With a concert at Bulgaria Hall in Sofia also given in the Black Sea festival town of Sozopol acclaimed Bulgarian cellist and pedagogue Prof. Anatoli Krastev celebrated his 70th birthday.

Maestro Krastev is known both at home and internationally. For years he has been leading master classes in Belgium, Britain, Portugal, Greece and many other countries. He has participated as jury member in prestigious music festivals such as Prague Spring in the Czech capital, in the city of Franz Liszt - Weimar, also in South America. Professor Krastev has fans on five continents - in Europe, Asia, North and South America, and has performed even in Africa.

In 2000 he created a trio with the mystical name of Kinor meaning ‘morning’ in Hebrew. Reviewers dubbed the formation “a chamber triumvirate” since it involved two of the great names on the Bulgarian music scene, Yosif Radionov and Mayer Frank.

Prof. Anatoli Krastev has conveyed his example of a man happy with the cello not only to his hundreds of students in this country and abroad, but also to his family – his daughter Kalina and son Atanas. In 2002 they were already trained enough to appear with confidence in concert together with their renowned father and pedagogue. This is how the family trio Cellissimo emerged and its creator speaks about it with great delight. A piano is often added to the family trio to add to its sound range. It is so exciting when the mood of the family occasion that the 70th birthday of Prof. Krastev was, has been shared with audiences at the concerts given by Cellissimo.

Prof. Anatoli Krastev says more about the trio’s beginning:

„My wife Nelly Kolaksazova once noticed that I love to venture into chamber music. I really enjoy teaming up with colleagues for joint concerts. So she came up with the idea of playing together with the children. We were motivated by my son Atanas who had grown up and was growing professionally by winning contest after contest. And when my daughter Kalina had returned from abroad for a while, we started playing – the three of us, and thinking of a program. This is how we created Cellissimo and our first pianist was my rehearsal pianist Rumen Tzanov – a very good musician, winner of several international prizes. Over time Yovcho Krushev has also played with us. So, the role of the piano and the pianist is key. My personal occasion (birthday) was marked at the two concerts. For me it was natural to hold one of them at the Apollonia Festival of Arts because 10 years ago, I performed there again on my birthday, when I turned 60, with pianist Yovcho Krushev. This time it was so nice – the family gathered in Bulgaria for my 70th birthday. In the recent years Atanas has been absent busy with his MA in Spain. Kalina has for the past 15 years lived in different countries with her family. We are happy people, for having turned our hobby, music, into a profession that inspires us to become better as both musicians and human beings.”

It is a great pride for a father to see the successes of his grown-up children. Kalina and Atanas Krastev have long since left their family and similar to many other talented Bulgarian musicians have built their lives and careers abroad. Prof. Krastev’s daughter Kalina has worked and lived away from Bulgaria for many years. England, Portugal, and in the recent years Australia are among the countries where the musician is engaged in teaching and concert activity. Young cellist Atanas Krustev has been specializing in Madrid for several years, and in 2016, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation. After numerous concerts and awards, it seems he is a worthy successor of his renowned father, Prof. Anatoli Krastev.

English Daniela Konstantinova