Vladi Simeonov is a Bulgarian conductor, violinist and music pedagogue, co-founder of the Bulgarian symphonic work. He was born on May 23, 1912 in Razgrad. At the age of five, he began playing the violin under the guidance of his father. At the age of nine, he took part in the first concert of the Razgrad Symphony Orchestra.
In 1926, Simeonov was ranked first by the Committee for Admission of Violinists to the Music Academy. He studied in the violin class of Hans Koch and Nikola Abadzhiev. At the age of 16, in 1928, he was selected to participate as an orchestra member in the Academic Symphony Orchestra in Sofia, founded by Prof. Sasha Popov and later developed into the Sofia Philharmonic. He continued his studies in the violin class of Sasha Popov and the orchestral conducting class of Tsanko Tsankov.
After graduating from the Music Academy in 1934, Vladi Simeonov continued to play in the Academic Symphony Orchestra until 1940. He then specialized in orchestral conducting at the Rome Academy of Music “Santa Cecilia” under Bernardino Molinari and at the Vienna Academy of Music under Leopold Reichwein. The specialization in Vienna ended with conducting two concerts in front of the Viennese audience in the world-famous “Musikverein” hall.
He began his professional conducting career as the founder of the Symphony Orchestra in Plovdiv – 1945 and the Symphony Orchestra of the Bulgarian Radio – 1951. In the period 1954 – 1962, the Maestro was the conductor of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra.
But undoubtedly, the name of the Bulgarian conductor is most associated with the first and only children’s and youth symphony orchestra of its kind – the Pioneer Philharmonic, which he created in 1952 and conducted until the last days of his life. The orchestra has given concert performances in Russia, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Italy, Brazil, France, Switzerland, England, Scotland, Mexico and the USA. The Pioneer Philharmonic is the winner of a large number of national and international awards and receives worldwide recognition. At the personal invitation of the UN Secretary General – Kurt Waldheim, on December 10, 1979, the Pioneer Philharmonic gave a gala concert in front of representatives of over 140 countries in the UN Hall in New York, closing the First International Year of the Child. Leonard Bernstein was present at the rehearsal before the concert and asked to conduct the ensemble. Delighted, he wrote: “This is not a “pioneer” orchestra, this is the pinnacle of civilization!”.
For more than half a century, Vladi Simeonov invested his knowledge, experience and creative energy in building the Bulgarian symphonic work and the Bulgarian conducting school.
He passed away on January 16, 1990.
Prof. Simeonov is the founder of seven orchestral ensembles:
Symphonic Orchestra of the Young Forces (1933),
the first chamber orchestra in Bulgaria (1937),
Choir and Orchestra of the People’s Militia Ensemble (1944),
Plovdiv Symphony Orchestra (1945),
Symphonic Orchestra of the Bulgarian Radio (today the Symphony Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio) (1951),
Pioneer Philharmonic Orchestra (1952 d.)
The Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Bulgarian State Conservatory, today the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the National Academy of Music
In parallel with his intensive recording activity at the Bulgarian National Radio, his concert activity with the Sofia Philharmonic, with the Pioneer Philharmonic and as a guest conductor of many European philharmonic orchestras, Vladi Simeonov leads a class in orchestral conducting at the Music Academy.
Prof. Simeonov has dedicated 35 years of his creative path to his teaching activity at the Music Academy. He has been associated with it since 1943 as a lecturer. In 1951 he became an associate professor of orchestral conducting, and since 1964 he has been a professor. His class included the following famous Bulgarian conductors: Alexander Vladigerov, Boris Hinchev, Vasil Kazandjiev, Emil Tabakov, Emil Chakarov, Mikhail Angelov, and Rositsa Batalova.
Vladi Simeonov’s long career on the concert stage has brought him many successes and recognition from the music audience, critics, and the public in Bulgaria and abroad as a guest conductor of prestigious European symphony orchestras. However, his greatest successes are associated with the Pioneer Children’s and Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, which he founded and directed. The orchestra is a laureate and gold medalist of the 4th and 5th Republican Festivals of Amateur Arts in Bulgaria, and has been awarded the Cyril and Methodius Order and diplomas from the Ministry of Culture. The Children’s and Youth Philharmonic was ranked as the undisputed favorite for 1st place at the International Festivals of “Youth Orchestras and Performing Arts” in Switzerland – 1970, Scotland and England – 1974, Italy – 1982.
The Pioneer Philharmonic was the winner of the Extraordinary Prize with an Honorary Diploma for Outstanding Artistic Achievements and a Gold Medal at the Herbert von Karajan Competition in Berlin in 1974. In 1981, the orchestra was invited to give a gala concert in the UNESCO Hall in Paris, which opened the Days on the occasion of 1300 years since the establishment of the Bulgarian State, and in 1984 it opened the UNESCO Congress for Aesthetic Education in Rio de Janeiro.
The London National Museum owns a biography of Prof. Vladi Simeonov and two cassettes with musical recordings of the Pioneer Philharmonic Orchestra.