in Bulgaria with great skill and enthusiasm.

The Danube connects Bulgaria topographically with the western parts of the continent. Nevertheless, the country has its own folkloristic tradition, influenced by the Byzantine and Ottoman epochs, but ultimately shaped by a Bulgarian "rebirth". During our programme, these traditions were vividly and impressively illustrated through old folk songs, dances, costumes, and a puppet show for children. Particular emphasis was placed on the adoption of the Slavonic alphabet Glagolitsa in Bulgaria and the invention of the Cyrillic script (“Kirilitsa”) in the First Bulgarian Empire, as well as the flourishing of the Bulgarian icon-making tradition.