The Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra and The National Philharmonic Choir will perform in the hall of the Macedonian Philharmonic in Skopje on 11 March. Under the baton of Maestro Nayden Todorov, works by contemporary composers will be performed. The title of the concert is The New Classics, and the programme includes excerpts from Veselin Stoyanov’s Bay Ganyo, Karl Jenkins’ Requiem, as well as iconic film masterpieces by Ennio Morricone, Dmitri Shostakovich, John Williams and others.

Founded in 1892 as the Royal Orchestra by the Czech kapellmeister Joseph Coppola and transformed in 1945 into the National Philharmonic Orchestra, the SOFIA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA has long established itself as one of the leading institutions in Bulgaria’s musical life, representative of the overall contemporary musical culture of the country. The orchestra’s high artistic achievement is associated with the names of prominent figures such as Sasha Popov, Konstantin Iliev, Dobrin Petkov, Vassil Stefanov, Vladi Simeonov, Vassil Kazandjiev, Dimitar Manolov, Emil Tabakov, Julian Kovatchev, Nayden Todorov. Unforgettable in the chronicle of the Philharmonic are the instances of co-operation with personalities such as conductors Bruno Walter, Hermann Abendroth, Kurt Masur, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Valery Gergiev, Yuri Simonov, Yuri Temirkanov, Carlo Zecchi, Karl Österreichher, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Neville Marriner, Charles Dutoit, Marin Alsop, Frédéric Chaslin, Gianluigi Gelmetti and others. Soloists who have performed with the orchestra were David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Alexis Weissenberg, Dmitri Shostakovich, Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Spivakov, Ruggiero Ricci, Ghena Dimitrova, Jose Carreras, Julian Rachlin, Placido Domingo, Sarah Chang, Thomas Hampson, Yuri Bashmet, Tabea Zimmermann, Elena Bashkirova, Alexandrina Pendatchanska, Sonya Yoncheva, Krassimira Stoyanova, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Maxim Vengerov, Svetlin Rоussev, Angela Gheorghiu, Vadim Repin, Paul Badura-Skoda, Joshua Bell, Dmitri Ratser, Elīna Garanča, Sharon Kam, Ivo Pogorelić, Martha Argerich, Viktoria Mullova, Mischa Maisky, Shlomo Mintz, Gidon Kremer and many more world-renowned artists. 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 (Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, Netherland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, France, Croatia, Switzerland), Asia (China, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan), and North America, and has received frenetic 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, the Honorary Sign of the President of Bulgaria. From 2017, director of the Sofia Philharmonic is Nayden Todorov.

For three decades now, the art of NAYDEN TODOROV has been drawing bright creative climaxes in various genres, establishing itself on the most prestigious stages around the world.
His professional conducting career began at the age of 16, when he made his debut as a conductor. Todorov received his first permanent international engagement in 1998 in Haifa, Israel, where he was selected from among more than 150 candidates.
At the age of only 26, he was invited to become General Music Director in his native city Plovdiv. With the Plovdiv Philharmonic, he recorded over 100 CDs and toured around the world.
In 2002 Nayden Todorov made his debut with the Sofia National Opera, with which he gave performances, concerts and recordings of numerous albums with famous singers.
Since 2004 he has been conductor of the popular production “The Night of the Five Tenors”, with which he has appeared on stages of the Philharmonie Berlin, Herkulessaal in Munich, Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, Liederhalle in Stuttgart, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Meistersingerhalle in Nuremberg and many others.
In the period 2005-2017 Nayden Todorov was the director of the State Opera in Ruse, with which he performed in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, South Korea and Dubai. For his work in Ruse, Nayden Todorov has received various awards and in 2016 he was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of the City of Ruse.
In 2006, he made his debut with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and a year later was invited to conduct the concerts of the ensemble’s tour to the largest cities in Japan. In 2009, he gave his first concert at Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, and in 2010 he made his debut at the Vienna Volksoper. He has conducted hundreds of symphony concerts, opera and ballet performances in different countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and North America. In 2022 he conducted the first concerts in Bulgaria of the famous Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
Nayden Todorov is particularly bonded to the Sofia Philharmonic, where he debuted in 2001. Since 2004 he has been its permanent guest conductor, later principal guest conductor, and in 2017 he was elected managing and artistic director. For his performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Sofia Philharmonic he received his first Crystal Lyre. Together with the Sofia Philharmonic Nayden Todorov appeared at the UNESCO Hall in Paris, BOZAR Hall in Brussels, Musikverein in Vienna, Philharmonie Berlin, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, etc. In concerts with the Sofia Philharmonic, his partners are some of the world’s most distinguished musicians. In 2019, Disney organized the first major Star Wars concert presentation in major cities in China, featuring the Sofia Philharmonic under the baton of Nayden Todorov.
Nayden Todorov has been elected twice “Musician of the Year” for the musical activities in his native country Bulgaria.