Pancho Haralanov Vladigerov (or Wladigeroff, Wladigerow, Vladiguerov, Vladigueroff; bg, Панчо Хараланов Владигеров ; 13 March 18998 September 1978) was 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, pedagogue, and pianist.
Vladigerov is arguably the most influential Bulgarian composer of all time. He was one of the first to successfully combine idioms of
Bulgarian folk music
The music of Bulgaria refers to all forms of music associated with the country of Bulgaria, including classical, folk, popular music, and other forms.
Classical music, opera, and ballet are represented by composers Emanuil Manolov, Pancho Vladig ...
and
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
. Part of the so-called ''Second Generation Bulgarian Composers'', he was among the founding members of the Bulgarian Contemporary Music Society (1933), which later became the Union of Bulgarian Composers. Vladigerov marked the beginning of a number of genres in Bulgarian music, including the
violin sonata
A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple baroque form with no fixed form ...
and the
piano trio
A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...
. He was also a very respected pedagogue; his students include practically all notable Bulgarian composers of the next generation, such as
Alexander Raichev
Alexander Raichev ( bg, Александър Райчев) (11 April 1922 – 28 October 2003) was a Bulgarian music educator and composer.
Raichev was born in Lom, Bulgaria, and studied with Pancho Vladigerov at the State Musical Academy in ...
,
Alexander Yossifov,
Stefan Remenkov
Stefan Nikolov Remenkov ( Bulgarian: Стефан Николов Ременков) (born 30 April 1923, Silistra - 30 October 1988, Sofia) was a Bulgarian composer and pianist.
Biography
Remenkov comes from a family of teachers. His father ...
, and many others, as well as the pianist
Alexis Weissenberg
Alexis Sigismund Weissenberg ( bg, Алексис Сигизмунд Вайсенберг; 26 July 1929 – 8 January 2012) was a Bulgarian-born French pianist.
Early life and career
Born into a Jewish family in Sofia, Weissenberg began taking ...
.
Biography
![BASA-1271K-1-161-60-Pancho Vladigerov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/BASA-1271K-1-161-60-Pancho_Vladigerov.JPG)
Vladigerov was born in
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
, Switzerland, but lived in
Shumen
Shumen ( bg, Шумен, also romanized as ''Shoumen'' or ''Šumen'', ) is the tenth largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province.
Etymology
The city was first mentioned as ''Šimeonis'' in 1153 by t ...
, Bulgaria.
His mother Dr. Eliza Pasternak was a
Russian Jew
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
. His father Dr. Haralan Vladigerov was a Bulgarian lawyer and a politician. Pancho Vladigerov played the piano and composed from an early age. In 1910, two years after his father's early death, Vladigerov and the rest of his family moved to Sofia, where Pancho started studying composition with
Dobri Hristov
Dobri Hristov ( bg, Добри Христов; 14 December 1875 – 23 January 1941) was one of the major Bulgarian composers of the 20th century. He wrote mainly choral music, as well as some church music and music for the orchestra.
Hristov w ...
, the most distinguished Bulgarian composer of his generation.
Pancho's maternal grandfather, Leon Pasternak, a Russian Jew who left Odessa and settled in Zurich a few years before Pancho's birth, was a very influential figure in Pancho's musical development and later success. The grandfather, a mathematician by profession, and an amateur chess player, musician and composer, used to play the violin with Pancho and his twin brother, Lyuben. Based on a Jewish tune his grandfather taught him, Vladigerov composed in 1951 his great symphony, the "Jewish Poem", Opus 47. This symphony received in 1952 the highest honor given by the Bulgarian Government to an artist, the Dimitrov Prize,
[The Significance of Selected Piano Compositions by Pancho Vladigerov](_blank)
and earned him the admiration of his fellow musicians: "A work like this is written only once in a hundred years",
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
exclaimed.
In 1912 Vladigerov's mother managed to obtain a governmental scholarship for her children to study in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, where Pancho and his twin brother, the violinist
Lyuben Vladigerov, were enrolled at the Staatliche Akademische Hochschule für Musik (now part of the
Berlin University of the Arts
The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...
), which was under the auspices of the
Academy of Arts
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...
. Pancho Vladigerov studied music theory and composition with
Paul Juon
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
and piano with
Karl Heinrich Barth.
In 1920 he graduated from the academy after having studied piano also with
Leonid Kreutzer
Leonid Kreutzer (13 March 1884 in St. Petersburg – 30 October 1953 in Tokyo) was a classical pianist.
Life and career
Kreutzer was born in St. Petersburg into a Jewish family. He studied composition under Alexander Glazunov and piano under Anna ...
, composition with
Friedrich Gernsheim
Friedrich Gernsheim (17 July 1839 – 10 September 1916) was a German composer, conductor and pianist.
Early life
Gernsheim was born in Worms. He was given his first musical training at home under his mother's care, then starting from the age of ...
and
Georg Schumann. He twice won the
Mendelssohn Prize
The Mendelssohn Scholarship (german: Mendelssohn-Stipendium) refers to two scholarships awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom. Both commemorate the composer Felix Mendelssohn, and are awarded to promising young musicians to enable them to co ...
of the academy (in 1918 and 1920).
After his graduation Vladigerov became music director at
Deutsches Theater in Berlin and worked with the famous theatre director
Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...
. In 1932, after much hesitation, he decided to return to Sofia, where he was appointed professor in Piano, Chamber Music and Composition at the State Academy of Music, which is now named after him.
Vladigerov composed in a variety of genres including an opera (''Tsar Kaloyan'', to a libretto by Nikolai Liliev and
Fani Popova-Mutafova
Fani Popova–Mutafova ( bg, Фани Попова-Мутафова; October 16, 1902 – July 9, 1977) was a Bulgarian author who is considered by many to have been the best-selling Bulgarian historical fiction author ever.
Biography
The daughte ...
), ballet, symphonic music, five piano concertos, two violin concertos, chamber music including string quartet, trio (violin, cello and piano), works and transcriptions for violin and piano and numerous opuses for solo piano, 38 transcriptions of instrumental pieces for instrument and piano, 13 late transcriptions of his earlier works for two pianos, fifty folksong concert arrangements for voice and piano/orchestra, 20 songs for voice and piano, ten choral songs with piano/orchestra,
incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...
for the performances of the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, the Theater in der Josefstadt in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, and the National Theatre in Sofia.
Vladigerov gained considerable fame in Europe in the 1920s when many of his pieces were published by
Universal Edition
Universal Edition (UE) is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, they originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market (which had until then been dominated by Leipzig-base ...
in Vienna and released on LPs by the German recording company
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
before being performed throughout Europe and the USA. As pianist and composer he toured most of the European countries performing mainly his own works. In 1969 he was awarded the
Herder Prize The Herder Prize (german: Gottfried-von-Herder-Preis), named after the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), was a prestigious international prize awarded every year from 1964 to 2006 to scholars and artists from Central and Sout ...
by the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
. The Bulgarian recording company Balkanton released an edition of his stage and symphony music in four sets of seven LPs each; however, only a very small portion of his works is currently available on CD.
Vladigerov's music has been admired by such diverse personalities as
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
,
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
, and
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenian ...
. It has been performed by artists such as
Alexis Weissenberg
Alexis Sigismund Weissenberg ( bg, Алексис Сигизмунд Вайсенберг; 26 July 1929 – 8 January 2012) was a Bulgarian-born French pianist.
Early life and career
Born into a Jewish family in Sofia, Weissenberg began taking ...
,
David Oistrakh
David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974), was a Soviet classical violinist, violist and conductor.
Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras and musicians from many parts of the world and was the dedicatee of numerous violin w ...
,
Emil Gilels
Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс; 19 October 1916 – 14 October 1985) was a Russian pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time.
Early life and educatio ...
,
Ivan Drenikov
Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...
and, most recently,
Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...
; however, he still remains a largely unknown name except in his home country. His solo piano music has been performed in concert several times in the UK recently by Bulgarian-born pianist
Valentina Seferinova
Valentina may refer to:
Entertainment Film
* ''Valentina'' (1950 film), a 1950 Argentine film
* ''Valentina'' (2008 film), a 2008 Argentine film
Television
* ''Valentina'' (1993 telenovela), a 1993 Mexican telenovela
* Valentina (2013 teleno ...
, who continues to champion his music.
Vladigerov's most performed and emblematic work is unquestionably ''Vardar Rhapsody'', also known as ''Bulgarian Rhapsody''.
Originally written for violin and piano, it was later orchestrated and arranged for various instruments. A fiery patriotic work, it has become, in the words of an admiring critic "the Bulgarian equivalent of
Chopin's Polonaise in A Major".
Pancho Vladigerov died in 1978 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 ...
. His son
Alexander Vladigerov (1933–1993) and grandchildren
Pancho Vladigerov Jr.,
Alexander Wladigeroff, and
Konstantin Wladigeroff have also become respected musicians.
Legacy
Pancho Vladigerov's house at No. 10, Yakubitsa, in Sofia has been transformed into a museum.
The ''Intellectual Legacy of Pancho Vladigerov Foundation'' was founded in the autumn of 2006 by Pancho Vladigerov Jr. Its main aim is to preserve, protect and popularise Pancho Vladigerov's tangible and intangible heritage.
Vladigerov's name is also preserved in the following.
* An international music competition held every two years since 1986 in Shumen
* The
National Academy of Music "Prof. Pancho Vladigerov" in Sofia
*
Vladigerov Passage in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
Vladigerov Passage.
SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica
The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about th ...
.
Notes
References
* Pavlov — Klosterman, Evgeni. 2000. ''Pancho Vladigerov.'' Sofia: Muzika
* Fedotova Valery, Some tendencies of Bulgarian music in the context of national art in the first half of the twentieth century. // Bulgarian art and literature. History and modernity. SIAS. Moscow, 2003. = Федотова В.Н. Некоторые тенденции болгарской музыки в контексте национального искусства в первой половине ХХ столетия. // Болгарское искусство и литература. История и современность. Москва, ГИИ,2003.
* Fedotova Valery, The forms of Bulgarian symbolism and Bulgarian music. // Modern and integration processes in the European culture. M., SIAS, 2004. = Федотова В.Н. Формы болгарского символизма и болгарская музыка. // Модерн и интеграционные процессы в европейской культуре. Москва,ГИИ, 2004.
* Fedotova Valery, Opera of P. Vladigerov and L. Pipkov in the context of Bulgarian art of 1920-30-es. // Musical theatre of the twentieth century: Events, Problems, Results, Perspectives. M., SIAS, 2004. = Федотова В.Н. Оперы П.Владигерова и Л.Пипкова в контексте болгарского искусства 1920-30-х гг. // Музыкальный театр ХХ века: События, проблемы, итоги, перспективы. Москва, ГИИ, 2004.
* Fedotova Valery, The Bulgarian music of the twentieth century in the context of the national culture. Moscow, SIAS, 2012. = Федотова В.Н. Болгарская музыка ХХ века в контексте национальной художественной культуры. Москва, ГИИ, 2012.
External links
The Intellectual Legacy of Pancho Vladigerov Foundation
A biography of Pancho Vladigerov (including work list and selected bibliography) at the Union of Bulgarian Composers website
* Concert Pianist ttp://www.valentinaseferinova.com Valentina Seferinova
Concerto N°4 Op.40 with Ivan Drenikov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vladigerov, Pancho
1899 births
1978 deaths
Bulgarian classical composers
Bulgarian classical pianists
Mendelssohn Prize winners
Bulgarian music educators
Swiss people of Bulgarian descent
Bulgarian people of Swiss descent
Musicians from Zürich
People from Shumen
Burials at Central Sofia Cemetery
Bulgarian people of Jewish descent
Jewish classical composers
Bulgarian twins
20th-century classical composers
Male classical composers
20th-century classical pianists
Herder Prize recipients
Male classical pianists
20th-century male musicians