At the beginning of June the Sofia Philharmonic presented an instrumentalist who has been living in USA for two decades but has never lost touch with her fatherland. For Radio Bulgaria cellist Diliana Momtchilova talked about her impressions from the concert:

„It has always been a pleasure for me to work with Sofia Philharmonic and with conductor Martin Panteleev. This has been our second joint project. Besides I have received an invitation from Prof. Anatoly Krastev to lead a master class at Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music in Sofia. It went on for three days. I was happy to meet so many young talents who have done a great job being trained here in Bulgaria. They were very enthusiastic about our classes that went on from the morning till the evening.”

Diliana Momtchilova graduated the National Music Academy in Sofia and after that defended an MA at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music in New York. By tradition it holds the so-called concert competition. „Whoever wins it becomes a name at Juilliard”, Diliana Momtchilova tells us. Apart from the chance to be a soloist of the school's orchestra, the winner is also free to select an instrument from its expensive instrument collection. Momtchilova goes back in time to 1998:

„When I won the competition a Stradivarius cello has just become part of the Juilliard collection. My professor Harvey Shapiro advised me to choose that cello. I remember that I could not take it home because its price was incredibly high. It is hard to get accustomed to playing a Stradivarius instrument. These have a character, quite unruly at that. I found a curious fact - the farthest one is in a concert hall, the strongest he hears the Stradivarius sound. I have long experience with another wonderful Italian instrument, from the Tononi brand. I loved it more than the Stradivarius because it allowed me to extract the sound exactly the way I liked.”

Diliana Momtchilova has appeared as a chamber musician in Europe, Canada and the United States. Her latest project was in Virginia with famous Bulgarian pianist Pavlina Dokovska. „When a teacher has been a good teacher the student identifies with his views about the subject”, Diliana contends. “One of the most precious lessons of my teachers including Anatoly Krastev is the lesson on how to achieve a strong music presence.”

„I disagree with qualifying some musicians as soloists, others as chamber performers and still others as pedagogues. All these aspects can get together and create an accomplished musician. My earliest experience was as soloist and chamber performer. While still a student I joined the piano trio Alaria. For many years it was a regular ensemble of Mannes College, one of the top three music academies in New York. There I taught chamber music and cello and after that won a job at the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. I spent some time there and then moved to teach at Vancouver Academy of Music. I am currently based in Quebec and play at the local orchestra. I intend to teach again once I become fluent in the language.”

English version Daniela Konstantinova

The audio file contains the following works:

1. Second Movement from Arpeggione Sonata for Cello and Piano by Franz Schubert in the rendition of Diliana Momtchilova (cello) and Lora Chekoratova (piano)

2. Song by Pancho Vladigerov performed by Diliana Momtchilova (cello) and Lora Chekoratova (piano)

3. Variations for One String on a Theme by Rossini by Niccolo Paganini, Diliana Momtchilova (cello)