Bulgarian music genius Ivo Papasov has reached the finals of the race for the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards, in the Audience Award category. Photo by wnyc.org
Bulgaria's clarinet virtuoso Ivo Papasov has made it to the finals of the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards, in the Audience Award category.
Papasov, with his latest album Panair ("Fairground"), is rivaling Chehade Brothers, Enzo Avitabile e Bottari and Mercan Dede.
The winner will be announced at the Poll Winners concert at the Sage in Gateshead on 5th March.
The Bulgarian, described as the greatest clarinet player on the Balkans, is also known as the King of Wedding Music. He is also the most outstanding practitioner of Bulgaria's largely favoured musical format.
After forming his first ensemble in 1974, he gradually evolved from a traditional Thracian repertoire into a jazz-inspired improvisational set. This new work nevertheless maintained the complex time-signatures required of traditional Bulgarian dance music.