Ivan Donchev (born August 11, 1981,

Burgas Burgas (, ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fourth-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, an ...

) is a Bulgarian

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

Biography

He began his musical studies at the age of five at “

Pancho Vladigerov Pancho Haralanov Vladigerov (or Wladigeroff, Wladigerow, Vladiguerov, Vladigueroff; ; 13 March 18998 September 1978) was a Bulgarian composer, pedagogue, and pianist. Vladigerov is arguably the most influential Bulgarian composer of all time. He ...

” National Music School in the class of Julia Nenova. From 2007 to 2013 he studied with

Aldo Ciccolini Aldo Ciccolini (; 15 August 1925 – 1 February 2015) was an Italian pianist who became a naturalized French citizen in 1971. Biography Aldo Ciccolini was born in Naples. His father, whose family bore the title of Marquis in the city of Macera ...

. He made his debut as a soloist at nine with works by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Czerny Czerny is a surname meaning "black" in some Slavic languages. It is one of many variant forms, including Czarny, Černý, Czernik, Cherney, and Čierny, among others. People Notable people with this surname include: * Adalbert Czerny (1863–194 ...

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and

Berkovich Berkovich () is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: *E.S. Berkovich, Russian scientist and inventor of the Berkovich hardness indenter *Evgenia Berkovich (born 1985), Russian playwright and theatre director *Eyal ...

. In 1994 – at the age of twelve – he made his concerto debut with Burgas Philharmonic Orchestra performing Haydn's Piano Concerto in D. The same year he won the 1st prize at "Svetoslav Obretenov" Piano Competition in Bulgaria. At 16 he won the 1st prize at the 2nd Piano Competition for German and Austrian Music in

. Some months later - after taking part at the IInd "

Carl Filtsch Carl Filtsch (28 May 1830 – 11 May 1845) was a Transylvanian pianist and composer. He was a child prodigy, and student of Frédéric Chopin.Szulc, Tad (1998). Chopin in Paris: the life and times of the romantic composer. Pg 301. Simon and Schu ...

" International Piano Competition in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

- he was awarded the special prize by the Chopin Society in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

. The same year he made his debut at the “Gasteig” concert hall in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and in other cities in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 2008 he won the XVIIIth Music Competition “Società Umanitaria” in Milan, ex-aequo with

Federico Colli Federico Colli (Brescia- Lombardy, Italy- 10 August 1988) is an Italian classical pianist. He won the First Prize at the Salzburg Mozart Competition in 2011 and the First Prize with Gold Medal at The Leeds International Piano Competition in 2012. ...

(among the other prize winners was Beatrice Rana). In 2009 he made his debut at the Sala Verdi in Milan's Conservatory. He has performed at the Seiler Piano Festival in

Kitzingen Kitzingen () is a town in the Germany, German state of Bavaria, capital of the Kitzingen (district), district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County i ...

(2002), at the Festival de Radio France in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

(2009), two concerts with Beethoven programs (including Sonata, op. 106 "Hammerklavier" and variations on a Theme of Diabelli, op. 120) at the 58th Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto (2015) and the US debut at

Merkin Hall Merkin Hall is a 449-seat concert hall in Manhattan, New York City. The hall, named in honor of Hermann and Ursula Merkin, is part of the Kaufman Music Center, a complex that includes the Lucy Moses School, a community arts school, and the Spec ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with the Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" op. 73 by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

(2015). In 2010 he held recitals and master classes in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In 2012 he made his debut in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

with the Concerto in A minor, op. 16 by

Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of N ...

. Between 2012 and 2014 he carried out three tours in

where he played in the major cities of the country, both in recitals and with orchestra. Ivan Donchev has performed with conductors such as Daniel Schweizer, Ivan Kozhuharov, David Crescenzi, Yordan Dafov, Stefano Trasimeni, Piero Romano, Grigor Palikarov, Giuseppe Lanzetta, Geum No-sang, Il Koo Lee. In 2008 he has received the “Sorrento Classica” prize from his mentor

and in 2011 they have performed piano duo concert at Fenetrange Music Festival in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Donchev has recorded the world premiere of Vito Palumbo’s Quadro Sinfonico Concertante (dedicated to him by the author) and the 3rd Tchaykovsky’s piano concerto (RAI Trade - 2007). In 2011 he has released the complete recording of Liszt’s “

Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses ''Harmonies poétiques et religieuses'' (''Poetic and Religious Harmonies''), S.173, is a cycle of piano pieces written by Franz Liszt at WoronińceVoronivtsi the Polish-Ukrainian country estate of Liszt's mistress Princess Carolyne von Sayn-Wit ...

” for Sheva Collection. The recording of

piano and violin sonatas with violinist Ivo Stankov for Gega new was 5 stars awarded by the British magazine “

Musical Opinion ''Musical Opinion'', often abbreviated to ''MO'', is a European classical music magazine edited and produced in the UK. It is currently among the oldest such periodicals to be still publishing in the UK, having been continuously in publication ...

”.CD Gega New (2014) ''Beethoven: Sonatas for Violin and Piano Nos. 4, 5, 8''. Ivo Stankov, violino - Ivan Donchev, pianoforte. In 2016 Ivan Donchev performed the 3rd piano concerto by Sergey Rachmaninov in

Ekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

. The concert was streamed by the Uralfest TV.

References

Recordings

*CD Gega New (2017) Ivan Donchev. Live in Montpellier. *CD Gega New (2014) Beethoven: Sonatas for Violin and Piano Nos. 4, 5, 8. *CD Sheva Collection (2011) Liszt: Deux Légendes - Harmonies poétiques et religieuses. *CD Rai Trade (2007) Tchaikovsky: Piano concerto n.3 op 75; Palumbo: Quadro sinfonico concertante for piano and orchestra. Oradea Symphonic Orchestra - Stefano Trasimeni, conductor.

External links

Official website
ivandonchev.com
Ivan Donchev, a bulgarian pianist in Rome. Bulgarian National Radio Interview (BNR) 30 April 2013.
bnr.bg {{DEFAULTSORT:Donchev, Ivan 1981 births Living people Bulgarian pianists 21st-century Bulgarian pianists