In Memoriam

In Memoriam is dedicated to Alexander Raichev, with whom Angel Kotev studied composition at the Bulgarian State Conservatory. Kotev has described the score as an expression of personal gratitude to a beloved teacher and as belonging to a long preoccupation with the philosophical questions of life, death and creative work - creation as the bridge between the two, and a degree of talent beyond which the work becomes an investment in immortality. The piece sits in a catalogue that runs to three symphonies, two ballets, four rhapsodies, film scores, choral and electroacoustic music, and belongs to the more sombre side of an output otherwise marked by folk-derived rhythm. The Sofia Philharmonic played it in December 2005.