Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra at State Theatre New Jersey

Derek Gleeson, Principal Conductor
Ivaylo Vassilev, Piano

PROGRAM
Beethoven, Coriolanus Overture
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5
Beethoven, Symphony No. 7

In 1945 the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra became the national orchestra of Bulgaria and has long established itself as one of the leading cultural institutions, representative of the overall contemporary musical culture of the country. The repertoire of the Sofia Philharmonic comprises works from the entire historically available range of music—from classical to contemporary opuses, including premiere performances of numerous works by Bulgarian composers. The orchestra has garnered substantial recognition all over the world. It has guest-performed with great success in the major musical centres across Europe, Asia, and North America, and has received acclaim even from the most demanding of audiences. The Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra was awarded many prestigious accolades including: “Musician of the Year,” “Golden Lyre,” “Golden Stave,” “Golden Quill,” “Crystal Lyre,” the Honorary Sign of Sofia, and the Honorary Sign of the President of Bulgaria.

In 2020 Maestro Derek Gleeson was named principal conductor of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. Born in Dublin, Ireland (a U.S./Irish dual citizen), Gleeson studied piano, percussion, composition, and conducting at the music conservatories of Dublin, London, and Vienna, and film scoring at the University of California, Los Angeles. By the age of 11, Gleeson was the recipient of many piano and percussion competition prizes within Ireland and Great Britain. At the age of 15 he represented Ireland as a conductor in the European Community Youth Orchestra, where he had the opportunity to perform at the leading European music festivals, such as Salzburg, Edinburgh, and Lucerne Festivals under the direction of Maestros Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein, Sir George Solti, and others. These early experiences directed him toward a career in conducting. In 1984 he was a first prize winner of the London Symphony Orchestra’s music scholarship.

As a Guest conductor, Maestro Gleeson conducted The London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Orchestras, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He was Music Director of the R?ckert Orchestra of Dublin (1990 through 1993), and since 1997, he has been permanent Music Director of The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra. An ardent champion of contemporary music, Gleeson has provided many premier performances of works by living composers, his own works also being performed in Europe and the U.S. In 2004, Gleeson’s concert work titled “Buenos Aires” premiered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His recordings as conductor include premieres of contemporary American and Irish composers with The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Bulgarica.

Amongst others, Gleeson has conducted The London Philharmonic Orchestra, the RTE Concert Orchestra (Ireland’s national broadcaster), The National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra (Ireland), Orchestra Da Camera Fiorentina (Italy), The Brohuslav Martinu Philharmonic (Czech Republic) Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra (Czech Republic), Hradec Kralove Symphony Orchestra (Czech Republic), Czech National Symphony Orchestra, and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Maestro Gleeson’s extraordinary conducting talent also extends to opera. Repertoire includes performances of Verdi’s La Traviata, Il Trovatore, Rigoletto, and Un Ballo in Maschera, Mozart’s La Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi Fan Tutte, and The Magic Flute, Bizet’s Carmen, and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

Ivaylo Vassilev was born in 2007 in Sofia and studied piano at the National Music School in Sofia with Professor Borislava Taneva, PhD. At the age of 16, he has earned an impressive collection of more than 30 prizes from international competitions from around the world. Vassilev has played in various piano festivals, amongst them 2023 Cliburn Junior Piano Festival (Dallas), Lancaster International Piano Festival (Lancaster, 2022), “Wunderkinder” (Toblach, Italy, 2018), “Musical Olympus” (St. Petersburg, 2019), and “Moscow Meets Friends” (Moscow, 2019). He has studied with world known pianists and pedagogues, including Konstantin Scherbakov, Dmitry Bashkirov, and Alexander Kobrin. He has performed at iconic halls around the world, such as the Great Hall and Rachmaninoff Hall of Moscow State Conservatory, Tchaikovsky Hall, the House of Music in Moscow, Symphonic Capella in St. Petersburg, and of course, Bulgaria Hall in Sofia. As a soloist he has performed with famous conductors, like Pavel Balev, Sascha Goetzel, Vyacheslav Valeev, Alexander Titov, Alexander Chernushenko, Mikhail Kirkhoff, Igor Lerman, and others, with many Bulgarian and Russian orchestras, including the four major Bulgarian ones—Sofia Philharmonic, Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra, Classic FM orchestra, and Varna Philharmonic, as well as with Russian Philharmonic Orchestra. His first album with Mozart and Shostakovich piano concertos was recorded and released in 2019 in St. Petersburg, as a special prize for winning the Golden Nutcracker Award.