MILEN PANAYOTOV (1967 Varna, BG) has graduated from the National Academy of Music (Sofia, Bulgaria) majoring in Composition under Prof. Dimitar Tapkov (1995). Among his tutors he appreciates most is also the piano teacher Mila Mihaylova, a pupil of Profs. Andrey Stoyanov (Sofia), Lazare Lévy and Marcel Ciampi (Paris).

He later perfected his skills in composition under the guidance of such outstanding composers as Mark Kopytman (Brandenburgisches Colloquium für Neue Musik, 1995), Peter-Michael Hamel and Alejandro Iglesias-Rossi (Radzejowice, Poland, 1997), György Kurtág and Julio Estrada (Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, 1998). 2006-2007 Milen specialized composition with Prof. Mark Kopytman at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

Three of his works (Da re diesis al mi bemolle, for two pianos, 1996; No Keys!, for piano, 2003 and Musica per archi senza percussione e celesta, 2007) have been represented at the International Rostrum of Composers under the aegis of UNESCO. The latter work was commissioned and premiered by the Sofia Soloists Chamber Ensemble conducted by Plamen Djouroff.

In April 2008 Catalan composer pianist and improviser Josep-Maria Balanyà and Milen Panayotov performed on the stalactites and stalagmites in the "Sâeva Dupka" cave in North West Bulgaria.

Since 1995 Milen works as a music journalist, editor and presenter at the "Christo Botev" Arts & Culture Channel of Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). For more than 10 years (2000-2011) he organized ppIANISSIMO, an annual international festival of contemporary piano music held in March/April at BNR. Recently Milen was invited to hold lectures/seminars on his favorite topic "Heterophony" (3rd International Summer Music Academy in Kavala, Greece; New Bulgarian University, Sofia; "Lysenko" Music Academy in Lvov (Lviv), Ukraine). As a composer he won several artist-in-residency grants: Fundación Valparaíso (Mojácar, Spain); MacDowell Colony (New Hampshire, USA); artbellwald.ch (Bellwald, Switzerland); Willapa Bay AiR (Oysterville, Washington, USA). He was commissioned by such outstanding ensembles as Sofia Soloists, Sofia Philharmonic, Absolut Trio (Basel, CH), BNR Big Band, Nordic Saxophone Quartet.

 



​GRANTS:

September 2016 Willapa Bay AiR (Oysterville, Washington, US) one-month residency grant

March-April 2014 Artbellwald (Bellwald, Wallis/Valais/Vallese, Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera) two-month residency grant

June-July 2013 MacDowell Colony (Peterborough, New Hampshire, US) one-month residency grant

April 2011 Fundación Valparaíso (Mojácar, Andalucía, España) one month residency grant

August 1998 Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (Darmstadt, Hessen, Deutschland), scholarship of Soros Center for the Arts & Darmstädter Ferienkurse

August 1995 Brandenburgisches Colloquium für Neue Musik (Rheinsberg, Brandenburg, Deutschland), scholarship of Rheinsberg Music Academy.

 

COMMISSIONS:

2014 A one-minute piano piece commissioned by Prof. Borislava Taneva for her students' project of one-minute pieces

2014 En busca de duende for saxophone quartet, commissioned by Nordic Saxophone Quartet

2013 A concerto for alphorn and big band, commissioned by Arkady Shilkloper

2012 Pezzo assoluto for violin, cello and piano commisioned by Absolut Trio (Basel, Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera)

2011 Gaishuvir for Orchestra, commissioned by the Sofia Philharmonic and premiered on 3rd of November under the baton of Martin Panteleev

2006 Sofia Soloists Chamber Ensemble commissioned Musica per archi senza percussione e celesta. The work was premiered in April 2007 at the "Bulgaria Hall", seat of the Sofia Philharmonic.