Ivan Hadzhiiski (1937-2005) is one of those unique musicians who professionally perform folklore and classical music. He graduated from the Music Academy in Sofia and in the past decades worked as a soloist in the orchestra of the Sofia Opera and in the symphony orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio. Ivan Hadzhiiski dedicated 54 years of his life to Bulgarian folklore.
Ivan Hadzhiiski was born on July 1, 1937 in the village of Markovo near the city of Plovdiv. He started playing the trumpet in high school. When he was 15-years-old he was already a part of a folklore orchestra. Later he gained much popularity in the region of Plovdiv and the Rhodopes. After his military service ended renowned clarinet player Stoicho Kuzmov invited Ivan Hadzhiiski to work together with him. This led to the first recording of the music of the trumpet player, which was made in Radio Stara Zagora in 1958. During the 60s the trumpet player worked with some of the biggest names in Bulgarian folk music: Nikola Yankov, Biser Kaev, Nedyalka Keranova, Penka Pavlova, etc. Ivan Hadzhiiski also performed with a number of popular orchestras.
A number of recordings of the music of Ivan Hadzhiiski were made in the Bulgarian National Radio. He has performed with masters of folk like Petko Radev and Ivan Mihov.
During his career, Ivan Hadzhiiski was a soloist of various orchestras in Bulgaria and abroad. For his work the trumpet player received a number of prestigious awards. He also released a folk album, as well as a CD with baroque music. Some of Ivan Hadzhiiski’s performances of classical music are kept in the golden audio fund of the BNR, just like a number of his folk concerts.
