Symphony No. 3

The impetuous, assertive THIRD SYMPHONY was born in the time of conducting and active composing in the early 1950s, when the Second Symphony, the Second, Third and Fourth String Quartets, three duo sonatas, a wind trio, a solo cello sonata, scores for the films Our Land and The Gerats, and theatre music were composed. .. "The chamber and orchestral works up to the Fifth Symphony (1958) were written in a style which I provisionally call "Graphic". I used the instruments with their natural qualities and did not seek extraordinary timbral effects from them. I wanted to write music in which the musical idea had to make an impact with its content, depth and seriousness and the instruments only served to increase its volume. As regards form, I did not depart from classical models and polyphonic movements were the main means. I used mostly pure timbres, and the mixing of different instrumental groups made sense to make the polyphonic lines stand out more clearly," the composer wrote in his memoirs, Speech and Deed. The symphony is dedicated to his faithful friend Dobrin Petkov, whom he conducted together for years with the Ruse Philharmonic and the Sofia Philharmonic. Its premiere performance under his baton was with the Varna Symphony Orchestra on April 15th, 1955 in Varna, and after its revision in 1965-66 he conducted its first performance by the Sofia Philharmonic on October 25^th , 1967 in Sofia.