Born in Varna, Bulgaria, LUDMIL ANGELOV graduated at the Prof. Pancho Vladigerov State Music Academy in Sofia. His teachers were Viktoria Spassova, Ludmila Stoyanova and the phenomenal pianist and pedagogue Konstantin Stankovich. He has won prizes at the international competitions Frederic Chopin (Poland, 1985), Palm Beach International Competition (USA, 1990), Piano Masters (Monte Carlo, 1994) and World Piano Masters Tour (France, 1997).
Popular on five continents, Ludmil Angelov has given recitals, chamber concerts and has been a soloist of renowned orchestras, under the baton of world-famous conductors. He has played at the Berlin Philharmonic, the Musikverein and the Staatsoper in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Salles Pleyel and Gaveau in Paris, the Lincoln Center in New York, La Scala in Milan, the Alteoper in Frankfurt and the Herculessaal in Munich, BOZAR in Brussels, KKL in Lucerne, the Monte Carlo Opera House, the Zurich Opera House, the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, the Moscow Conservatory, the National Philharmonic and the National Opera House in Warsaw, KBS in Seoul and many others. He has recorded for RCA, Gega new, Pentatone, Danacord, Non Profit Music, Toccata Classics, Hyperion, Vela Records, ARIA Classics and Virginia Records. His recording of Chopin’s rondos and variations was awarded a Grand Prix du Disque by the Frederic Chopin Institute in Warsaw. In 2016, the British Hyperion label released the recording premiere of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra Op. 3 by Moritz Moszkowski, recorded by the pianist with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Glasgow.
Ludmil Angelov is considered one of the greatest contemporary interpreters of Chopin. In the 1987/1988 season he presented all of the composer’s works for solo piano in a cycle of twelve recitals, for which he received the Young Musician of the Year award in Bulgaria. In 1999 he performed Chopin’s Integral with great success in Madrid and other cities in Spain, and ten years later he presented Chopin’s Integral again in Bulgaria and Spain. He is a frequent guest at the most famous Chopin festivals, including the Chopin and his Europe Festival in Warsaw. In 2011 he founded the Piano Extravaganza Foundation, which became the organizer and producer of the annual Piano Extravaganza International Music Festival, dedicated to infrequently performed works from the piano repertoire.
Ludmil Angelov is a recipient of the Apollo Toxophoros Prize and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Toledo. In 2011, he was awarded the Gloria Artis Medal by the Ministry of Culture of Poland for his services in promoting Polish music worldwide, and in 2015 he was awarded the Grand Prize of the City of Varna for his overall activity. He teaches as an Professor Emeritus at the New Bulgarian University, where he also gives an annual Grand Master Class. He has been invited as a jury member of international competitions, including the Fr. Chopin in Warsaw in 2010, 2015 and 2021. In 2022 he was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Sofia and became the recipient of the highest award of the Ministry of Culture “Golden Century necklace”.