© Photo: ndk.bg

Popular Bulgarian singer Yordanka Hristova was born on September 10, 1943 in Sofia. Her artistry was apparent in her early childhood – she was singing in various vocal groups and danced ballet. Everyone in her home loved music. “Perhaps this is one reason I chose this road. I started singing because of my sister, not because of any preliminary design or ambitions”, the singer recalls. She graduated from the Department of Pop Music of the Sofia Music Conservatory as a student of Milcho Leviev, and in 1964 made her first tour in Romania.

In the mid-1960s under the leadership of Genko Genov, a contest was held for pop songs about the sea, which later grew into the International Festival of Bulgarian Pop Song "The Golden Orpheus". This forum turned into a milestone in Yardanka’s Hristova career. She became several times its winner. 

“The first edition of the Golden Orpheus has already taken place, as it was not yet established on a national scale”, the singer recalls. “However, Genko Genov did not give up the idea to promote Bulgarian music at home and abroad. Very prescient of him because Western audiences regarded the Eastern artists with suspicion. In 1966, he told me that we would hold another edition of the Golden Orpheus and I said I wouldn’t mind to participate. In the meantime, Dimitar Valtchev offered me to sing his song "Dolphins". The festival was taking place in a bar "Variety" in the Sunny Beach resort. Genius film and theater director Metodi Andonov was chairman of the jury. All performers were delighted to be involved in creating such a festival in Bulgaria, and my participation in it continued for years.”

In 1967, Yordanka Hristova was soloist of a Dixieland band called Sofia orchestra. It was with this band that she made her first visit to the Cuban capital Havana. Over time, the singer became the most popular foreign artist there.

© Photo: Kircho Stichkov

In the recordiing studio

Morris Aladzhem was one of the composers with whom Yordanka Hristova has worked for years. In an interview from 2002 preserved in the Golden Fund of the Bulgarian National Radio, he says, “I chose to work with one of the best singers then and now - Yordanka Hristova. I am extremely grateful to her and I think our collaboration has been a peak in my musical biography”.

Here's what the singer remembers from their joint work:

“Morris Aladzhem was a brilliant musician and his song "Yantra" is one of my favorites. It was very much liked also abroad. The arrangement of Morris has the beauty of a picture - when you listen to it, you imagine the valley of the Yantra River and how it flows across the town of Veliko Tarnovo. It is the perfect illustration of the text. I am always very excited when I sing this song. Morris Aladzhem was one of the few composers who made the arrangements to their songs themselves. He played in the other band that I was working with at the time - "Balkanton." My second visit to Cuba was with them at the first festival in Varadero. I was a friend of the family of Morris. His wife was also a musician. I remember he was a very delicate and modest man. I am happy that I organized one of his birthdays and dedicated several songs to him. Unfortunately, many of the composers who wrote beautiful songs for me are now gone. I bow to their memory and to thank them deeply.”

© Photo: EPA/BGNES

Again in concert

Yordanka Hristova repeated her success at the Golden Orpheus International Festival of Bulgarian Pop Song in 1967 and 1975. She was regularly participating and earning awards at events in different countries, releasing across her career 21 albums and holding 3,600 concerts worldwide. On 10 October, the singer will celebrate 50 years on stage with a concert in Sofia:

“I will try to perform as many songs as I can, although for so many years I have compiled hundreds of songs and I'll need a few days to sing all of them. I want to include in the show most important ones, those that my fans know and love. I will sing completely live with famous musicians. These include Konstantin Tsekov (piano), guitarist Valery Gradinarski and Tzvetan Nedialkov. I love a lot the guitar as an instrument."

© Photo: BGNES

With Chucho Valdes, recently

Yordanka Hristova says she is planning to present to her fans also a new album. It will feature unreleased songs which the singer has recorded in recent years.

English version: Rossitsa Petcova