There are many talented Bulgarian violinists. One of them is Mincho Minchev but in this music edition we bring more about his son Nikolay Minchev. He was born in Sofia in 1979 and started playing the violin when he was just 4. For a while he studied in the Music School in Sofia before in 1990 he went to Germany to continue his education in the Folkwang Universitaet der Kunste in Essen. He studied in the class of professor Nana Yashvili. 

Nikolay Minchev started his successful career in music as a child, winning a number of awards. In 1988 he won the first prize at an international contest in the Czech Republic. He has won awards in Germany and Bulgaria. One of the biggest prizes for the young musician is a Galliano violin given to him by the German Fund for Musical Instruments after a competition. Currently he plays an instrument created in 1850 by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume who used to make copies of Stradivari, Guarneri and Amati. I really love playing this wonderful instrument, Nikolay Minchev says.

Nikolay Minchev has been a soloist in most of the renowned Bulgarian orchestras and has had concerts in a number of European countries. Here is what he told Radio Bulgaria.

“I remember my first joint performance with my father when we performed at the opening of an exhibition by Svetlin Rusev. Later we had a concert with the philharmonic orchestra in Pleven. I remember that I was very nervous the night before the concert and my advice to young musicians is that stage fever can be overcome by a lot of performing in front of the audience.”

For a tenth season Nikolay Minchev is the concertmaster of the Wuppertal symphony orchestra in Germany. This is a difficult profession, Nikolay Minchev says and adds:

“Some two years ago I was concertmaster in Essen. There I met a conductor, with whom we had very much in common. He told me that he was considering moving to Wuppertal and I started thinking about the idea. Fortunately, there was a competition for concertmasters and I won. I combine my work in the orchestra with my passion for chamber music. My last concert was a month ago when together with a viola player we presented some of Bach’s piano inventions. We also performed pieces by Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu."

Nikolay Minchev works in Wuppertal but is also a lecturer in the Folkwang Art University in the city. He teaches students from different ages and nationalities.

“A long time ago some parents came to me with their child who was just 2 years old and I was a bit confused at first. Now this boy is 16 years old and is a promising violinist. Most of my students are teenagers. I like working with young people. The most important thing is to have talent and to want to develop.”

English version: Alexander Markov