Beethoven at "Varna Summer" · Kultura · 27.12.2020
Maestro Todorov, as it turned out, has been in close touch with the scores of most of Beethoven's symphonies since his early student years.
Reviews
All Reviews
357 records
Standards and Compromises · Decrescendo.net · 12.10.2020
Nayden Todorov… evidently judged that the poetic meaning of this musical text demands quiet utterance in order to achieve the necessary atmosphere of intimacy and latent eroticism… The performance met the standards of the profession; the music sounded with mood and emotional logic, and the instrumental picture impressed with a high degree of tonal clarity and variety of articulation.
A Furore at the First Night of "Macbeth" in Varna · Varna Novini · 12.08.2020
The symphony orchestra of the Varna Opera worked miracles under the baton of the great maestro Nayden Todorov. This year the maestro records a second exceptional success on this stage.
Varna Summer Opened with a Brilliant Concert Under the Stars · Trud · 20.07.2020
The Symphony Orchestra of the Varna Opera and the talented young pianist Emanuil Ivanov gave a brilliant start to the International Music Festival 'Varna Summer.' Under the baton of maestro Nayden Todorov… the festival's musical emblem resounded — Pancho Vladigerov's 'Vardar' Rhapsody.
Vladigerov: Bulgarian Suite / 7 Symphonic Bulgarian Dances / Vardar Rhapsody (Naxos 8.573422) · Gramophone · 04.2020
I do hope that this fine new recording will mean that Pancho Vladigerov's music becomes better known. Performances are excellent, and particularly inspired in the variegated colours of the Bulgarian Suite.
Vladigerov: Seven Symphonic Bulgarian Dances; Vardar Rhapsody; Bulgarian Suite (Naxos 8.573422) · MusicWeb International · 02.2020
The other thing to say straight away about this new disc is how well the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra play for the conductor Nayden Todorov. They make the absolute most of the colourful scoring and play with vibrancy, alert energy and considerable skill.
Two and a Half Magical Hours · Cellesche Zeitung · 12.01.2020
It was really magical what was presented on stage for a good two and a half hours. Actually, it would have been enough just to listen to the orchestra under the direction of Nayden Todorov.
Vladigerov: Bulgarian Suite / 7 Symphonic Bulgarian Dances / Vardar Rhapsody (Naxos 8.573422) · AllMusic.com · 01.2020
It is to be hoped that this recording by the Rousse Philharmonic under Nayden Todorov, who also served as producer, will increase this composer's international exposure; the performances have the flavor of commitment and are entirely adequate to the music.
Magnificent! An Orchestra of the Top Rank · Wiener Bezirksblatt · 30.12.2019
This was a true classical highlight. The Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra… proved that it ranks among the best orchestras of Central and Eastern Europe. This is above all thanks to the conductor and artistic director Nayden Todorov. One could feel and see how Todorov managed to carry the musicians along and spur them on. In the sold-out (!) Musikverein, the audience thanked him with long-lasting ovations. A concert that will certainly be remembered.
Exquisite Sound Culture · Kronen Zeitung · 08.12.2019
In this interpretation Todorov united a temperamentally gripping gesture with masterful formal command. The beauty of sound and refined sound culture were impressive. It was precisely the climaxes that Todorov plumbed under high tension right up to the finale.
Vienna Gave the Sofia Philharmonic a Standing Ovation at the Musikverein · News.bg · 07.12.2019
The audience applauded our national symphony orchestra and conductor Nayden Todorov with a standing ovation.
The Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra Convinced in Vienna · Wiener Zeitung · 06.12.2019
With a popular programme of the Slavic kind, the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra under its chief conductor Nayden Todorov made a stop in Vienna… The masterful Ninth Symphony of Dvořák, executed precisely and with a clear profile… At the end — strong applause.
Vladigerov: Bulgarian Suite / 7 Symphonic Bulgarian Dances / Vardar Rhapsody (Naxos 8.573422) · David's Review Corner · 12.2019
The Rousse Philharmonic, an orchestra of modest size that, under Nayden Todorov conducting, is obviously enjoying the music.
Bulgarian National Music · Pizzicato · 12.2019
The works on this recording… are all rooted in the folk music of the composer's homeland, which he effectively dresses in orchestral garb. It sounds brilliant and appealing. [...] The Philharmonic Orchestra of the Danube border city of Rousse provides sonorous, atmospheric and colourful interpretations. The recording is impeccable and therefore recommendable to anyone looking for a change from dances and rhapsodies by other composers from the Slavic region.
Sonya Yoncheva — a Supernatural Voice in a Human Body · Trud · 18.11.2019
The Sofia Philharmonic and its director Nayden Todorov are a duo working together to perfection.
Captivated by Colour and Vitality · Aachener Zeitung · 19.08.2019
All the same, the committed conducting of Nayden Todorov revealed the artists' special affinity for the musical substance of this opera. The temperamental passages inspired by Spanish folklore, in particular, were thrilling.
Instrumental Songs · Ostthüringer Zeitung (OTZ) · 11.03.2019
In the interpretation by Nayden Todorov and the orchestra one could sense that the conductor had studied in Vienna. With the Thüringer Symphoniker he found exactly the right measure to reveal the great rhapsodic breath that blows through the symphony, and to make audible the finest details — enchanting little stories in the figures above all of the strings, woodwinds and horns. A successful evening full of instrumental song.
Highly Delicious — the "Night of the 5 Tenors" Cheered at the Konzerthaus · Kultur in Karlsruhe · 08.01.2019
"The «Nacht der 5 Tenöre» made its regular winter stop in Karlsruhe, as it does every year — always to great public success, and this time was no different. […] The voices are secure, the expressiveness immense, the orchestra solid; its conductor Nayden Todorov leads it surely and, whenever the tenors raise their voices, holds it back in service of the singers — the balance between voices and orchestra is right. […] It was an entertaining evening; it took a good two and a half hours before the tray was emptied and the canapés consumed. The audience thanked all the artists with exuberant applause, and the encore of Nessun dorma whetted the appetite for the next «Nacht der 5 Tenöre»."
An Opera Evening with a Furious Finale · Die Oberbadische · 05.01.2019
The 'Five Tenors' stirred up the audience, gently and sensitively accompanied by the Plovdiv Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Bulgarian maestro Nayden Todorov, whom Jon Lord, a former member of the hard-rock band Deep Purple, praised as a 'fantastic young man' and who made a successful debut at the Vienna Volksoper in 2010 with The Nutcracker.
Five Times the Concentrated Power of the Voice · Badische Zeitung · 05.01.2019
The Plovdiv Symphony Orchestra, under Nayden Todorov's agile direction, not only accompanied the singers with verve and a luxuriant sound from the strings and winds, but also contributed purely orchestral pieces.
Suggestive, Rhetorical Symphonic Writing · Pizzicato · 12.12.2018
Chamouard's music speaks and communicates; the listener can engage with it easily. This comes across particularly well in the inspired performance by the orchestra from Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
A Captivating and Devastating Finale with Vadim Repin · K Press (v. „K“) · 05.10.2018
The finale was a captivating and devastating element, achieved with the impressive dramatic performance by Repin and the dedicated partnership of Todorov and the Sofia Philharmonic.
A Clear Vision of the Dramaturgical Line in the Fifth Symphony · Kultura · 25.05.2018
The conductor's clear vision of the overall dramaturgical line also contributed to the convincing presentation of the Fifth Symphony. With its metaphorical transition from reflection on a tragic fate to a triumph of will, the symphony was saved from the often-threatening pathetic triviality that lurks above it.
The Grown-Up Child Prodigy Sarah Chang Electrified Bulgaria Hall · „Muzikalen svyat“ – byuletin na Sofiyskata filharmonia · 03.2018
"A programme chosen with great taste, a temperamental conductor under whose expert baton the orchestra played not only with inspiration but with evident delight of its own — all the more so with a virtuosic, charismatic violinist shining as soloist. That is the shortest way to describe Sarah Chang's concert with the Sofia Philharmonic under maestro Nayden Todorov, which filled Sofia's Bulgaria Hall to capacity with an enraptured audience. […] It was precisely her artistry and musical sensuality that electrified both orchestra and audience in Bulgaria Hall. Indeed, after the very first rehearsal the 37-year-old American of Korean descent remarked that "it is very rare for everything to come together at the first attempt with an unfamiliar orchestra and conductor," as it did now with the Sofia Philharmonic and maestro Nayden Todorov. […] The high professionalism of our leading orchestra was equally evident in the splendid performance of Porgy and Bess – A Symphonic Picture. Our philharmonic players were brilliant both in the tender, romantic Bess, You Is My Woman Now and in the thunderous Storm Music (Hurricane). Never before had I seen maestro Nayden Todorov so animated and exhilarated on the podium — at moments he was practically dancing. A mood that spread to the smiling orchestra members and the grateful audience alike."
The Grown-Up Child Prodigy Sarah Chang Electrified Bulgaria Hall · Blits · 11.02.2018
I had never before seen Maestro Nayden Todorov so exhilarated and so alive at the conductor's desk; at moments he was positively dancing. A mood that carried over to the smiling players and to the grateful audience. A temperamental conductor, under whose skilled baton the orchestra played not only with inspiration — he himself was genuinely having fun.