Here is more about the agenda of composer Rumen Boyadzhiev Jr.:

„The most important thing ahead is the premiere of my concert overture to the fairy tale "Ali Baba", which will be presented on 13 January at "Bulgaria" Hall by the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra with conductor Rossen Gergov. The history of this overture is that it is among a few completed fragments from a future children's operetta. The other two premieres ahead are of my first string quartet and brass quintet, chamber works which are waiting to be performed by wonderful musicians who work here, in Bulgaria. Essential to the process of maturing as an artiste is the ability through music, to show a point of view and get people thinking about many things. Thanks to recording equipment I can reach a huge number of listeners. Performers are keen on playing new Bulgarian music. Thanks to them these ideas are born, the children of music in fact.”

Rumen Boyadzhiev Jr. has also written the children's operetta The Little Match Girl after Hans Christian Andersen which earned him the BNRAllegro Vivace Musician of the Year 2012 Award for a creative debut. In 2013 “Bulgaria” Hall hosted the premiere of his work Messa Requiem performed by the Sofia Philharmonic and the Svetoslav Obretenov National Philharmonic Choir with conductor M. Panteleev.In 2015 he orchestrated the Bulgarian National Radio anthem on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the radio. How does a composer work in the silence of the night?

„As far as I am concerned, especially for serious music, the computer comes to aid when the score should be copied or the vocal score printed out. The composer should work manually to create a connection of the brain with the hand and emotions. In serious music there is an iron rule: measure thrice and cut once. I love to use some ancient methods, they give me pleasure. I usually work at night for the sake of greater concentration. The solitude of night, getting away from people is a must when composing music; this is no extravagance, this is a necessity. Composers are people who work with the senses.”

Next, Rumen Boyadzhiev Jr. about his work as arranger, orchestrator and especially about the long road to music works for the stage and to symphony works:

„Any musician who wants to study classical music fundamentally should study not only Shostakovich and Mahler, but also the masters of operetta because they were brilliant orchestrators. They made the transition between popular and classical music in a very troubled time for Europe when it was necessary to change the means of expression.  It was then that jazz, American music gained popularity. Listening to many operettas has helped me develop a taste for opera.One of the biggest projects that I havedone, is the music of FSB. We made an album in which I had the freedom to treat their music entirely as symphony music. Now I am working on a new project for the radio connected with popular songs from Bulgarian movies. It is not easy to come from family such as my family, because errors are simply not tolerated. I have been wrestling like all people for a place under the sun, but the difference is that I cannot afford failures. This is a sweet burden, but heavy enough and one must carry it about all life long, with dignity.”

English Daniela Konstantinova

Music by Rumen Boyadzhiev Jr.featured in the audio file:

1. Symphony Poem “Bulgaria” (fragment) in the rendition of the BNR Symphony Orchestra, conductor Grigor Palikarov

2. Messa Requiem, Second Movement, performed by the Sofia Philharmonic and the Svetoslav Obretenov National Philharmonic Choir with conductor M. Panteleev

3. Messa Requiem, Third Movement, performed by the Sofia Philharmonic and the Svetoslav Obretenov National Philharmonic Choir with conductor M. Panteleev