Yesterday’s European Union Evening at “Ohrid Summer” was an excellent opportunity to enjoy the sounds of the clarinet and piano through the extraordinary concert by young and talented artists, Spanish clarinetist Pablo Barragan, and French pianist Eloise Bela Kon.
Addressing the audience at the “St. Sophia” church, the European Union Ambassador to North Macedonia, David Ghir, emphasized that “Ohrid Summer” has firmly been put on the international cultural map.
“Since 2007, we have been supporting the European Union Evening at ‘Ohrid Summer,’ a festival that is now firmly established on the international cultural map. We are always honored by the exceptional music performed here, in the magnificent atmosphere of the ‘St. Sophia’ church. After listening to the artists Pablo Barragan and Eloise Bela Kon, I can say that the standards for last night were at the highest level. This is just part of our commitment to support culture in the EU and the culture here,” said Ambassador Ghir.
The director of the “Ohrid Summer” National Institution, Natasha Popovic, expressed her gratitude for the selfless support provided by the EU Delegation in North Macedonia, not only for this concert but also for all the others that have been realized during the past years as part of the EU Evening at the festival.
“This collaboration between the EU Delegation and ‘Ohrid Summer’ will continue in the future, and our efforts will always be focused on bringing the best artists. This is an opportunity to express immense gratitude for the selfless support we receive for the realization of this traditional evening, the EU Evening at ‘Ohrid Summer’,” emphasized Popovic.
Pablo Barragan, an exclusive artist of the clarinet manufacturing company “Bakun,” who plays the “Bakun Lumiere” clarinet model, has always attached great importance to the interaction between musicians during their joint performances, believing that this symbiosis between them is the ideal way to interpret musical works. From this starting point, he creates his solo performances with orchestras, including the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of Spanish Radio and Television, and the Slovak Philharmonic. He also builds collaborations in the world of chamber music, performing at festivals such as the “Schleswig-Holstein” Festival, the International Festival “Molivos,” and Martha Argerich’s festival, where he performs with pianists Danae Dorken, Sophie Pacini, violinist Noah Wildschut, cellist Kian Soltani, and the “Schumann” quartet.
“The program with which we performed at this year’s ‘Ohrid Summer’ is a mixture of French repertoire, which I believe is quite colorful and suitable for this festival, and it showcases the best of the piano-clarinet combination, with Impressionistic French music. We also wanted to bring a part of my homeland, Spain, my soul,” said clarinetist Barragan, who departs for Berlin after the concert, where he lives, and then has performances in Hungary, Romania, and Jerusalem, before returning to his students from the academy.
Pianist Eloise Bela Kon is regularly featured at some of the most significant festivals and concert stages in France, such as the “Chatelet” theater, the “Gaveau” hall, the auditorium of the “Orsay” museum, the hall of the French radio, the “Rock Entron” festival, and festivals in Lille, Toulouse, Rouen, as well as the international festival in Aix-en-Provence. She is a recipient of the “Choc Classica” and “Golden Diapason” awards, as well as a prize from music critics in France for her three albums.
