Thracian Dances

Staynov wrote the first version in 1925, a year after returning from the Dresden Conservatory to his native Kazanlak, for the amateur orchestra there and under the title Bulgarian Dances; it had three movements — Paydushko, Horo, Rachenitsa. After moving to Sofia he rescored the music for full orchestra, added a Bear-Leaders' Dance after the first movement and renamed the suite. The premiere in Sofia on 4 January 1927, with the National Philharmonic under Todor Hadzhiev, was met with an ovation. The suite moved Bulgarian orchestral writing past static folk quotation.