KONSTANTIN ILIEVSKY is a conductor, piano player and a composer.
He comes from a Bulgarian family of famous musicians. He started studying piano at the age of 5 with Prof. Milena Kurteva in Sofia, and from the age of 14 continued his studies in Bratislava (Slovakia) under Prof. Peter Čerman. Ilievsky has won several international piano competitions and participated in masterclasses with renowned pianists such as Prof. Eugen Indjic, Prof. Peter Topperzer, Prof. Marián Lapšanský, Prof. Lee Kum Xing and others. During his studies in Bratislava, he worked with the orchestra and choir at the Bratislava Conservatory and graduated summa cum laude from the classes in orchestral and choral conducting of Prof. Zdeněk Bílek and Prof. Dušan Bill. Later on, he completed his studies at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts, where he studied composition under Prof. Detlev Müller-Siemens and orchestral conducting under Prof. Uroš Lajovic. In Vienna, Ilievsky participated in prestigious masterclasses in conducting, with renowned conductors and orchestras such as Bertrand de Billy with the Webern Symphonietta Wien; Prof. Ralf Weikert with the Vienna Pro Arte Orchestra, and Daniel Harding with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra.
In 2010, Ilievsky was part of the jury of the International Composition Competition “Artistes en Herbe” in Luxembourg and became an honorary member of the international Armenian organization “AGBU” for outstanding musical achievements.
In 2011, his book The Composer as an Interpreter of His Own Perception of the World was released by Dr. Müller Publishers.
In 2012 he was nominated for the prestigious Crystal Lyre Award and participated in the 200th anniversary season of the Geselschaft der Musikfreunde Wien, giving a concert at the Musikverein Vienna with the Wiener Concert Verein (Chamber Orchestra of the Wiener Symphoniker). In 2013, he was selected as one of the 20 participants in the finals of the renowned 53rd Young Conductors Competition in Besançon, France with the Orchestre Victor Hugo Franche-Comté.
Between 2014 and 2020, Konstantin Ilievsky was chief artistic director of the Dianopolis Chamber Orchestra in Yambol, Bulgaria. From 2015 to 2019 he also worked as a Director of the Golden Diana music festivities in Yambol and as lecturer at the Bratislava Conservatory. In 2016 he became conductor of the Sliven Symphony Orchestra as well; he also successfully debuted with the Slovak Philharmonic in the concert hall Reduta – Bratislava.
Since 2017 he has been regularly recording with the Symphony Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio, in 2018 he was awarded the Crystal Lyre in the category “conductor” by the SBMTD for their joint performance. He conducted in Bratislava the official concert on the occasion of the Bulgarian EU Presidency with soloist Svetlin Roussev (violin) and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. At the beginning of 2019 Konstantin Ilievsky conducted the first ever concert tour of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra in China, and in the summer of the same year he recorded a CD with the chamber orchestra Dianopolis. Together with that orchestra he led, he was again awarded the Crystal Lyre for 2019. Since 2020 he has also been conductor of the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava). In 2021, he was composer-in-residence of the Proxima Ensemble (Bratislava). Since 2022 Konstantin Ilievsky has been a lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. As a guest conductor or soloist he has worked with a number of renowned European orchestras, including many Bulgarian ensembles, with the China National Symphony Orchestra (Ningbo).
As a pianist, he is a frequent soloist with various orchestras in Europe, regularly giving solo and chamber concerts. As a composer, he has written solo, chamber, concerto and symphonic works which have been performed in various countries throughout Europe and the USA by prestigious contemporary music ensembles or orchestras. He has participated in numerous international festivals and worked with renowned world-class soloists. He has recorded for major radio and television companies in Bulgaria, Austria and Slovakia, and records regularly with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava) and the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra.
At only 17 years of age Konstantin Ilievsky founded the Sinfonietta dell’Arte in Bratislava, of which he is still the General Musical Director, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director. Musicians from all continents have played in it. Sinfonietta dell’Arte has established itself over the last 20 years as a professional orchestra, with successful and regular tours in Austria, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Germany.
A special place in Konstantin Ilievsky’s activity is occupied by his work with chamber ensembles, such as string orchestras and ensembles for contemporary or early music. The development of concert repertoire for such ensembles features regularly in his concert schedule, for example with the Hilaris Chamber Orchestra (Bratislava), the professional Bratislava Vocal Consort Chamber Choir, the Sinfonietta dell’Arte Chamber Orchestra and its ensemble for contemporary music, in collaboration with the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.