Gregor Tassie

Conductor Viliana Valtcheva talks with Gregor Tassie

Bulgaria’s music is best known for its magnificent choirs and the never-ending stream of singers who have become celebrated in the world’s most famous opera theatres. Boris Christov, Ghena Dimitrova, Lyuba Welitsch, Nicolai Ghiaurov, and Sonya Yoncheva are just a few Bulgarians who have become stars on the world stage.

There is a distinguished school of instrumentalists, but relatively few conductors, with one major exception in the brilliant Emil Tchakarov, who became legendary during a relatively brief period, until his death at the early age of 43 in Paris. A prodigy of Karajan, Tchakarov was renowned at the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Mariinsky Theatre, among many others. Mravinsky picked him as his successor before his early death in 1991.

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