Assen Najdenow (; 12 September 1899 – 10 September 1995) was a Bulgarian conductor.

Life

Najdenov was born in 1899 in

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

on the Black Sea. In his childhood, he learned the violin and the piano. In 1905, his uncle brought a grand piano from Russia. Already as a pupil he played in the city orchestra as a violinist from 1912 to 1914. In 1920, he studied composition in Vienna with

Joseph Marx Joseph Rupert Rudolf Marx (11 May 1882 – 3 September 1964) was an Austrian composer, teacher and critic. Life and career Marx was born in Graz and pursued studies in philosophy, art history, German studies, and music at Graz University, earnin ...

and piano with Paul de Conne. In 1921, he went to Leipzig, where among others,

Fritz Reuter Fritz Reuter (7 November 1810 – 12 July 1874; born as ''Heinrich Ludwig Christian Friedrich Reuter'') was a novelist from Northern Germany who was a prominent contributor to Low German literature. Early life Fritz Reuter was born at Stavenhage ...

was one of his teachers.Horst Seeger: ''Musiklexikon. In two volumes''. Volume 2: ''L-Z''. Deutscher Verlag für Musik VEB, Leipzig 1966, . Max Hochkofler taught him

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

. Back in Bulgaria, he made his debut in 1925 with ''

Mignon ''Mignon'' () is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. ...

'' by Ambroise Thomas at the National Opera and Ballet of Bulgaria in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. In 1930, he attended courses with

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a Germany, German-born Conducting, conductor, pianist, and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French people, French cit ...

and

Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conducting, conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. He founded the Vienna New Year's Concert ...

in Salzburg. In 1944, he became chief conductor in Sofia. Guest conducting engagements took him to the

Berlin State Opera The Staatsoper Unter den Linden ( State Opera under the Lime Trees), also known as the Berlin State Opera (), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of P ...

(Mussorgsky's ''

Khovanshchina ''Khovanshchina'' ( rus, Хованщина, , xɐˈvanʲɕːɪnə, Ru-Khovanshchina_version.ogg, sometimes rendered ''The Khovansky Affair'') is an opera (subtitled a 'national music drama') in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was writte ...

'' in 1958), to Leningrad

Mikhailovsky Theatre The Mikhailovsky Theatre () is one of Russia's oldest opera and ballet houses. It was founded in 1833 and occupies a Brulleau-designed building on 1, Arts Square in Saint Petersburg. It is named after Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia. ...

(

Kirill Molchanov Kirill Vladimirovich Molchanov (; 7 September 1922 – 14 March 1982) was a Russian and Soviet composer. He was appointed director of the Bolshoi, at the time political disfavour had fallen on the lead soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. His works are ...

's ''Romeo, Juliet a tma'' 1962/63) and to the Moscow

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

(Verdi's ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'' 1963/64). Najdenow specialised in particular in the operas of Mozart, Mussorgsky and Verdi. He died in Sofia shortly before his 96th birthday.

Awards

* Dimitroff Prize – Gold/1st Class (1950, 1952, 1959 * People's Artist of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1952) * Hero of Socialist Labour of the People's Republic of Bulgaria *

Order of Georgi Dimitrov The Order of Georgi Dimitrov (or Order of Georgy Dimitrov, ) was the highest award of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. It was instituted on 17 June 1950 and awarded to Bulgarians and foreigners for outstanding services to the defence and freedom ...

* Order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria – 1st Degree

References

External links

*
Assen Najdenow
at National Opera and Ballet Theatre Sofia (Bulgarian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Najdenow, Assen Bulgarian conductors (music) 1899 births 1995 deaths Musicians from Varna, Bulgaria

Life

Awards

Further reading

References

External links