27 october 2022 Prof. Alexander Tekeliev Solemnly Celebrated His 80th Birthday

Festiveness, respect for the great art of music, interpretive mastery, continuity - under the sign of these components, part of the atmosphere of an exciting event at a high level, the ALEXANDER TEKELIEV AT 80 concert took place this evening in the hall of the Burgas State Opera.
In the concert dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the great Bulgarian composer and music pedagogue, Prof. Alexander Tekeliev, his popular works were performed: the piece for string orchestra "Adagio", which Prof. Tekeliev specifies, is composed in the ancient "pasakalia" form - a form that starts from the 1st violins, passes through the remaining parts and returns again to the 1st violins, in the climax at the end of the piece the theme appears for the last time in the cellos and double basses, gradually losing its energy and dying out in " scattered tones' throughout the orchestra.
On the stage of the Burgas Opera this evening, the following were also presented:
Concerto for clarinet and orchestra, performed by Borislav Yotsov and the Orchestra of Opera Burgas, and "Sea Tale" - a poem for children's choir and symphony orchestra, composed in 1987, to the text of Iliya Burzhev, performed by the Children's Choir "Milka Stoeva" Choir Burgas with conductor Svetla Stoeva and the orchestras of the Burgas Opera.


"These are works that have not been performed live and on such a scale for years, and works by Bulgarian composers are rarely performed anymore," remarked the director of the opera - Assoc. Dr. Alexander Tekeliev in an interview with Maya Stefanova from BTA.

"Sea Tale", for example, was commissioned by Burgas in 1986, after which it was recorded on the radio by a choir led by Milka Stoeva. Some time ago, it was also performed by the "Bodra Smyana" choir in the "Bulgaria" hall. It was awarded by the Union of Composers. When it came to the question of having it performed with the choir of Svetla Stoeva, who is the daughter of Milka Stoeva, at first I had great doubts whether the choir would be able to do it. It turned out to be a very good conductor who crafted the piece beautifully. The concerto for clarinet and orchestra is my thesis as a student. After so many years, I hear it again for the first time. It hasn't been performed on this scale since maybe 1970. At the same time, it is studied at the Conservatory as a compulsory subject. This work is very dear to me because it is my youth. These are the initial steps in my career. Of course, when I worked on it, all this work was supervised by my professor Veselin Stoyanov, who repeatedly returned to me the topics that had to be written. He kept telling me to bring new 15 threads next time. I carry them, but we can't include any of them, he tells me. We cannot single out a bright theme with which to develop the material. I wear the next 15 and so on. Such was the preparation before the real work on the concert itself began. Then, when everything was ready and approved as thematics, it was time for the real work. Nothing is easy when you write music. One day it works, another day it doesn't. A painful process. You get up at night, write, fix. Finally, when everything was ready, we recorded it with the academic orchestra at the Academy together with the brilliant instrumentalist Dimitar Dimitrov, and I presented the part with the recordings at the exam. On it were Veselin Stoyanov, Pancho Vladigerov, Alexander Raychev, Parashkev Hadzhiev, Zdravko Andonov. With this company it was impossible to pass anything that had no value. Finally, the committee rose to its feet to congratulate me. I got an excellent grade. Then I presented it on the radio, where it was recorded by the orchestra. They performed it a few more times and that was it," said Prof. Alexander Tekeliev in the interview with Maya Stefanova from BTA.

The conductor of the festive evening was maestro Slavil Dimitrov Slavil Dimitrov - perfect as always.

One cannot fail to note the great respect for the talent and significant work of Prof. Tekeliev, re-created in a masterly and spiritual interpretation - by all the performers - and the orchestrators of the Burgas Opera, who presented the works masterfully and with wonderfully constructed dynamics and mood, as well and the wonderful young singers from the "Milka Stoeva" Children's Choir, under the skillful direction of Svetla Stoeva, who had approached the complex musical and stage task extremely responsibly and professionally.

At the end of the festive evening, congratulatory addresses were read by the mayor of Burgas Municipality - Mr. Dimitar Nikolov, and Krasimir Kushev, director of the "Hristina Morfova" NUMSI - Stara Zagora.
Baskets of flowers for the 80th anniversary of the illustrious Maestro were presented on behalf of:
Prof. Dr. Maria Neikova, Regional Governor of Burgas Region, Dimitar Nikolov, Mayor of Burgas Municipality, Hristina Arsenova, Director of the State Puppet Theater - Burgas, Architect Anastas Karchev, Mayor of Svilengrad Municipality, Choir School - Svilengrad.
Prof. Tekeliev, Svetla Stoeva, Slavil Dimitrov and Borislav Yotsov received a colorful greeting from the State Opera - Burgas
Prof. Tekeliev was also pleased with a special greeting from the "Milka Stoeva" Children's Choir.

The presenter of the evening was the charming Kalina Popova.

Photos: State Opera - Burgas