［CITY］
Ruse … Bulgaria
［SCHEDULE］
2026：3.13 … 3.29
To the festival site ▷
Ruse is a city facing the Danube. The opposite shore is the northern border town of Romania city Giurgiu. It is about 300 kilometers northeast from the capital city of Sofia, 200 kilometers northwest of Varna facing Black Sea, 300 kilometers north of Plovdiv in the center.
It prospered as a base for trade, logistics using the shipping of Danube from early. After independence from Ottoman Turkey in 1878, it grew into the biggest city of the Bulgarian duchy. Before WWI, the buildings were built along the streets, which was also called “small Vienna” from the cityscape.
Establishment of the music festival held in the second half of March every year was 1961. In the socialist era, major artists (Sviatoslav Richter, Gidon Kremer and others) and orchestras from Russia and Eastern Europe have appeared one after another.
The concert program ranges from orchestra to chamber music, recital. During the period the opera was also performed at the National Opera. The concert is the main venue of the European Hall located in “Dohodno Zdanie = Revenue Building” which is also a symbol of the city of Rousse. Since 2017, Ruse-born violinist Svetlin Roussev serves as a music festival advisor.
