Nelko Kolarov ( bg, Нелко Коларов) (born July 19, 1959) is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n composer, conductor and musician. Outside Bulgaria, Kolarov is perhaps best known for his collaborations with

Nikolo Kotzev Nikolo Kotzev ( bg, Николо Коцев) (born 6 June 1961) is a Bulgarian guitarist, violinist, songwriter and producer, perhaps most famous for his 2001 rock opera ''Nostradamus'' and his band Brazen Abbot. Biography Kotzev was born in P ...

and his solo album ''Day of wrath''.

Biography

Kolarov was born in

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

. From 1981 until 1985 he was a member of the popular Bulgarian rock band

Impuls Impuls Flugdrachen GmbH ( en, Impulse Kites Limited), usually just called Impuls, was a German aircraft manufacturer that specialized in beginner and flight training hang gliders. The company was headquartered in Munich Munich ( ; ge ...

, where he first got experience in writing and arranging songs. During this period, he also studied at the Bulgarian State Conservatory in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, from which he graduated in 1985 with a major in orchestra conducting. After graduation he became the conductor of the Varna Philharmonic Orchestra. Kolarov has also conducted various performances for the Varna National Opera, such as Giacomo Puccini's ''

Gianni Schicchi () is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Puccin ...

'', Manuel De Falla's ''

El Amor brujo ''El amor brujo'' (, "The sorcerer love") is a ballet by Manuel de Falla to a libretto by María de la O Lejárraga García, although for years it was attributed to her husband Gregorio Martínez Sierra. It exists in three versions as well as a p ...

'' and '' The Wizard of Oz''. Nelko Kolarov focused primarily on composing

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

during 1989 - 1991, composing music for such musicals as ''The most wonderful wonder'', ''Romantic people'' and ''Hey Poltergeist, say'', all of which were performed at the Variete theater in

Gabrovo Gabrovo ( bg, Габрово ) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an internationa ...

. During 1996 and 1997, several songs composed by Nelko received prizes in various pop contests and festivals throughout

. In 1999, Kolarov conducted The Sofia Strings for Nikolo Kotzev's rock opera ''

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book ''Les Prophéties'' (published in 1555), a collection o ...

'', which was released in 2001. The rock opera also featured Glenn Hughes,

Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner (born Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito, August 2, 1951) is an American singer known for his work in the hard rock bands Rainbow, Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Deep Purple. During his career, Turner fronted and played guitar with pop ro ...

and band members of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, among others. Kolarov's first solo album, ''Day of wrath'' (''Ден на гнева'' in Bulgarian), was also released in 2001, though it had primarily been recorded in 1998 and 1999 at the studio ''Metzoforte'' in Varna and at a studio of Chocho Vladovski. The album also features songs previously written for the musical ''Hey Poltergeist, say'', such as ''Beyond boundary'', ''I am guilty'', ''Smile!'' and ''Sinful people''. Kolarov spends most of his time in his own studio in Varna, while also performing live at the piano bar Royal Classic together with Asen Georgiev and other Bulgarian artists as special guests.

Discography

*Nelko Kolarov - Day of Wrath / Ден на гнева (2001) *Nikolo Kotzev´s Nostradamus (2001) *Brazen Abbot - My Resurrection (2005)

External links

Nelko Kolarov - Day of Wrath review

Nelko Kolarov
at

Bulgarian Rock Archives Bulgarian Rock Archives (or Български рок архиви) is the first online encyclopedia dedicated to rock music in Bulgaria. Launched online on 2 August 2013 and includes more than 350 bands and performers from the mid-1960s. The artic ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolarov, Nedko 1959 births Bulgarian composers Living people Bulgarian conductors (music) Bulgarian rock musicians Musicians from Varna, Bulgaria 21st-century conductors (music) Brazen Abbot members