The Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra ( bg, Русенска Филхармония) was a Bulgarian orchestra working between 1948–2010. Some of the best

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 Macedo ...

n conductors— Konstantin Iliev,

Dobrin Petkov Dobrin Petkov ( bg, Добрин Петков)(24 August 1923 – 10 February 1987) was a Bulgarian conductor. Life and career Born in Dresden, Germany, Petkov was the son of a famous violin pedagogue, whose students were leading musicians ...

, Sasha Popov, Russlan Raychev, Ilia Temkov, Alexander Vladigerov, Tzanko Delibozov and Georgi Dimitrov among others, have worked with this orchestra. Since 2005 the General Music Director of the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra is Maestro

Nayden Todorov Nayden Todorov ( Bulgarian: Найден Тодоров; born Plovdiv 1974) is a Bulgarian conductor. Biography Todorov was born on 8 April 1974 in Plovdiv. In 1993 he graduated from the Dobrin Petkov National School of Music in Plovdiv i ...

History

The first international music festival in Bulgaria was established in 1961 on the initiative and the organization of Rousse Philharmonic, which transformed this Danubian city, already famed for its architecture and character, into an attractive international music center. That festival, called March Music Days, is held annually in the middle of March, and is a gathering point for famous orchestras, singers, instrumentalists, composers and conductors. In 1966 the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra was the organizer of the ''Winter Music Evenings'' festival—the first of its kind in Bulgaria. The concert stage of the orchestra has welcomed many famous conductors, such as Kurt Mazur, Rolf Kleinert, Carol Stria,

Carlo Zecchi Carlo Zecchi (8 July 190331 August 1984) was an Italian pianist, music teacher and conductor. Zecchi was born in Rome. A pupil of F. Baiardi for piano and of L. Refice and A. Bustini for composition, he began his career as a concert pianist at o ...

, Helmut Koch,

Valeri Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (russian: Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев, ; os, Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conducting, conductor and oper ...

, Evgenii Svetlanov, as well as soloists -

Salvatore Accardo Salvatore Accardo (; Knight Grand Cross born 26 September 1941 in Turin, northern Italy) is an Italian violinist and conductor, who is known for his interpretations of the works of Niccolò Paganini. Accardo owns one Stradivarius violin, the "Ha ...

Ruggiero Ricci Ruggiero Ricci (24 July 1918 – 5 August 2012) was an American violinist known for performances and recordings of the works of Paganini. Biography He was born in San Bruno, California, the son of Italian immigrants who first named him Woodrow ...

, Daniel Stefan, Svetoslav Richter, Franco Petraci,

Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (russian: link=no, Юрий Абрамович Башмет; born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of A ...

, Katya Richarelli, Robert Kohen,

Igor Oistrach Igor Davidovich Oistrakh (russian: И́горь Дави́дович О́йстрах; uk, Ігор Давидович Ойстрах 27 April 1931 – 14 August 2021) was a Soviet and Russian violinist. He was described by ''Encyclopædia Brita ...

Vladimir Spivakov Vladimir Teodorovich Spivakov (Russian: Влади́мир Теодо́рович Спивако́в; born 12 September 1944) is a Soviet and Russian conductor and violinist best known for his work with the Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra. Spi ...

, Jacob Zach, Michail Voscressenski among others. The Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra was pleased to host the famous Russian composer

Dmitry 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 First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

in 1958 and in 1965. From 1975 until 1992 the orchestra was an active participant in ''Accademia Chigia Sienna'', Italy. The names of

Franco Ferrara Franco Ferrara (Palermo, 4 July 1911Florence, 7 September 1985) was an Italian conductor and teacher. Among his many students are various prominent conductors, including Roberto Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Andrew Davis and Riccardo Muti. Life and ...

, Carlo Maria Giulini, Genady Rozdestvensky, Bruno Bartolletti,

Ferdinand Leitner Ferdinand Leitner (4 March 1912 in Berlin – 3 June 1996 in Zürich) was a German conductor. Leitner studied under Franz Schreker, Julius Prüwer, Artur Schnabel and Karl Muck. He also was a composition student with Robert Kahn. Starting as ...

often appear on concert programs and in numerous collaborations. The orchestra's repertoire includes a broad spectrum of genres and styles—including works from the early music period and contemporary composers. In the rich performing history of the orchestra one can find major musical pieces, such as

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

's '' Ivan Grozny'' and '' Alexander Nevsky'', Stravinsky's '' Oedipus'', ''

Petrushka Petrushka ( rus, Петру́шка, p=pʲɪtˈruʂkə, a=Ru-петрушка.ogg) is a stock character of Russian folk puppetry. Italian puppeteers introduced it in the first third of the 19th century. While most core characters came from Italy ...

'', and ''

The Rite of Spring , image = Roerich Rite of Spring.jpg , image_size = 350px , caption = Concept design for act 1, part of Nicholas Roerich's designs for Diaghilev's 1913 production of ' , composer = Igor Stravinsky , based_on ...

'', Richard Strauss's ''

Also sprach Zarathustra ', Op. 30 (, ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' or ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'') is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical 1883–1885 novel ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra''.Carl Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata '' Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Carl ...

's ''

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent ...

'', etc. The Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra toured in Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, France and Switzerland in addition to its well-appreciated tour programme in Bulgaria. The orchestra has recorded with

Bulgarian National Radio Bulgarian National Radio ( bg, Българско национално радио, ''Bulgarsko natsionalno radio''; abbreviated to БНР, BNR) is Bulgaria's national radio broadcasting organisation. It operates two national and nine regional cha ...

and the Balkanton record company, and has released many CDs.

Opera and Philharmonic Society

Opera & Philharmonic Society Rousse was established in 1999 joining the outstanding potentialities of the Rousse State Opera and Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra – two of the leading cultural institutions of Bulgaria. It presents opera, ballet as well as symphony works, and over the last years becomes one of the most expressive formations with remarkable soloists and excellent conductors. The Opera & Philharmonic Society has at its disposal two halls – a concert one equipped with a recording studio and a nice Opera House. Both halls have more than 600 seats each. The Opera & Philharmonic Society possesses technical means for producing theatrical sceneries.

General Music Director

The General Music Director of the Rousse State Opera and the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra

studied with Karl Osterreicher and Uros Lajovic in Vienna. He conducted major orchestras across Europe and America, as well as in Israel. Maestro Todorov was a resident conductor of the Israel Northern Symphony in Haifa. In 1997 he organized the First festival "Thracia Summer". Todorov commands a vast repertoire and is one of the most respected young conductors in the music world.

has recorded over a hundred compact discs for Naxos, Balkanton, RENT Music, MMO, Danacord, IMI and Hungaroton and has also created several music productions for various radio and TV stations. Also, he is the Principal Guest Conductor of the much-lauded Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra.

External links

Opera & Philharmonic Society Rousse

Rousse Municipality

Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra Website
{{authority control 1948 establishments in Bulgaria 2010 disestablishments in Bulgaria Bulgarian orchestras Disbanded orchestras Musical groups established in 1948 Musical groups disestablished in 2010

Philharmonic Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...