Instrumental music has rich traditions in the Bulgarian lands. The instruments that we know today such as gadulka (rebec), kaval (shepherd's flute) and gaida (bagpipe) as well as the bugariya (bulgarina), already extinct but very popular in the past, have been used by the locals since time immemorial. Instruments first emerged in the Balkans, and only then spread to West Europe.

In Bulgaria the villages in the southern region of Plovdiv, Asenovgrad, Haskovo and Chirpan have become the main center of orchestral music and especially of wedding music. The population of this region keeps its unique traditions which include a few instruments characteristic of European classical music and borrowed from it: the clarinet, the violin and the accordion, with the invariable input of the drum.

One of the strongest instrumental schools in the region is the violin one which has produced a few talented instrumentalists. Every professional rebec player becomes a good violinist - sooner or later. Ivan Mihov is one of the foremost representatives of this school. Aged 79 the self-taught virtuoso continues to compose music and to play. And because he cannot write down in notes, any time he creates a melody he records it on his ancient cassette recorder, his bosom friend. And music is constantly being born in his mind, even during nights. 

We bring some of his memories in an interview of Ivan Mihov taken by Nikolay Chapanski from Radio Plovdiv. „I learned from Georgi Krushkata, a good violinist but with no recordings on the radio - he played at weddings and community gatherings”, Ivan Mihov said: 
 
„In 1958, I founded the Belorechen Band that broke down 14 years later so I then gathered the Belozem Band. I have worked with the bands of Sadovo and Chirpan. To this day I have been trying to safeguard folk music traditions. Folk music should be protected, folklore is our treasure. Young musicians today join the race trying to be virtuosos and forget that music is not sport, it comes from the heart.”  

Sometimes the violinist plays music on one string and even only with the wooden part of his fiddlestick. Over time he went so deep into the violin's capacity that he can use it to imitate various animals.

During his long career Ivan Mihov has worked with some of Bulgaria's best folklore musicians - Prof. Petko Radev (clarinet), Petar Dachev (accordion), Ivan Hadjiiski (trumpet) and others. He has many students who have become famous instrumentalists - Georgi Yanev, Ivan Boychev, Roussen Kalev, Ivan Iozov and others.

Since 1980  Ivan Mihov has been operating his own violin-making workshop where he makes all violins. In his latest album with his compositions the musician has teamed up with Young Thracians Band. The success of this project clearly shows that continuity and respect between generations of Bulgarian folk musicians are still alive.

English Daniela Konstantinova

The audio file contains the following pieces:

MUSIC performed by Ivan Mihov (violin)

1. Belozem Ratchenitsa Dance, with the Belozem band

2. Memory

3. Lacrymatorium with Dimitar Bogdanov

4. Elenina Ratchenitsa Dance with the Young Thracians Band