Composer Petar Stupel (1923-1997)

published on 4/16/13 12:23 PM

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If we decide to open our feature on composer Petar Stupel with his most popular melody we will end up in difficulty. It is so, because he has written a few vastly popular songs for children, very much loved movie tracks, a few evergreens such as the song The Snow of Memories with the soft, caressing voice of Georgi Minchev. In fact Petar Stupel had the rare gift of writing music that sounds both natural and very emotional and moving. During his prolific career he was assisted greatly by this rare gift but also by his good training coupled with a good-hearted and tolerant character. April of 2013 marks his 90th birth anniversary.

Petar Stoupel was born in 1923, to a family of musicians. Music was an integral part in his life from the very beginning. As a boy he fell in love with opera and went to watch and listen once every week. In early childhood he started piano lessons that with time became very important for him: it could be for the proficient teachers that Stupel had the chance to work with – Andrey Stoyanov and Mara Balsamova. Once he recalled: “There was something in my training that I guess is nonexistent in the atmosphere among musicians today: creating love for music at large.” During his studies at the Music Academy in Sofia, Petar Stupel was part of a community of young and talented students such as conductors Dobrin Petkov and Kosntantin Iliev, composer Alexander Raychev, violinist Boyan Lechev and others. One of their professors was great Bulgarian composer Pancho Wladigeroff.

The post-war years were difficult for everyone including the then young musicians who took various jobs to make a living. At that time was Petar Stupel’s first encounter with the Bulgarian National Radio. Together with composer and friend Alexander Raychev, in the late 1940s, he had the chance to work for the Children’s Section of the National Radio. There one of the most popular children’s songs by Petar Stupel, The White Bunny, was created.

For Petar Stupel this emblematic song was crated by chance, and he never counted much on it. However, he once remarked that the lyrics that he got had been first-class, and admitted that in his creative field, good lyrics are vital.

Now we go back in time to one of his greatest hits written while the Theater of Satire in Sofia was a brand new company. The wonderful show When Roses Dance on poetry by Valeri Petrov and music by Petar Stupel was a landmark production for the theater.

Petar Stupel is the author of a cycle of songs, Hope Vendor, based on poems by Italian children’s writer Gianni Rodari translated to Bulgarian by Valeri Petrov. Mildness, warmth, simplicity and sincerity: this is what Petar Stupel would generously present to his huge audiences. From among his works he loved children’s songs most and believed this was the core of his legacy in music.

Allow us to quote composer Petar Stupel with one of his insights. He once said: “I am a composer working in the popular genres – music performed for a large audience. However, anytime that this music betrays event a hint of industrialization, it is no longer of any interest to me.”

During his lifetime, Petar Stupel succeeded in marrying his outstanding creative career to a few senior administrative jobs. As CEO of the Bulgarian National Television he served well the cause of good music on TV. From 1980 till the end of his life in 1997 he was CEO of the Sofia Music Weeks Festival for serious music.

Translated by Daniela Konstantinova

По публикацията работи: Juliana Alexieva

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Composer Petar Stupel (1923-1997)

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