The Ancient Theatre in Plovdiv, a Roman stage nearly two thousand years old, rarely lands a performer of the calibre arriving on 20 July 2027. Lang Lang (Lang Lang), the Chinese pianist who turned classical music into a global phenomenon, performs for the first time under the stars of one of the most beautiful concert venues in Europe.

Lang Lang is among the few classical musicians to reach genuine superstar status. Born in 1982 in Shenyang, he began playing at the age of three, and at thirteen he won a prestigious international competition for young musicians. His breakthrough came in 1999 at the Ravinia Festival, when he stepped in at the last moment for an ill colleague and played Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto - a performance that launched him into the world elite.

He was the first Chinese pianist engaged by the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics and by the leading American orchestras, and the New York Times describes him as one of the most influential names in the world of classical music. His concerts sell out months in advance, and he manages to carry the classics to an audience that would otherwise never set foot in a concert hall.

The evening in Plovdiv will be split into two parts - the first with an orchestra, the second a solo recital under the open sky of the oldest city in Europe. Tickets start at around 60 euros and are sold through festteam.bg. For Balkan lovers of classical music, this is an event worth planning for well ahead.