Lecture by Krasimir Taskov Presented by Liszt Academy

Krasimir Taskov (born 1955) is among the most active Bulgarian composers, pianists, and pedagogues of his generation. He graduated with honors from the Sofia State Music Academy . He participated in a series of international seminars for composers organized by UNESCO in Bulgaria and Holland and attended the composition classes of Ton de Leeuw and Theo Loevendie (Holland), Anatol Vieru (Romania).

He has over twenty years of teaching experience at the Music Academy, where he has chaired the composition department since 1999 and has been a full professor of Composition since 2002.

Krasimir Taskov has written compositions for a variety of performance mediums.

His works have been singled out for prizes in prestigious international and national competitions. In 1984 the piano cycle Archaic Pictures was among the pieces recommended by the UNESCO International Tribune of Composers in Paris. His piano works Fantasia for two pianos (1991), Triptych for 4 hands piano (1995), Mutuality (1999),and Ceremony for two pianos and percussion (2005) earned him prizes in the Composition Competition of the International Piano Duo Association in Tokyo. He was the winner of the first prize in the National Competition ‘2002 in Plovdiv for his Concerto No. 2 for clarinet and orchestra, and in 2005 won the Elias Canetti National Competition.

His music has been performed with success in Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Russia, Romania, England, the United States, and elsewhere.

In 2003 his Transfiguration II for two pianos was nominated to be performed at the World Music Days in Slovenia. More than twenty of his compositions have been printed by various publishing houses in Sofia (Music, Elm, and UBC), Moscow (Musica), Paris (J. Billoudot), and in Canada (Vox Bulgarica).

He is carrying out many activities as a solo and chamber music performer.