Pancho Vladigerov (1899 - 1978)

A virtual contemporary of Tcherepnin, prominent Bulgarian composer-pianist Pancho Vladigerov was actually born in Zürich. He began musical studies in Sofia, but eventually went to Berlin where he took lessons in composition from Paul Juon amd Georg Schumann, and piano with Leonid Kreutzer at the Akademie der Künste. He worked as conductor and composer at the Max Reinhardt Theater in Berlin until 1932 when he returned to Sofia. Until 1972 he was professor of piano and composition at the Bulgarian State Conservatory of Music in Sofia. Among his many students was Alexis Weissenberg.
Vladigerov was a virtuosic pianist, performing frequently his five piano concertos. He also left a recorded legacy of many of his other solo works. Vladigerov’s music is an artful and brilliant combination of Bulgarian folk influences, peculiar melodic and rhythmic patterns, peppered with stark modern harmonies.