"Romantic Concerto" for Violin and Orchestra

ROMANTIC CONCERTO for violin and orchestra was composed in the last decade of Raichev's life; he himself marked the end of the score with "11.45 am October 13^th , 1991, Athens". It is dedicated to Mincho Minchev. It was first heard on the occasion of the composer's 70^th birthday on May 24^th 1992 at the opening ceremony of the XXIII "Sofia Music Weeks" International Festival, performed by Mincho Minchev with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yordan Dafov. The following was published in the printed programme: A little essay on romance Life is frosty...Life is jagged and gives birth to robots...Chill winds...I feel robbed...Where is my romance?...I laugh... The romance of love and tender thrills. The romance of inexplicable sadness and melancholy. The romance of dreams and hopes...I stretch out my arms and seek healing...I write for myself...I write for you, my friends! Alexander Raichev These confessional words are indicative in general of the new period in the stylistics and emotional content of the composer's works in his later years. This was also the time when the oratorio Kabile after Ovid, the Partita melancholica, the Mass after St. John Chrysostom, and his last Symphony No.6 “Liturgical”, in which introverted reverie, philosophical reflections and nostalgic lyricism predominate. The Violin Concerto is constructed in the traditional three-movement cycle, but the first two are linked and flow without interruption - the pathetic opening Allegro flowing into the lyrical lamento cantilena of the Andante molto. In sharp contrast is the final Presto, in which the bravura virtuosity of the solo violin reaches its climax.