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(by Zdravena Maldjieva)

      The professional development of Bulgarian Music started relatively  late, compared to other European cultures - around 1860.  The first  artists working in that field organised groups, performing their own  arrangements of folk melodies, usually for an a'cappella choir. The  most significant contributions to Bulgarian music began after 1900.  Although disputable, the following classification is the most used by  musicologists today:  first generation (till 1944), second generation  -approximately till 1970, third generation - after 1970.  There are  three basic types of musicians representative of the Bulgarian culture:  composers, performers and folk musicians ( usually they are combining  the creation and the reproducement of original music, based on folk  melodies ).
      The first major figure among the composers in the first generation  is the "Patriarch (title of an important position in the Ortodox Church,  equivalent of the Pope in Roman Catholic Church) of Music" Dobri Chris  tov.  He was also the first theorist of the Bulgarian Musicology. As all  major musicians from the first generation he was educated abroad.  Although he was a student of French composer Paul Duka, he didn't adopt  his relatively contemporary techniques and musical language, but mostly  worked in arranging folk tunes for choirs with more or less "classic"  harmony and structure. Despite the simplicity of his art, he was a very  influential teacher for younger musicians.  Around 1920 - 40 there were some composers, who created more sophisticated art as Veselin and Andrei Stoyanov, Pancho Vladigerov, Lubomir Pipkov and others.  The  brothers V. and A. Stoyanov worked in a folk-like style, using irregular  meters, typical melodic configurations and quart-quint harmonies.  Andrei Stoyanov was mostly occupied with piano literature, while Veselin  worked in all major genres. A very important figure was Dimitar Nenov,  a composer and a virtuoso piano player (like Andrei Stoyanov), who was  accused of formalism and bad influence on young communist musicians after  1944. Unlike the other major composers of this time Pancho Vladigerov  didn't use any original folk melodies and rarely used folk-type tunes.  A Bulgarian Jew, born and educated in Switzerland, he adopted the impressionist style, typical for a significant part of the Western European  music.  He was the most internationally recognised Bulgarian composer,  for example Herbert von Karajan performed Vladigerov's third piano  concerto on his graduation recital.
      That period was productive and successful for performers as well. With the support and financial help from the monarchist institution and  specially Tsar (king) Boris III many opera houses were established. The opera art became really popular and Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna were  cities with internationally famous opera houses and opera stars.  In the  bigger cities were gathered first professional orchestras with very high  quality of the participants. People enjoyed performances by worldly  famous virtuosi like Sasha Popov and Nikola Kozarev.
      The folk music in that period didn't involve professional musicians  and was performed in smaller places mainly, but it never lost its popularity.
      The beginning of the second period (second generation) was the Soviet invasion and the so-called "revolution" in Bulgaria.  The new government quickly established their new ideology, which was believed to be progressive and basically was denying everything, achieved before, because of its connection with the monarchy.  Very harmful for all musicians, that period was crucial for composers. Some genres were claimed to be retrogressive, while others (like oratorio) to be new and purifying for people.  The best composers remain silent for the first decade of that period.  There are some exceptions.  For example, Lubomir Pipkov who was a talented and educated musician was "oriented" quickly and star ted the foundation of the socialistic realism music.  He worked mainly in vocal music, operas and oratorios with text, suitable for the new authorities.  For other composers, who weren't that adaptive, began a hard period.  The communist party, following the example of Russian Communist party, started to determine the rules for "good, valuable" art and labeled with formalism everything more contemporary, than it was believed to match the new soul of people ( In Russia - the opera "Lady Macbeth from Mtsenskaia Gubernia" from Schostakovich).  In Bulgaria started a real autodafe for the "enemies" of the people.  The scores and records from the Sofia Radio were burned and many other library collections were destroyed.  Priceless works like D.Nenov's "Spring" and Lazar Nikolov's Second Symphony are lost forever.  Nenov was fired from the Music Academy and died soon after that.  Nikolov was forbidden to be performed, Vladigerov and V.Stoyanov didn't create anything of global importance any more.  New composers started to work and to write hymns for the party, all new holidays and communist Congresses. In the same time, composers like Parashkev Hadjiev and Vasil Kazandjiev tried to keep as neutral as possible and wrote music based on ancient legends or old Bulgarian history.
      Performers from that period were mostly working abroad.  Very talanted singers  - Boris Christov, Nikolai Ghiaurov, Christina Morfova and many others transferred to major European theaters and performed only occasionally in Bulgaria, which was a reason for the decline of the opera houses.  Some virtuosi piano players like Vaisenberg and Milcho Leviev  also left the country.  Major conductors like Dobrin Petkov were neglected for other (faithful to the party conductors) like K. Iliev.
      Folk music was believed to be close to the real virtues of the communists, unlike the expressionistic or minimalistic art. Folk ensembles were in development.  One of the most important musicians working in arranging of folk melodies was Philip Kutev.  This groups had a big importance for the acceptance of the Bulgarian culture abroad. Still they are among the most popular Bulgarian artists in Europe and America.
      Around 1970 and later was born a new generation of Bulgarian musicians.  People got tired of being ruled in their art views and some composers like Tsenko Minkin and Stefan Dragostinov started to create a more liberated and free art, close to the modern Western European tendencies.  Both composers won international prizes for their works. Recently after the collapse of the communist party, the composers felt free to experiment with the modern musical means.
      Some young performers like Aleksandrina Pendanchanska, Josif Radionov, Angel Stankov, Emil Naumov and others gained the recognition of the audience.
      The folk music continued to spread abroad and now cd's like "The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices" are in the top charts of many record companies.
      The new period was also the establishment and development of Bulgarian Pop music.  Now there are artists working in many  styles, like hard rock, heavy metal, rap, funk and other.
      The overall tendency is of development and progress again, after big decline through the communist era in all genres and styles.