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

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n conductors— Konstantin Iliev, Dobrin Petkov, Sasha Popov, Russlan Raychev, Ilia Temkov, Alexander Vladigerov, Tzanko Delibozov and

Georgi Dimitrov Georgi Dimitrov Mihaylov (; ) also known as Georgiy Mihaylovich Dimitrov (; 18 June 1882 – 2 July 1949), was a Bulgarian communist politician who served as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party from 1933 t ...

among others, have worked with this orchestra. Since 2005 the General Music Director of the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra is Maestro

Nayden Todorov Nayden Vladislovov Todorov ( Bulgarian: Найден Владиславов Тодоров; born 8 April 1974) is a Bulgarian conductor and the Minister of Culture of Bulgaria. Biography Todorov was born on 8 April 1974 in Plovdiv. In 1993 he ...

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 Kurt is a male given name in Germanic languages. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Konrad/Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. Like Conrad, it can also a surname an ...

, Rolf Kleinert, Carol Stria,

Carlo Zecchi Carlo Zecchi (8 July 190331 August 1984) was an Italian pianist, music teacher and Conductor (music), 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 co ...

, Helmut Koch, Valeri Gergiev, 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 Woodr ...

, Daniel Stefan, Svetoslav Richter, Franco Petraci,

Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (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 Abram Borisovich Bashmet and Maya Zinovyeva Bashmet (née Kri ...

, Katya Richarelli, Robert Kohen, Igor Oistrach,

Vladimir Spivakov Vladimir Teodorovich Spivakov (; born 12 September 1944) is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian conductor and violinist best known for his work with the Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra. Spivakov was born in Ufa. He was taught by Yuri Yankelevic ...

, 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 thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

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 a ...

Carlo Maria Giulini Carlo Maria Giulini (; 9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor. From the age of five, when he began to play the violin, Giulini's musical education was expanded when he began to study at Italy's foremost conservatory, the Conserv ...

, 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 a ...

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 ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

's ''

Ivan Grozny Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. I ...

'' and ''

Alexander Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (; ; monastic name: ''Aleksiy''; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) was Prince of Novgorod (1236–1240; 1241–1256; 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1249–1263), and Grand Prince of Vladimir (1252–1263). ...

'',

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

's ''

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...

'', ''

Petrushka Petrushka ( rus, Петру́шка, p=pʲɪtˈruʂkə, a=Ru-петрушка.ogg) is a stock character of Russian folk puppetry. It was first introduced by traveling Italian performers in the first third of the 19th century during a period of W ...

'', and ''

The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...

'',

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

's ''

Also sprach Zarathustra , Op. 30 (, ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' or ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'') is a tone poem by German composer Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's 1883–1885 philosophical work of the same name.Carl Orff Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, who composed the cantata ''Carmina Burana (Orff), Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Orff Schulwerk, Schulwerk were influential for ...

'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, irreveren ...

'', 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 (, ''Bǎlgarsko nacionalno radio''; abbreviated to БНР, BNR) is Bulgaria's national radio broadcasting organisation. It operates two national channels and nine regional channels, as well as an international service ( R ...

and the

Balkanton Balkanton () was a state-owned record manufacturing company in Bulgaria founded in 1952. Many of the produced records were, or still are available in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. Balkanton's plant in Sofia was equipped for all aspec ...

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: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...