On January 12, the Bulgarian Chamber Orchestra will give a concert at the Mirror Hall in the city of Dobrich (north-eastern Bulgaria). The ensemble was originally established in 1968 under the name Tolbuhin Chamber Orchestra (because at that time the city of Dobrich was called Tolbuhin), and its concert programmes have featured famous Bulgarian conductors such Prof. Vasil Stefanov, Konstantin Iliev, Dobrin Petkov, Acad. Vasil Kazandzhiev. Today’s conductor of the group is Ivan Yanakiev, a relatively recent graduate of the Pancho Vladigerov National Music Academy, known to the public as the founder of Chamber Orchestra 432 in Sofia.

In an interview for Radio Bulgaria, the young musician shares details about the upcoming concert, which is part of the celebrations on the occasion of the 125^th anniversary of the birth of Acad. Petko Staynov. This is the first concert for 2022 in a series of events organized by the Petko Gruev Staynov Foundation on the occasion of the significant anniversary in the period October 2021 - December 2022.

"We start the new year by paying respects to this prominent Bulgarian composer, musician, and publicist. We will perform one of his iconic works - "Rachenitsa" from the symphonic suite "Thracian Dances", in a version for a string orchestra, made by Emil Yanev. Petko Staynov works mainly in the field of symphonic and choral music, that is our group can only perform adaptations, but we continue to look for opportunities," Ivan Yanakiev told Radio Bulgaria. Here is his definition of the music of the Bulgarian classic composer:

"An example of a synthesis of the Western European form of symphonic thinking imbued with the Bulgarian spirit, this is the most important thing in my opinion. Petko Staynov is one of the brightest representatives of the so-called “second generation” of Bulgarian composers who work hard to establish the Bulgarian national style. Let us not forget his contribution as the founder and first director of the Institute of Music at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and also as a co-founder and chairman of the Contemporary Music Society. Of course, for us as performers, his music comes first. It is accessible to listeners, and at the same time carries the highly professional spirit of the Western European musical tradition.

When compiling the concert repertoire of the Bulgarian Chamber Orchestra, Ivan Yanakiev always included a Bulgarian work.

"Since September 2020, when I took over the conducting, I took this initiative. So far we have performed the First String Quartet of Lyubomir Pipkov in a string orchestra version, Aria from Eight Miniatures for String Orchestra, as well as works by Acad. Vasil Kazandzhiev such as Variations for String Orchestra, Prof. Krassimir Taskov’s Adagio for Strings and Legend of Orpheus, Georgi Arnaudov’s The Doors of Dreams, Peter Krumov’s Three Dobrudzha Songs. We try to have more works by authors who are currently working so we could introduce them to the audience in Dobrich, and through the media – to a much wider range of listeners”, explains Ivan Yanakiev.