3x3 Three Minutes, Three Questions Bojidara Kouzmanova

What finer tribute could a violinist receive than music created in her honor?

Bojidara Kouzmanova, who grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria, and performs this weekend with the Fort Smith Symphony, has been feted that way by Perikles Liakakis, Peter Richter, Florian Meyer, Julia Purgina, Sergio Navata, Thomas Wally, Roumen Dimitrov and more.

FAQ

Fort Smith Symphony

WHEN — 7:30 p.m. Saturday

WHERE — ArcBest Corporation Performing Arts Center in Fort Smith

COST — $15-$40

INFO — 452-7575

"Why I chose the music as a career?" Kouzmanova says in answer to a question. "Because that was the only thing I really wanted to do, and earning money with what your heart beats for is the best thing one can do."

Now living in Vienna, Kouzmanova answered three questions by email for What's Up!

Q. What was your childhood in Bulgaria like? And how did music come in to it?

A. My childhood was very different to the one of my son now for example, but it was a happy and safe one. I started to play the violin when I was 41/2, and I was serious about it from the very beginning. I enjoyed spending time with music and the instrument each day and couldn't imagine my life without the violin. I was not allowed to ski, because my mom was scared about my hands and I learned how to swim when I went on my own to Vienna at the age of 19, because before that there was no time for it. But I spent so much time playing the violin, studying, practicing, playing chamber music and orchestra that it was my whole world. I loved it.

Q. What do you hope audiences take away from a symphony performance?

A. A nice experience, a sparkle moment, an idea, a dream... Definitely the wish to come again. I hope to be able to present a different world, one full of feelings, colors and spontaneous joy.

Q. Why does hearing music live matter?

A. Because music is supposed to be live. We try to preserve it and that is great, but the moment one makes or listens to music has a magic that the CD at home doesn't have. The whole atmosphere, the hall, the audience, the orchestra, the sound that surrounds you...that is all part of the experience in the moment. It is something special, it is like food for our soul and our imagination, it can soften a heart pain and makes one smile.

-- Becca Martin-Brown

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NAN What's Up on 05/15/2015

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