Mihail Pekov

Studies in three cities formed Mihail Pekov: Sofia, where he graduated in composition in 1967 from Veselin Stoyanov's class at the Bulgarian State Conservatory; Leningrad, with Vadim Salmanov; and Budapest, with Emil Petrovics. Born in Vidin in 1941, he had begun as a violinist under Petar Arnaudov, and the instrument stayed near the centre of his output — a violin concerto, string quartets, sonatas — alongside orchestral, vocal and organ music. He taught composition at the National Academy of Music in Sofia. He died in 2022. He played in the Sofia Philharmonic from 1967 to 1972 and in the Musica state association from 1972 to 1974, taught harmony and composition at the State Academy of Music from 1974 and was made professor in 1993, and his large output includes an opera, a Stabat Mater for choir and orchestra and symphonies; the Union of Bulgarian Composers lists ten performed symphonies, while Sofia Philharmonic lists fourteen; he specialised in Leningrad with Vadim Salmanov in 1970–71 and in Budapest with Emil Petrovics in 1978–79 and was born in Vidin in 1941. The opera is V polite na Vitosha, the quartets run to twenty-six, and the Concerto for two violins and string orchestra has kept a place in Bulgarian programmes. Sofia gave him its prize in 1989, and his music has been played in Hungary, Russia, Romania, Greece, Poland, the Czech lands, Germany, France and Italy.