Philip Pavlov graduated piano and composition at the Prof. Pancho Vladigerov National Music Academy. Here is what he says about his lecturers in composition:

“I started with Prof. Vesselin Stoyanov. After that I continued with Prof. Raychev. I am very grateful to him for his wise council and for the hand he extended me in friendship. What made up my mind in deciding which composers to go to was that their music really appealed to me.”

After graduating, Philip Pavlov specialized in Paris. He toured a great deal, giving concerts as soloist, as well as with orchestras and ensembles. He is laureate of the Valentino Bucchi composition contest in Rome.

That was My Echo Fantasies, by Philip Pavlov. What was the idea that went into the piece you just heard and his Little Song? Here is Prof. Pavlov with the answer:

“The two are part of a piano cycle, composed in the 1996 - 2000 period. I don’t usually keep my works in my drawer too long. These pieces are included in my collection “Songs and piano games for children”. The idea behind them was somewhat different. For example, My Echo Fantasies is a piece I love very much. I dedicated it to performers who, when they step on the piano pedal, forget themselves. That is my idea – for twenty bars the performer keeps his foot on the pedal and we hear what the echo can do. As to my Little Song, I very rarely write works that can be described as folklore. In this piece I was after a more childlike, naive sound.”

As of the 2008-2009 academic year Philip Pavlov has been guest professor of composition at the Prof. Pancho Vladigerov National Music Academy. He also lectures at the Neofit Rilski Southwest University in Blagoevgrad. He has a PhD in Art Criticism and his dissertation was on a highly intriguing topic:

“The aim of the dissertation was to demonstrate the development of children’s talent for composition. There is no child without a creative urge, it is only a matter of giving the urge direction and the extent to which the child should be encouraged. Herein lies the crux of my system – how to trigger the blossoming of young talent. The Bulgarian nation has many talents. Sometimes the creative impulse comes early on, sometimes later in life. But if you have reached a certain intellectual level but have not developed to such an extent musically, you will still have good prospects. The potential lies in movement, it cannot be funneled in just one sphere. But there is one very important thing – a mindset that is creative without an exceptional work capacity will just fizzle away.”

The audio features the following works by Prof. Philip Pavlov; all piano parts are performed by him:

-  Horo dance;

-  My Echo Fantasies;

-  Little Song;

-  Symphony overture, performed by the chamber orchestra of the secondary music school, Bourgas, conducor Levon Manoukyan. 

English version: Milena Daynova