Maria Neykova is among the brightest and most original personalities in Bulgarian music from the 1970s to the end of the last century. Very talented and unique with her distinctive, characteristic style, she was singer and author of over 100 popular songs, film music and music for theater performances. She was born at the end of 1945 in Plovdiv. Her career began exactly on her birthday – December 21, in 1968, with a debut at the Bulgaria Hall in Sofia. In this concert, she was on stage alongside Pasha Hristova, Georgi Minchev, Margarita Radinska and the Sofia Orchestra and presented the song "Stranen svyat". Her first recording for the Bulgarian National Radio was "Zakasneli sreshti" by Petar Stupel, performed by the duet Maria Neykova and Georgi Minchev. The hit was awarded first prize at the "Golden Orpheus" festival in 1969, but sung together with Mihail Belchev. 

The song "Yavorova Prolet" by Svetozar Rusinov, performed by an attractive trio: Pasha Hristova, Mimi Ivanova and Maria Neykova, won first prize at the prestigious radio competition "Prolet" (“Spring”) in 1970. At the end of 1971, the New Year's musical "Kozya pateka" was filmed, in which Pasha Hristova and Maria Neykova participated. Soon after, December 21, 1971 - Maria's 26th birthday came. Together with a large group of musicians, artists and dancers, she had to travel to Algeria to participate in a Bulgarian cultural festival. Late in the evening, seconds after taking off from Sofia Airport, the plane caught fire. 6 crew members and 24 passengers died, including Maria's close friend - Pasha Hristova. 19 passengers survived. Most of the survivors were physically and mentally crippled for life. Maria Neykova was among those with the most severe injuries and her recovery took months. After that date, she never celebrated her birthday again. That is why we remember her bright personality not on her birthday, but on the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, when everyone who bears the name of the Mother of God has a name day.

Despite the tragedy, Maria's career continued to develop rapidly. In 1972, she won the national television competition "Melody of the Year". The same year, she created and performed the music for the film “Koziyat rog” ("The Goat's Horn") and the following year she was awarded the second prize at the "Golden Orpheus" festival. In 1975, "Balkanton" released her first record.

Her ballad “Svetat e za dvama” ("The World is for Two") from 1980, performed by Orlin Goranov, is extremely popular even today. But the undisputed emblem of Maria Neykova as a composer and performer is the music for the film "The Goat's Horn" and the hit "Dvama" (“Two of Us”).

To this day, "The Goat's Horn" is considered one of the pinnacles of Bulgarian cinema. Some even claim it is "the best Bulgarian feature film of all time". A triumph of minimalism, with a modest budget, virtuoso editing and extremely laconic dialogue, it is understandable and easy to perceive. This is perhaps the only Bulgarian film that has made a huge impression throughout the world and aroused interest in Bulgarian history.

Maria Neykova's music is touching and the song "Dvama" has long been living its own life as a hit.

Author: Tsvetana Toncheva

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos: Bulgarian National Radio - archive, Boyana Cinema Center, impressio.dir.bg, Facebook/ Bulgarian films, YouTube