Pancho Vladigerov laid the foundations for a number of genres in Bulgarian music such as the piano trio and the instrumental concerto. Between 1918 and 1963 he composed the five concerti for piano and orchestra. The PIANO CONCERTO No 3 in B flat minor, Op. 31 is the most popular among them. The composer worked on it in the summer of 1936 in Shumen, and because of his numerous concert appearances, he completed the orchestration a year later, on June 9^th,  1937 in Sofia. The opening of the modern Bulgaria Hall in Sofia (on October 3^rd,  that year) was the occasion to dedicate the Concerto No. 3 to this jubilant event. The premiere of the work with the State Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Tsanko Tsankov is included in the second part of the solemn concert. The composer himself performed the solo part with inspiration and temperament.

In ten days Vladigerov made his European premiere with the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of  George Georgescu in the Romanian capital. He continued to perform his concerto abroad – in Warsaw, Brussels, Gothenburg, at the Stuttgart International Festival. The critic noted: ‘The rich ornamentation in the bold passages make the concerto a true virtuoso creation. Primal melodies of national character are skilfully woven into it – gems that sparkle”.

The concerto is in three movements and displays the most striking characteristics of Vladigerov’s style – melody, lush orchestration, contrasting states of imagery. The piano part is extremely difficult and virtuosic. In the first movement, he develops the thematic material in a variation-improvisatory manner in a masterly dialogue between piano and orchestra. The beautiful Andante begins with a brief cello recitative, after which the solo part, built on the melody of the Renaissance town song Old Grandfather Herding Sheep, is overgrown with florid ornaments and figurations. The concert ends with a sparkling exuberant dance finale.