Pantscho Vladigerov - Rhapsody ’Vardar’ and ’Song’

Pantcho Vladigerov is considered one of the greatest Bulgarian composers of all time. His pieces are still performed to great acclaim all over the world today. He studied piano and composition in Berlin, where he lived with his brother (the violinist Ljuben Vladigerov) and his mother, who was a Russian Jew. Between 1920 and 1932, he worked as a pianist and conductor for Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. From 1932 onwards, he taught piano and composition for forty years as a professor at the National Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria, which today bears his name. In 1922, Wladigeroff composed one of the central pieces of his oeuvre, the ’Bulgarian Rhapsody’ Vardar for violin and piano, Op. 16. Another important work was written in 1927: the ’Bulgarian Suite’ - Bulgarska Sjuita - Op. 21 for orchestra. The suite consists of four Bulgarian dances, each with a different character. Two years later (1929), he composed the second piece - Pesen (’Song’) for violin and piano. This work contains biographical material and a detailed view of these two violin works by Pancho Vladigerov.