site.btaInternational Pancho Vladigerov Piano Competition Returns to Sofia, National Music Academy to Host

The National Music Academy (NMA) will host the International Piano Competition "Pancho Vladigerov," scheduled from March 1 to March 9, NMA said here on Wednesday. 

The event is under the patronage of the Chair of the National Assembly and is organized in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Sofia Municipality.

As part of the competition, NMA will host some of the world's most talented young pianists.

The event will officially open on March 1 in the academy's concert hall. Students from music schools nationwide will perform pieces by the Bulgarian musician, composer, and educator Pancho Vladigerov.

For forty years, Vladigerov taught at the National Music Academy, mentoring generations of composers and performers. He made important contributions to the development of the Bulgarian school of composition with his extensive body of work across all classical genres.

The inaugural international piano competition named after Vladigerov was held in 1986, featuring 22 pianists from seven countries and judged by a 15-member international jury led by Parashkev Hadjiev.

In 1993, the Pancho Vladigerov Foundation was founded in Shumen with the goal of revitalizing the competition. Violinist Mincho Minchev heads the foundation, which established both a national and later an international competition for pianists and violinists, honouring Vladigerov.